Ep. 101 - Navy Seal, Andrew Arrabito

Andrew Arrabito is larger than life in most every way.  From humble beginnings of extreme hardship and loss, Andrew has been able to use adversity to calibrate himself towards success.   Not many people would view Navy Seal BUDS training as “fun”, but Andrew’s positive perspective has allowed him to excel and nearly everything he sets his mind to.  

 

Andrews drive and determination, loyalty and friendship and unique leadership style have resulted in the premier knife company, Half Face Blades, a wine company, apparel company, ammunition company and staring in major Hollywood blockbusters like “Logan” and “Transformers”.

 

Silvercore and Half Face Blades have teamed up to create a limited special edition, high quality, collectible knife which you can own. 

 

Half Face Blades - https://www.halffaceblades.com/

WarPaw Wines - https://www.warpaw.com/ 

Canoe Club USA - https://canoeclubusa.com/

WEKBD - https://wekbd.com/

 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/halffaceblades/

 

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Silvercore Club - https://bit.ly/2RiREb4
Online Training - https://bit.ly/3nJKx7U
Other Training & Services - https://bit.ly/3vw6kSU
Merchandise - https://bit.ly/3ecyvk9
Blog Page - https://bit.ly/3nEHs8W

Host Instagram - @Bader.Trav https://www.instagram.com/bader.trav
Silvercore Instagram - @SilvercoreOutdoors https://www.instagram.com/silvercoreoutdoors

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What is The Silvercore Podcast with Travis Bader?

The Silvercore Podcast explores the mindset and skills that build capable people. Host Travis Bader speaks with hunters, adventurers, soldiers, athletes, craftsmen, and founders about competence, integrity, and the pursuit of mastery, in the wild and in daily life. Hit follow and step into conversations that sharpen your edge.

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From Frisbee golf instructor,
special Forces Green Beret.

And now a performance coach
dedicated to helping overextended,

unsatisfied career men and women.

Welcome to the Silvercore podcast,
Chris Lee, thanks so much for having me.

This is awesome.

I'm stoked.

Oh, I had to get the
Frisbee golf part in there.

Cause I dunno, that's a pretty neat
kind of place for you to start from.

Yeah.

Tell me about that.

You, you were a prof, a professional
Frisbee golf instructor.

I didn't know there was such a thing.

Uh, not quite that glamorous.

I was, I was actually working
right, right before I enlisted.

I, uh, I, I was working at a fancy
hotel in Virginia, uh, and my job

was like helping, helping people get
their dinner reservation straight.

And then also teaching kids how
to play Frisbee golf and roast and

marshmallows with 'em on the weekends.

And, and like, looking back, particularly
in like some of the more difficult

parts of my training, looking back,
that was like such a cush job.

I was like, what?

Why did I leave that?

Uh, but um, but yeah, I was, it
wasn't quite as fulfilled as I

wanted to be, so I, I decided to
pursue something a little different.

So isn't that interesting?

We can have everything.

We can have the job that's giving
you the money and it's pretty easy.

Yeah.

But it's not fulfilling.

Yeah.

And you were looking for
greater fulfillment in your

life, and you're like, I know.

Why don't I just, just go from
Frisbee golf instructor and helping

people with reservations to all out
special forces in the US military.

I mean, that, that's not usually a
jump that people are like, I'm just

gonna go from this marshmallow roasting
activity to this mud eating activity.

And, uh, how, how did that come about?

What was going through your head?

Um, good, good question.

It was, it was kind of during that
time that I was, I was at the hotel,

uh, working and I, I really started
to get into this, this mindset

of, um, how far can I push myself?

Uh, how can I better myself every day?

And I really started to think that.

Uh, I kept, I kept repeating to myself
that mediocrity is the enemy, and I

wanted to combat that as hard as I could.

Um, and that's when I started to, to
think about maybe joining the military.

I was, uh, I was a little bit older.

I was 28 at the time.

Um, and so I got in a little bit later.

But yeah, I, part of that, part
of that decision making process

is I, I wanted to pursue something
where success was not guaranteed.

I wanted to try something that I could,
I could potentially give everything

I had and it still not be enough.

Um, that's, that's what appealed to me.

Uh, and so that's why I pursued, uh,
kind of the, the direction that I did.

So can you take me through that process?

Do you have to enlist in the Army
for a certain period of time before

actually trying out for the green
braze, or can you just say, look

it, I'm, I'm gonna go straight in
and see if I can, if I can cut this.

They, uh, so they, the US Army, um,
put together a program, uh, a long

time ago called the 18 X-Ray Program.

So special forces guys, their
moss or their jobs in the

military are, are all 18 series.

And so the 18 x-Ray, uh, contract
is, uh, if you, if you meet certain

qualifications as a civilian
and say, Hey, I want to enlist.

This is the job I want to pursue.

It's a, it's, it's them saying that they
will give you an opportunity to try out.

Um, and so that's what I wanted
and when I spoke with a recruiter,

I was like, Hey, this is kind
of the direction I went ahead.

And again, I was a little bit older
and, and I wasn't just, you know,

some, some 19 year old that saw
Rambo too many times, although I

have seen Rainbow too many times.

Yeah.

Right.

Uh, so he, he, he understood that I had
kind of thought through the process and,

and done, done my research, uh, and he was
like, okay, yeah, let's, let's do that.

Uh, interestingly though, uh,
I had, I had a knee surgery

when I was in, in eighth grade.

Uh, and so when I went to meps, which
is like the, the military interesting

processing situation or, or whatever,
uh, where they, where they do like

psychological and physical, uh,
exams on you to ensure that you're

fit to serve the, in the military.

Hmm.

When, when I got brought into one
of the doctor's offices, uh, he

was like, Hey, um, I'm, I'm excited
that you want to go Special forces.

I worked with a couple of those guys.

They're awesome.

Uh, and he is looking through
my kind of medical record and

he is like, hold on a second.

Uh, and then he pulled a big book off the,
off his shelf and he is looking at it and

he is like, Hey, I'm, I'm sorry to tell
you this, but because of your knee surgery

when you were younger, they actually
removed part of your meniscus, uh, and

that, um, that disqualifies you for any
kind of airborne contract, uh, which is,

which is part of the 18 x-Ray contract.

And I was like, what
are you telling me doc?

He says, well, unfortunately I can't
give you an 18 x-ray contract from here.

Uh, and I was just devastated
cuz uh, it's kidding.

It's Alexa.

I spent, you know, a year training
up and then reading a ton of books

and then working with my recruiter.

Uh, and so I was, I was
just pretty bummed out.

Um, I was like, thank
you sir, I appreciate it.

Uh, and he wish me luck.

And I went out to my recruiter and I, and
I was told him kind of what was going on.

He was like, Hey, I, they won't give
me an 18 x-ray contract from here.

And my recruiter kind of looked at me,
he was like, well, you, you could just

go 11 Bravo, which is an infantryman,
and hopefully pick up an 18 x-ray

contract wallet basic, and mm-hmm.

It was a bit of a, a bit of a gamble,
but I was like, okay, let's go for it.

And, and that's what I did.

So I, I enlisted as a, as an infantryman
and, uh, it was several weeks into

basic, uh, I, we were all, I remember,
we were all outside, uh, as a platoon.

Uh, and we were.

Learning about some weapon system, and I
hear one of the drill sergeants call my

name and I was like, oh, you never wanna
hear a drill sergeant call your name.

No.

So, so I kinda, I was just
kinda hoping that I misheard.

Uh, and so I ignored it at first.

Uh, and then he called a little bit
louder and then I ran over to him

and I was like, yes, drill sergeant.

And he was like, those
guys wanna go talk to you.

So I look over and it was a, it was
a couple of SF recruiters, they'd

called me and, and a handful of
other guys over and they're like,

Hey, uh, do you want to try out?

I was like, absolutely.

Where do I sign?

Uh, and so that's, that's where
I picked up my x-ray contract.

So.

Wow.

There's always a way I found it doesn't
matter what it is, there's always a way,

whether that's finding another doctor
or exactly going through a side route in

order to get there if you want it enough.

There's always a way.

The one thing I've uh, learned though, is.

That sometimes you get to the final
destination and you look back and you

say, did the ends justify the means?

Right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Was this a worthwhile endeavor to get to?

If at first I thought, Hey, this is
great, this is what I want to do.

But you have to climb just an
almost insurmountable mountain to

get up there and you arrive all
broken and battered and beaten.

Um, you can always do it no matter what.

You can do it.

But the smart people are the ones who I
find who are able to look at that and say,

maybe there's a smarter way to get there.

Or does the ends justify the means
when I, when I finally achieve my goal?

Yeah.

No.

Did the ends justify the means for you?

Uh, I am, I'm thoroughly pleased
with how things worked out, uh, and

awesome part, part of my story because
it was somewhat difficult and kinda.

Uh, riddled with some uncertainty.

I, I appreciate it more.

And so going through selection and getting
picked up, and then three years in the Q

course, um, was, was a bit of a marathon.

Uh, so it's like the, the qualification
course is typically like a year and a

half or two years, unless you're a medic.

Uh, if you're a medic, they tack on
another nine months plus of, of medical

training and which is you, incidentally,
I was voluntold to be a medic.

So, so, uh, so, but, uh, again,
incredibly thankful for that opportunity.

Um, although I'm not in the, the medical
field anymore, uh, learning a lot about

trauma medicine, uh, was incredibly
interesting and, and fulfilling and,

uh, and it was the best job on the team.

Um, so I, I was, I was
incredibly thankful.

Uh, and looking back, my, I'm pleased with
the journey and I'm pleased with kind of

the difficulties that, that it was riddled
with, uh, and glad I ended where I ended.

So, So with the, the whole medical
thing always changing, they're always

coming up with new best practices.

You still feel like you got the, uh, the
medic side kind of, kind of down pat,

at least from where you were before.

Cause I know when I do a first eight
course, like a few weeks later,

I've lo I've forgotten most of it.

There.

There's a lot of things, even even
from the time of like beginning the med

course to the end, there were certain
practices that were already changing,

you know, within, within a year.

Um, and so, yeah, a lot of that stuff
is, is interesting because medicine

is always trying to improve itself,
uh, to make it more effective.

Um, but the kind of, the bread and butter,
I, I still feel pretty good about, like,

if somebody got shot in front of me or,
uh, I roll up on a car accident, I, I

still know how to put on a tourniquet
and, uh, put on chest seals if I need to.

And so some of those basic stuff,
uh, those basic things, I, I,

I've still, I've still retained.

I keep a med kit in my, in my truck,
uh, in case I roll up on something.

So, So if this all came easy peasy, if
you didn't have to go through the, uh,

the more difficult route to get there.

And I mean it, correct me if I'm
wrong, I think it's usually what, 61

weeks after sort of a pre-selection,
uh, process, uh, for a Green Beret.

Yeah, it's, uh, yeah, go ahead.

So yeah, if it all came super easy, would
it hold the same level of value for you?

I, I don't think so.

I think, I think that's why I liked
the process, and I think that's why,

uh, I'll tell you a little story.

So, yeah.

Uh, in two, 2018, uh, my buddy Travis
and I, uh, kind of on a, on a whim, he

was like, Hey man, I know a guy that's
climbing Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Do you want to come?

And I was like, yep, let's do it.

So the hell yes.

Uh, uh, so we're, we're climbing
and, and Kilimanjaro's is one of the.

One of the highest mountains in the world.

It's, it's the highest in Africa.

Mm-hmm.

And so if you're gonna hit all seven, you
have to hit Kilimanjaro at some point.

But it's not a very technical climb.

It's really, it's really just a walk.

Uh, there's no like, harnessing in or, or
like ice climbing or anything like that.

Uh, but the altitude will get to you.

It's like 19,000 plus feet.

Um, but so as, as we're, you know,
hiking, it takes several days

to get up and primarily because
of the, the acclimatization

process of, of the altitude.

So we were at base camp, it was the
night before we were gonna go summit.

Uh, and Travis and I were hanging out just
drinking coffee or whatever, and we hear

like a base camp, this guy just yelling.

And he had, and we were, we kind of both
perked up and we look over and he had

both fist, you know, thrust in the air.

And he, he was just stoked
and we could hear him.

He was like, I did it.

I summited the mountain.

Uh, and he and I, and Travis and I
kind of both looked at each other

because, uh, Without knowing it.

Like he and I were both kind of
thinking the same thing, which

was what's the next mountain?

Yes.

We hadn't even summited Kilimanjaro
yet, but we were al already thinking

of like, what's, what's the next
adventure we're gonna go on?

Because I think he and I, we
really enjoy the struggle.

We really enjoy the climb, whatever,
whatever the mountain may be,

whether literal or metaphorical.

Um, that's the process.

And the part that we like the
most is, is like the journey.

Uh, and, and the summit was
great, don't get me wrong.

It was, it was phenomenal.

Uh, but, but the, the struggle
to get there is kind of what

we liked the most, you know?

It.

One thing that I, I think about often.

So you've got a very strong social
media feed and you can see a marked

uptick at one point in your social
media where it really kind of, uh,

took off a lot of very positive, uh,
messages and good information in there.

There's gonna be links in this
podcast here, social media, so people

can see you and find and follow.

Awesome, awesome.

Yeah.

Um, but with that, there's always
the keep pushing, keep striving,

don't stop, grind hard, right?

Yeah.

Next mountain, keep going.

Um, I don't see a whole
ton of sit down, um, relax.

Right, right.

Look at your accomplishments
and appreciate them.

Um, and that there's a very difficult
dichotomy in there because when you're

sitting down and relaxing, you're
not accomplishing and you don't have

that next thing that you can then
sit down and relax and look back at.

How do you, how do you square that one?

Because I know a lot of people
can get really stuck in the grind

of trying to achieve and doesn't
matter what that mountain is.

I mean, even, even Everest,
if you summited that a few

years ago, uh, it's taller now.

Slightly taller, right?

So, I mean, just, just the way it
moves, you better go do it again.

Uh, that, that's a,
that's a good question.

Um, I've, I've found that like,
rest days, uh, from like working

out, I hate rest days and hey.

Yeah.

And, uh, part of that is probably
like, uh, maybe my personality or, or

maybe part of the indoctrination of
being on the teams and stuff of like,

you, you should be doing something.

Uh, sitting, sitting around
is like, what are you doing?

Um, got time to leave.

You got time to clean.

Right, exactly.

It's like, but pick up a broom.

Start sweeping, right?

Yeah.

Um, So to answer your question, kind
of where I am now, uh, and how I, how

I start to now enjoy a little bit more
of like the process by, by like sitting

and observing and resting a little bit.

I, I've outsourced the stuff that I hate
doing, um, or that I'm not very good at.

Uh, and so, uh, so kind of like my, my
whole social media thing, it, it blew up,

but by accident, I'm, I'm like, not trying
to be an influencer or anything like that,

but, uh, I was, I wanted to do coaching,
uh, after I got out of the military.

And so I started, I started putting
together like little videos on

TikTok or Instagram or whatever.

Um, but they, like, looking back,
uh, looking back, I think I was,

I was just kind of half-assing
it to say I did it to, to feel as

though I accomplished something.

Uh, but in actuality it was, it
wasn't a hundred percent effort.

And, and so, Uh, randomly, uh,
this kid, uh, reached out to me.

He was like, Hey, man, I'm a video editor.

I really like your message.

Uh, would you be interested in
maybe, uh, working together?

I could edit some, some videos for you.

I was like, sure, why not?

Uh, and because it's something
that he really enjoyed and

it's not, it's something that
I didn't particularly care for.

Uh, and so we, we worked together,
uh, recorded some things and a

couple of them took off, uh, and, and
that started to build the audience.

And I was like, oh, that was worthwhile,
uh, outsourcing the thing that,

uh, I'm not very good at, or, or.

Don't particularly enjoy to
somebody that is passionate

about it, uh, has paid dividends.

And so I started to do that, uh, with
some other things within my business too,

and it's starting to pay off as well.

Uh, which, so what does that mean?

It is now allowing me
more time to, to yeah.

Sit and, and kind of soak it up a little
bit and focus on the things that I'm

passionate about, uh, such as like the
one-on-one coaching and, and, you know,

being able to spend time with, with
the family and, and stuff like that.

Because I think there's a big
difference between just being

busy and being productive.

Mm-hmm.

And so I'm, I'm more concerned with
productivity, uh, even if that's, uh,

even if I have to outsource some of it.

Um, because grinding all day, I, I
respect that as long as it's productive.

If it's just doing it to be busy.

You're just spinning wheels, you're going
going a hundred miles an hour in nowhere.

You know what I mean?

Mm-hmm.

So, so that's kind of been my,
my philosophy and it's been a

learning experience for sure,
uh, through this process.

Yeah.

I'm still learning that one myself.

I mean, we've got some fantastic people
on board, on the Silvercore team, and,

uh, in the early days it was, uh, uh,
quite a learning process when you bring

people on board or people to help out.

And then essentially you have to
become a manager yourself, a manager

of the projects and of these people.

And the biggest thing that I
always look for is people that

can self-manage themself who don't
need somebody over their shoulder.

Cause I'm not a micromanager.

And I mean, truth be told, I'm not,
I'm not a great manager because

that's not where my passion is.

I can do it, but I'd much rather
have people who are passionate about

what they do, bring them on board
so they can do things that I'm.

I'm not capable of doing at their level.

So that Right.

That was a huge learning
part for me as well.

Mm-hmm.

Um, within the Green Beret training
that you did, the attrition rate,

I mean, not everybody makes it on
that goes in, right, right, right.

Were you able to kinda look around at
the get-go and say, yeah, I got this,

or look around and say, I don't think
that person's gonna quite make it.

Were, were these things
identifiable to you at, at day one?

Um, that's a good question as well.

I, I think, cuz when I, when I
showed up to selection, I was,

I was an 18 x-ray at that point.

Uh, I had picked up the contract at
Basic, uh, and I was, I was there to try

to learn and offer as much as I could.

Um, so the, the 18 x-rays
are kind of known for.

Not being very smart on Army
stuff, which makes sense cuz they

haven't been in the army very long.

Um, sure.

But they're, they're pretty
strong, so they're the workhorses.

Uh, and so when it comes to like, portions
of selection, like team week and stuff,

um, the x-rays are like eager to work.

Like, yeah, put the load on my
back, I'll, I'll carry it forever.

Um, and so, and so, um, I don't know,
it's kind of word vomity trying to, to

answer your question, but like, I, I
did go in a little bit older and so I,

I had been around people before, not
necessarily in that setting, but, uh,

there were some guys that, um, yeah, I'm
like, man, I, there's something about

him that's, I don't wanna work with him.

Right.

And so, and, and selection is, is.

Yes, it's physical, but it's primarily
how well can you work on a team?

How well, uh, I mean,
that's a big part of it.

And then how well can you operate
in complete, uh, isolation?

So like, like the land nav
portion, you're, you're on your

own in the woods in the dark.

Um, how can, how well do you handle that?

Um, being introverted, I, I appreciated
Land A was probably my favorite part.

Cause I didn't have to, I didn't
have to rely on anybody else.

It was just on me.

Uh, which Right.

Which I enjoyed a great deal.

Uh, but also like team week and
stuff, it was, there were guys

that, um, man, how do I say it?

Uh, maybe showed up with ego, uh mm-hmm.

Um, and, and some of that may be
coming from kind of where they

were coming from within the army.

Um, I don't know.

They, there were guys you could tell that
like, I, I'm just not sure that you're.

I'm not sure you're
your team guy material.

Um, they're physically you're capable,
but I, I don't wanna work with

you and I'm not sure anybody else
would wanna work with you either.

Um, and so that, that costs some people,
I think some spots in selection for sure.

I've seen that show up sort
of as a false confidence.

I mean, some people, um, some people
say, oh, look at that person's

ego when they're just a very
confident, competent individual.

And that confidence might intimidate
somebody who's not as competent or

confident and they say, oh, his ego's
outta control, or her ego's outta control.

And there's a difference between that and
this false confidence of this bravado.

Yeah.

Ego up here, but the actual ability level
is may, maybe not, not where it should.

Yeah, I, I think that's, that's a
great way to put it, is that kind of

false confidence and, and bravado.

I, I definitely remember
seeing a lot of that.

I, I guess so, so, um, when these, when
these people who didn't make it, that

you probably saw from the get-go not
being able to make it, uh, were they

kind of relieved, like secretly relieved,
outwardly disappointed, secretly relieved?

I th good question that there were guys
for sure that, um, that they either bowed

out or were non-selected and, and they
would say things like, yeah, well I di I

don't think that life was for me anyway.

Um, sure.

Which is kind of like a, in some
cases that might be the case,

like, Not everybody wants to
be a Green Beret, uh mm-hmm.

And, and sometimes when you try
out it's because somebody expected

you to, or maybe somebody else
is putting their goals on you.

Hmm.

And so, so in some cases, I think
fewer than, uh, than what is

actually, uh, projected, but like
in some cases that is the case.

The lifestyle isn't for them.

Mm-hmm.

Um, but in other cases, I think,
uh, when they say that it's really

them trying to comfort themselves
for not making the cut or for

quitting, uh, quitting is, it happens.

Uh, and, and people bow out and, and they
get to a point where like, I just don't

want to ruck anymore, or I don't, I don't
want to walk through the woods alone

anymore, or I can't do this exercise.

And so Yeah.

When they, when they drop, uh, it's
like, yeah, I don't want the lifestyle.

Mm-hmm.

Maybe, or maybe.

Maybe you just had a moment of weakness,
you know, in this particular exercise.

Um, and the, the reason I'm asking
these questions, and I want to

concentrate more just to try and have
some chronological sureness to this.

I would like to concentrate more a little
bit about your time in the Army, but

I'm asking these questions cuz they will
relate to your coaching company as well.

Yeah.

Um, but you know, people who are quitting
the term, quitting has such a negative

connotation to it when in fact it's
probably the best thing that they could

be doing for themselves and for the
team as well, is by maybe moving towards

something that's more desirable for them.

Mm-hmm And that's the difficult dichotomy
that I think a lot of people have when

they look at, let's say in the social
media, gotta grind, gotta go here,

here's the next, uh, It's being able
to identify what is important for the

individual and how that individual
will be happy in their life moving

forward, and be able to affect those
around them in a positive way as well.

And if that means moving themselves,
themselves out of one situation, which

isn't really helping themselves or others
into one that's more desirable, quitting

one and trying something else, or moving
towards something else, I, I guess that's

all part of our, our, our journey here.

But I, I find that, uh, the mental
health side of things, if somebody

goes in for something like green bra
selection and they fail or they quit,

that's gotta loom heavy on their head.

Similar in a way that maybe some
of the people that you coach are

moving towards something and you
look at them and just identify.

This really isn't in your
personality or makeup.

Is this really something you want to do?

Right.

No, I, and that's actually where I start
with my coaching is, uh, because I, I

want to avoid traveling down a journey
towards a goal and then partway down,

yet you realize, oh, this, this actually
doesn't align with my value system.

This isn't really the kind
of person I want to be.

And so, so my, my first session
with folks is always, all right,

tell me who you want to become.

And I, and I focus in a couple
different areas like mental, physical,

emotional, social, and financial.

And my thought is if you can kind
of tackle each of those areas,

you can level up holistically.

Cuz it, if you, if you lack
discipline in one area, it kind of

bleeds over into all the others.

Um, and so I address each of those.

Again, session one is, all right, tell
me who you want to become in five years.

Like, what kind of man or woman do
you want to be in each of those areas?

Because that's the value system
on which we can stack all of your

goals, because that, that aligns
with who you want to be and not

what somebody else wants you to be.

No.

Do you ever ask them why, why they
want to be a certain person or?

Yeah.

Uh, sometimes I'll have to draw
out like, all right, where,

where is that coming from?

Like a, again, we want to avoid
having those, uh, goals being, uh,

forced on you, whether you know
it or not, by, by something that

is outside of, of who you are.

Um, whether it's like, cuz not
everybody wants a, a Corvette

and a mansion, you know?

Mm-hmm.

Um, and sometimes people start chasing
it because they're expected to.

To want it.

Uh, but then all they really wanted
was, you know, a cabin in the

woods and some isolation, you know?

Yeah.

Covais.

My kids would say, Hey, you know what?

Car is totally overrated.

I guess it's some quote from Hot Rod.

Uh, um, yeah, the, the getting to the
why and then being able to, uh, help

the people get to where they want to be.

Mm-hmm.

I would imagine going through what
you've gone through makes it really

easy for you to be able to quickly
identify those who will be able to push

hard and maybe those whose aspirations
might be a little bit different.

Yeah.

What, what were some of the most
difficult things that you had to

encounter through your selection
and time as, as a Green Beret that.

If you're able to look back and
tell young Chris to kind of help

prepare him for, you'd be able to
maybe offer a little bit of advice.

Sure.

The, I think the hardest part of the
whole Q course was how long it was.

Um, and I had to wake up every day
for, you know, for three years and,

and say, I still want this, you know.

Um, so it's selection is
as cliche as this sounds.

Selection was the easy part
because it was, you know, a

couple weeks and then you're done.

But then, but then you have,
you know, the marathon of the Q

course and, and all the phases.

Uh, and uh, when looking at that as a
whole, it can be rather daunting, um,

because it's, I, because essentially you
could put in all the time, and still at

the very end at Robin Sage, they say, we
don't want you, you know, Robin Sage is

the final, uh, field training exercise
to, to put, put all of your training

to use in like a, a, a big scenario.

Uh, and and I, I was at Robin
Sage with a handful of guys that

didn't make the cut and Wow.

After they spent years in the Q course.

So it's like, that is, that's tough.

Uh mm-hmm.

And so, so, uh, but that, that
process has really shaped how I do

things with, with my coaching is,
alright, start with the identity.

Who do you want to be?

In my case, I wanna be a Green Beret.

Uh, okay.

So what's the goal?

I want to, I want to achieve these
things while on an oda once I get there.

Uh, okay, so, so what does
that mean about today?

Uh, well that means I have to adjust the
way I exercise, adjust the way I eat.

Prioritize sleep.

You know, like that goal and
that identity down the road.

Um, had a, um, it had a, a direct
effect on, on my daily actions

because I knew what I wanted and
knew what I was striving for.

And that's, that's kind of the
model on which I, I base my whole

coaching is figure out who you
want to be, where you want to be.

All right.

And then I'll help you
figure out how to get there.

Cuz the Army's pretty good at
teaching you how to backwards plan.

And so, and so that's, that's kind
of what we do is, all right, tell me

the identity you want to accomplish
and then we'll figure out what we

gotta do today to make that happen.

I like the concept of prioritizing sleep.

Can you talk more on that?

Sleep.

I, I sometimes joke with people
that I train nine hours a day.

Um, and what I mean by that is I
spend an hour in the gym and then I,

I try to get eight hours of sleep.

Uh, and it's, it's that important,
uh, sleep is one of the.

Most, um, underutilized, uh, performance
enhancing activity you can do.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, it is like sleep is so important that
like muscle growth and, and mental growth,

like being able to recall things, uh, like
sleep is incorporated into all of that.

And, and if you don't get good
quality sleep, uh, you are really

just hamstringing yourself.

Uh, un unfortunately though, sleep is
one of the first things that you, you

start to, um, put on the back burner or,
or neglect, uh, when things get busy,

uh, which is unfortunate because, uh,
if you go long enough, With, uh, low

quality sleep, or you start actually
becoming sleep deprived, it's the

equivalent of walking around drunk.

Uh, and so like, how effective
can you really be, uh, when you're

inebriated, uh, due to lack of sleep?

You know what I mean?

Mm-hmm.

So, uh, unfortunately that was a
lesson learned a little bit too late.

Um, but I'm, I'm definitely trying to make
it more of a priority, uh, moving forward.

I, I, I use the, uh, the aura
ring, uh, which is a sleep tracker.

Uh, and the reason I got it is
because I, I believe that what

gets measured gets managed.

And so being able to like,
Accurately track kind of my sleep.

Not only schedule, but like quality of
sleep, uh, helps me adjust my, my daily

schedule in such a way that I can, I
can try to make that more of a priority.

What, what are your current priorities?

Uh, in general or for sleep?

Well, I guess in general.

Yeah.

Um, so my, I, I'll kind of run through.

My goals and my identities
that I'm shooting for.

So, so mentally, I, I
am a constant learner.

That's the identity that I'm striving for.

And so a lot of that was, I used
to wrap up that with the number

of books I could read in a year.

I was always shooting for like
a book a week, so hopefully Wow.

52 books a, a year.

Uh, and after a while I, I really
started getting wrapped around the axle

with the number of books I was reading.

And I've taken a step back and,
and reexamined that identity piece.

I am a constant learner, whereas
retaining information has

become more of the priority.

And so the number of books is less
important, but rather the quality, uh,

of books that I read and also the, the
amount of information I retain from 'em.

So that's my, my mental, uh, my mental.

Physically, uh, I look good
naked and I'm hard to kill.

That's kind of the identity
that I'm shooting for.

I love it.

So, uh, my, my thought behind
that, and some of that is like

residual from, from Army, you
know, like, try not to die, right?

Yeah.

Uh, but I think there's something to
be said like when you, when you hop

outta the shower and you're looking
in the mirror, if you're proud of what

you see, that, that is a testament to
your, your daily actions and habits

over the past, you know, years.

Uh, fitness isn't
something you can cram for.

It's something that, that requires
long-term planning and, and discipline.

Uh, and so, so the look good naked
part is, part of that is like,

all right, the look good naked is,
it's, it's funny to say, but it's

really just like, am I disciplined?

Am I consistent?

Mm-hmm.

Um, the hard to kill part.

Uh, again, part of that
is, is really like.

Being able to withstand whatever
life throws at me, whether that's,

you know, motor vehicle accidents
or, or just disease in general.

The healthier you are, the harder
it is for life to kill you.

Uh, and so, so that's, that's kind of
what I'm shooting for, uh, emotionally.

Uh, I am the calm,
calmest man in the room.

That's, that's what I'm striving by.

That's the identity that I want to be.

And primarily because I think in
moments of chaos, it's the people

that remain calm, they're the ones
that are able to solve the problem.

Uh, and that's, and that's what I, I
want to, I want to try to be that guy.

Uh, if, if chaos shows up
or, or a situation arises,

that is incredibly stressful.

I wanna be able to want, I wanna
be the one that takes a breath

and starts solving the problem
and working through a solution.

Mm.

Um, So those are, those are a
couple of the, the identities and

goals that I'm, I'm striving for.

And, and those are important to me
because, uh, uh, again, it's again,

going through my training, having
that identity in the, in the, in

the distance that I'm aiming for is,
is what dictates my daily actions.

And I'm, I've tried to establish, uh,
those similar identities to, to help

dictate what I do on a daily basis.

Now, I think you mentioned you had a.

Yes.

Uh, I've got, uh, two daughters.

Uh, they keep me on my toes for sure.

So a 16 year old and a,
uh, almost nine year old.

Uh, wow.

And they, they're a handful for sure.

So driving in just about nine
years old, getting, getting

close to high school there.

Yeah.

So it's, uh, they, they're,
they're pretty incredible.

Uh, and my, my nine year old, I
brought her to, to jiu-jitsu one day.

Uh, I, it was one Saturday I had
her and I was like, Hey, come, come

watch me train, uh, in the dojo.

And she's like, okay.

Uh, and she's, she's sitting
there watching me and I'm,

I'm just a white belt.

So I'm getting smashed most of the,
most of the practice anyway, but.

I, I can kind of hold my own.

I have a, a wrestling BA background
and stuff, but, uh, when it was all

said and done, she, she was like,
you looked ridiculous out there.

Like, thanks honey.

Thanks kiddo.

Appreciate it.

I'll try better next time.

So love the support.

Yeah.

Great.

She, she's a savage, so, well, you
get unfiltered honesty, which is,

you couldn't ask her much more.

Yeah, I, I do appreciate the
feedback, so at least she's

gonna shoot me straight, so.

Exactly.

You know, that, um, do you follow
a similar plan with your family

in raising your children and
family, uh, goals and settings?

Is that something that,
uh, you have in place?

Uh, I try to, I have found, uh, and maybe.

Particularly with daughters.

Um, but if it's not their
idea, it's not a good idea.

So, so I have to try to like socially
engineer situations where my ideas, uh,

seem as though they were their ideas.

If, if that makes sense.

I've got a daughter and a son
and, you know, I can kind of

relate to that a little bit.

But, um, and the reason I ask,
you know, I've, I've always taken

the approach of, uh, doing similar
goal setting and planning with

the family and with the kids.

And what is it you're interested in now?

I mean, they don't have to have
it figured out for the future.

Sure.

I mean, how stressful would that be?

I still don't have things figured out.

Right.

And most people I know are, will
reinvent themselves a number of times

throughout life, but Absolutely.

But to be able to kind of identify
your core values and what's valuable

to you, and add one person, say,
how heartless are you, you, you're,

you're going to, you want to put
together essentially a business plan

for your family and for your kids.

And I look at 'em and say, well,
how heartless are you to not, not

want to plan these things, to not
want to just leave it up to chance.

What might happen might happen for them.

And I, and I, I think there's a general.

Uh, idea in society that having
plans and being prepared is, um,

is very analytical and lacks heart.

And I, I've never seen that.

I, I think if you care for something
deeply, then you're gonna use that heart

to put a plan in place so it's protected
and it's got the best possible ability

to thrive and survive in the future.

And, uh, I think, uh, the people that
I've explained that to have kind of

come around to my way of thinking either
that or they're just playing nice to my

face, but now I, I think you're spot on.

Uh, and, um, if you don't.

If you don't dictate, uh, the direction of
your life, life will just happen to you.

And then you're just on your heels
reacting to it for the rest of your life.

Mm-hmm.

And so, yeah, I I think you're a
hundred percent correct and, uh,

talking specifically to, to my, my
older daughter is like, yeah, what,

what kind of woman do you wanna become?

Like what, what kind of
person do you want to be?

Um, because that's, that is important.

Otherwise, otherwise, like your value
system just kind of, it just kind of

happens because you're reacting to life.

And, um, I'm gonna butcher this, but
I'll try to paraphrase it, but it, I,

I heard a quote a while ago that, um,
ethics and, and morals are needed long

before the moment of crisis shows up.

Like you need to have kind of those
rules and guidelines kind of in place,

that value system already in place.

So when, when that morally questionable
situation arises, you already have a, a.

A guide, uh, a guideline to follow.

You're not trying to figure out, all
right, what kind of person am I gonna

be in the moment of, of, of crisis?

Um, and so, yeah, I, I
totally agree with you.

I think dictating how your life
goes is, is, uh, significantly

better than reacting to life.

Yeah.

And you know, I, I remember hearing a
couple of politicians, I forget where this

is going back a number of years, and, um,
and the term situational ethics came up.

Yeah.

And another guy says, what's that?

What situational ethics?

It's like, well, you know, I
mean, well your ethics will change

based on what the situation is
because there might be different.

Like, no, you have your ethics and
you apply them to the situation and

then it just makes everything so easy.

Right?

It's, it's so easy to make a decision.

I know what my value system is.

I know where my ethics lie.

I know what's on the outside of my
boundaries, what's in the no-go zone.

I know what's in the go zone.

If the situation falls in the
go zone, we go, if it's in the

no-go zone, problem solved.

Exactly.

Yeah.

No, I, I totally agree with that.

Absolutely.

Um, so.

I'm looking at your bookshelf in
behind, and that was one of the

things I was gonna ask you about too,
because you're a voracious reader.

For, for my own edification, I would
love to know how you're working on

the retaining part of what you read.

Because for me, sometimes
some things just stick.

Numbers tend to stick
names, usually not quotes.

For some, for some reason, some quotes
will just bang stick in my head.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, but so often I find myself just
sitting there like trying to recall

something, trying to get something
and I, I, and my God, I know there's

something, uh, deep or impactful or
that I thought I should know it, but

the, the recall just isn't great.

What are you doing for that?

Uh, so I, I still, I, I actually
consume a lot of books through Audible,

um, cuz it's, it's easier for me,
like if I'm working around the house

or on, on a drive or whatever, it's.

I just consume a lot that way.

Um, but in regards to the retention,
uh, instead of trying to totally

absorb every paragraph, every chapter
of the whole book, I, I really am

just looking for the one thing, uh,
whatever the one thing is in a book

that will make the book worthwhile.

Uh, whatever, you know, $15 I paid
for the book, what's the one piece

of information I can glean from it
that will make it, uh, worth reading?

And so that's what I try to focus on.

And, and the books that I really
enjoy, I'll re-listen to or reread,

um, because there's probably
more than just the one thing.

There's probably a one thing
the second time I read it,

uh, whatever that might be.

Um, and so I, I focus less on, on trying
to, you know, take notes on, on every

chapter, but rather like, all right.

If, if I had to, if I had to pitch this
to somebody else, uh, and I do that a

lot of that of like, Hey, hey buddy, you
should definitely check out this book.

Uh mm-hmm.

If I had to pitch it to somebody
else, what's the one thing I

would say, uh, would, would,
was making the book worthwhile?

Uh, and that's what I try to focus on.

Which books particularly stand out
to you, which are ones that you've

had to go through a couple of times
because there's some information

that you've found valuable?

Sure.

Um, my absolute favorite book is
Atlas Shrugged by Iron Rand Anne Rand.

Yeah.

She, so she is my favorite philosopher,
uh, if it's hard to see, but I, I have

a lot of her stuff, uh, on my shelf.

Um, so I, I try to listen to Atlas
Shrugged at least once a year.

It's like un audible.

It's about 52 hours long.

Mm.

So, so I listened to it at like
one and a half times speed to

shorten it, but, uh, but, uh, it's.

It's my favorite book.

Um, I think primarily, at
least this time I listen to it.

It's, it's because it gives you
permission to be proud of the work you

do, uh, and not, not try to invoke a, a
false sense of modesty or, uh, feel bad

about being really good at something.

Um, and ah, and taking pride in the fact
that, uh, you're good at something and

it should be okay to say that out loud.

Uh, and, and it's okay for, for you to
acknowledge your own achievement and

your own ability and not try to hide it.

Um, I think it's important for people to,
to take pride in their work and take pride

in, in the kind of people that they are.

Uh, I think work, uh, how you do
anything is how you do everything.

And so work is really just a reflection
of your character on some, on some level.

Mm-hmm.

Um, uh, like the.

The phrase it's good
enough for government work.

I, I used to hate that phrase, so, because
I'm like, no, it's, I mean, yes, I, back

when I was in the Army, yes, I worked for
the government, but that's Sure the work

is a reflection of me, not the government.

Uh, and so I, I used to hate
it when people say that.

Um, so anyway, that's Atlas Shrugged.

Is, is definitely up there.

Um, I'm gonna take a quick
peek at my, my shelf here.

Uh, 48 Laws of Power by Robert Green.

That's phenomenal.

Um, some other, uh, self-improvement
books would be like Atomic Habits, um,

by James Clear, uh, unscripted by MJ
demarcos is an excellent finance book.

Um, thinking Grow Rich is great.

Uh, Napoleon Hill.

So, yeah, I've, I've got a couple,
so if, if you are looking for

book recommendations, I, I could
probably compile a list for you.

Okay, sounds good.

You know, I remember had, uh, Atlas
shrugged on, uh, the bookshelf as a

kid growing up, and I picked it up a
number of times I was gonna read it

and my father kept saying, ah, you
don't wanna read anything from her.

And I, I have no, I have no idea
what was in there, but apparently he

had some strong opinions on, on it,
and I don't even know why it was on

our bookshelf, if that's the case.

Uh, she, she has been pretty divisive,
uh, throughout, uh, her, her time

as an, as an author and philosopher.

Uh, and I, I'll probably catch some,
some heat just for calling her a

philosopher, but, uh, but that's okay.

Uh, well, you know, particularly I know
a lot of high achievers and particularly

those who, uh, work on teams or work
together with the teams, uh, pride.

That's one of the more difficult things,
and I've struggled with that myself.

Someone will say, oh wow, look at
these great things you've done.

And I'll deflect say, well, yeah,
but I've got, I've got a great team.

I've got some great people.

And it's all so true.

And I truly believe that, um, for me,
just to say thank you and move on is

something that I'm actually working on.

Right.

Not try and make an excuse,
not try and, um, downplay it.

Or I always, I always personally feel
the need to recognize everyone else

who assisted me in being where I am,
because I don't personally look at my

achievements as anything super great.

And I know others who are high
achievers that think the same way.

And you're saying it's
important to be proud?

I, I think so.

Uh, and, and I'm the same way.

And I, I still do that as like,
uh, I deflect and say no as,

as definitely a team effort.

Uh, whatever.

Um, but, and it's true and, and a
hundred percent true, absolutely.

But it, it is important to acknowledge
that your, um, your ability to produce

excellence, uh, is, is a thing of value.

Uh, and you should acknowledge that
and, and you should take pride in that.

And, and I think, I think if that was
more ingrained in people, like being

proud of, of actual excellence, being
proud of like actual achievement in one's

life, uh, would, would probably make more
people pursue excellence and try to be

excellent in, in the things that they do.

Um, and, um, yeah, so I, I, yeah,
I think, I think being proud of the

things that you, you do, uh, is a good
motivator, uh, for you to, to try to be

excellent in the things that you pursue.

I was always raised very much
to the contrary in that if you,

if you're, if things are going
well, you better not advertise it.

You better not be proud about it and,
uh, better downplay it and, right.

It's just, just a, just a weird,
weird way of doing things.

But it brings me back to your, uh,
what you're saying earlier about

you haven't even summited the
mountain yet and you're thinking

about where the next one is, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

You haven't had a chance to even celebrate
the achievement of what you've worked

so hard for and you're looking for the
next journey or adventure or challenge.

Yeah.

Celebr and I, and I find that a lot
of people, myself included, will fall

victim to that, and it's something
that I work really hard on, is to try

and celebrate achievements when they
come up and say, we work damn hard.

We got there.

Here's what we learned.

Now let's celebrate and.

Recoup and maybe quick rest,
and then what's the next goal?

Yeah.

How important is that, do you feel?

Is it celebrating the achievements?

I, I think, I think it is important
and, and kind of being on that mountain,

uh, and looking back, uh, it, it did
make me realize like being present,

uh, is, is an important part of life.

Uh, and whether that's, uh, to
celebrate achievement or to to deal

with grief, um, being present in
the moment, um, is pretty vital.

Um, so, so yeah.

But I, I think, I think it's very
possible to couple that with, uh,

looking for the next adventure.

Um, uh, so

I, I was a green bere in the
United States Army, which is, uh,

something I'm incredibly proud of.

Uh, I, it, it wasn't easy.

Uh, and so, I, I acknowledge that, that
that was kind of, uh, a cool thing that

I did in my life, but I, but I also don't
want that to be the where I peak, right?

I want it to be just a chapter in my book.

Um, so the same friend Travis,
uh, he and I have a, a game.

It's like, all right, who can
be the most interesting man?

And, and it's, it's kind of like,
I call it the Jimmy Fallon test.

So if you ever go on the, on the
Jimmy Fallon show and you're sitting

there talking with him, uh, what,
what are you gonna talk about?

How are you gonna be interesting?

Uh, how are you gonna
be an interesting guest?

And I.

Ideally, I want to get to the point
where, um, my military history,

uh, is, is just part of my story.

It's not like the whole story.

Mm-hmm.

Um, it's something that I'm incredibly
proud of again, but, uh, I want it to be

like, oh yeah, I, I was in the Army, uh,
a couple years ago, so don't forget that.

Yeah.

This Travis guy sounds
like a pretty cool person.

Great name.

He's, he's right.

He's, he's, and he hates when
I say this, but he is the

smartest guy I know for sure.

Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely.

So, uh, he's a good guy for sure.

You know, maybe aside from a couple of
my friends, I'd say most of my friends

are, are definitely smarter than myself.

And I, I like, I like the fact that
I can hang around with people who

bring so much more to the table or
who can bring, who are able to assist

me in areas where I may be deficient.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

And I guess speaking of that, what
areas in yourself cuz are, are you

looking towards, what books are you
looking to read to try and fill some

of the gaps of where you recognize
that you could use some extra work on?

Sure.

Uh, so this new adventure that I'm on is,
is being a business owner and, and kinda,

uh, not, not working for the government.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, that has been an incredibly
interesting learning process.

It's, it's definitely a, a new adventure.

It's not jumping out of airplanes, but
it's definitely keeping me on my toes.

And so in, in that regard,
there's so much that I don't know

that I don't know, uh mm-hmm.

And so ev every day something
comes up it's like, oh, I didn't

even know that was a thing.

I should probably, I should
probably look into that.

So, yeah.

Uh, and, and so that's, that's
kind of been exciting, uh, and.

And some of, so to answer your
question, some of the things that

I, I've had to work on is, uh,
I'm, I'm definitely an introvert.

Uh, I could, I could sit in my house
alone all weekend and not speak to another

person and be 100% fine the whole time.

And, and I'm actually relatively
shy, uh, speaking in front of people.

Uh, and so, uh, doing things like this
is, is great for me because it, it kind

of pushes me, uh, out of my comfort zone.

Um, and it's, and it's fun to
connect with people, but, uh, it's

so learning how to articulate things
and, and speak in such a way that

people understand what I'm saying.

And, uh, and I'm not stuttering
the whole time, uh mm-hmm.

Uh, and then also, um, being on phone
calls, uh, not just with clients,

but with people that are interested
in potentially working with me.

Mm-hmm.

That's, that's exhausting to me.

And so learning how to, um, And build
in time throughout the day that, uh, as

I'm on the phone, uh, getting to know
strangers, essentially, uh, building

in times that I, that I could run to
the gym, which is in my garage and, and

bang out, you know, a set of bench press
or something to, to kind of mm-hmm.

Um, uh, decompressor or
whatever the case is.

Um, so this whole journey has been
a kind of a learning process and

something that I'm, I'm trying
to, uh, improve on in all areas.

So, you know, fellow past podcast
guest, Brad Brooks, he owns

the company called Our Galley.

Um, and I look at him and
like, he's sharp as a whip.

He is athletic and he is, uh,
successful in his business and outgoing.

And he says, same thing.

He says, I'm an introvert,
right about himself, right?

And, uh, I'm, I look at myself,
I'm, I'm thinking like, what

am I an introvert extrovert?

And he says, well, I'll tell you what, if.

If you go into a group situation
and that gives you energy,

you're probably an extrovert.

If you go into a group situation
and you feel drained at the end of

it, you're probably an introvert.

And I'm like, okay, well under
that sort of a definition, I'm

a hundred percent an introvert.

You know, the funny thing he says,
I'm talking with other influencers,

or create content creators and people
that are out there in the social media

field or putting their face out there.

And he says, by and large, all of them
are the same and they're all introverts.

And and I find that really, really odd
that all of these different introverts

will get out there and they'll put their
face and put their voice out there.

And I'm wondering if they're
doing it for sort of the same

reasons as you've articulated.

Mm-hmm.

Which are similar to
the reasons why I do it.

I want to bring value to the audience.

I wanna bring value to the guest.

And it's a challenge for myself
to push myself into these new

situations with new people.

And what a great way to connect with
other positive, like-minded individuals.

Like that's, that's the
whole, whole purpose here.

And I've, I've also noticed
that the guests of the podcasts

have, uh, begun networking.

There's the people that have been on
past podcasts that are, uh, bringing

each other up and embarking on
endeavors that are helping others,

as are the audience of people who
really get involved in the audience.

All of a sudden they're interacting with
past guests and past, uh, listeners, and

I'm really enjoying the positivity and
the process of watching all of the, the

growth that that's happening with this.

Mm-hmm.

It sounds like your, your
journey that you're taking is

bringing you the same enjoyment.

Uh, it, it is And, and I'm,
I'm, yeah, very similar.

I, I enjoy, I mean, there.

There's plenty of negativity in the world
and I don't want to contribute to that.

So, so if I can, if I can bring a little
positivity and, and connect with people

and then connect people together, uh,
in such a way that, uh, we're making

as cliche as I said, we're making the
world a little bit better, uh, a little

bit, a little bit more positive than
I, I'm totally down with that for sure.

Well, you've got a Facebook group as well,
and that's something I've noticed cuz

I, I joined your Facebook group mm-hmm.

And I'm just kind of, I don't really do
the social media thing very well, so I,

I see things as they pop up, but not only
are you providing people opportunities

for growth, but I see the people within
the group are able to now network

with other like-minded people Yeah.

Who have similar goals and aspirations.

Mm-hmm.

What a cool thing that must be to
watch a and that was the whole point

of the group is, um, So my, my whole
philosophy is, is three phased, so

the, the phoenix, the serpent and the
tribe, uh, the Phoenix is in reference

to a, a parachute malfunction story.

Uh, that, uh, I posted a video on
a while ago, but let's hear it.

I saw, I saw it, but the
audience will want to hear it.

Fair enough.

Uh, no.

Full in there.

I was, uh, so I was on a, uh,
after I, I left Germany, uh,

I was there for three years.

I, I went to a military free fall team
in, in, uh, in Fort Carson, Colorado.

And, and the best group of
guys I've ever worked with.

Uh, but their whole job is to jump out
of airplanes from high altitude with

oxygen, mass and all their equipment,
um, deploy their parachutes and then land

together as a team at a specific spot.

Uh, and I was a little
rusty with, with free fall.

I hadn't done it in a while, but, My
first event with the team was, uh, to

go down to Arizona for Requalification
to make sure everybody was spun

up and, and doing the right thing.

And I was with a bunch of senior
guys that they really knew how

to, they, they were sky gods.

They, they knew how to
fly in the, in the sky.

Hmm.

Um, so, uh, Monday is the, the first
jump, uh, it's Hollywood style, which

is really just you and a parachute
and, and you jump out of the airplane.

And I was middle of the stack because,
uh, I was kind of the new guy on the.

I exit the aircraft, turn on
heading, check my altitude,

pull my rip cord, no issues.

It's just like riding a bike.

Uh, and so I was pretty stoked.

And so as the week progressed,
uh, you just started adding

more equipment to yourself.

Uh, and then by the end of the week on
Friday, you're doing wall locker jumps,

which is everything that's in your wall.

Lockers now strapped to you.

So, so it's, you know, a r between your
legs, rifle across your, your waist,

you got your oxygen tank, your your
mask, uh, your parachute, obviously.

Um, and so that's how we were, we
were loaded up, uh, in the aircraft.

And, um, A again, I, I hadn't had
any issues throughout the week.

Uh, felt really good.

Um, I was in middle of the stack again
and, uh, I, I get to the edge of the ramp,

uh, I exit the aircraft, turn on heading,
check my altimeter, pull, rip cord.

Everything goes fine.

I look up and I've got line twists.

And all that means is like the, the lines
from my harness to the chute are twisted.

Mm-hmm.

Isn't a huge deal.

It's kind of a, a normal malfunction.

And all you do is you, you grab
those risers and you pull 'em

apart and kind of bicycle kick your
legs and you eventually unwind.

Um, uh, our parachutes are
designed in such a way that as you

fall, it creates forward drive.

They're designed more like a
wing than just like a, a circle.

Mm.

So as I was untwisting, my wi my
lines, uh, the parachute kinda

pendulum swung me out sideways.

So I was almost horizontal to.

In relation to the Earth.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, and now I was creating forward
drive down towards, towards the ground.

Uh, and so I'm still twisted, so I
don't have any control over my, my brake

lines, so I can't control the canopy.

Uh, and now I'm starting to spiral hor in,
re horizontal in relation to the earth.

Uh, and I'm just like whipping around.

Uh, my, my team sergeant
at the time counted.

He said, I, I, I spun
around like nine times.

Um, and so by the end, like.

The Gs I was pulling, like my, my,
my vision was really starting to

close in and I was, I was in trouble.

Uh, a more senior guy would've
after like the second spin, would've

just cut his main parachute away
and, and deployed his reserve.

Um, uh, and I should have done that.

Uh, and there's probably a,
a sermon in there somewhere.

So, but, uh, but uh, I rode that
wave out and finally, uh, my lines

untwisted and I grabbed my brake
lines and yanked them, and I leveled

out, uh, and whi, which was great.

Now I'm flying a canopy,
but I was super dizzy.

Like, I, like I was looking
all over and the world was

still spinning in, in my eyes.

Um, and so everybody's calling over
the radio like, Chris, turn around.

Go the other way.

No, your other left turn, turn around.

And it was just a bunch of radio chatter
looked down at your G p s and I was

looking at my, my equipment on my chest.

And it's just spinning
cuz I'm still so dizzy.

Uh, and then finally, finally, there's
a, a break, uh, in the radio chatter.

And Matt sup, super
senior guy on the team.

He's a good friend of mine.

He's like, Chris, turn towards the sun.

Uh, and I look over my left shoulder.

I bank a hard left turn.

And, um, about that time my
buddy Andy kind of swos in, in

front of me so I can follow him.

And so then I'm back on course
and I land with the team.

Um, so, so the Moralist story is have that
thing in the distance that you can kind

of aim towards to get you back on track.

But, but why is that called the
Phoenix phase in my coaching program.

So, uh, later on when Matt and I went and
got beers, he was like, Hey man, uh, so.

Your, your parachute has a device in it
that if you're falling at, at terminal

velocity and you're unconscious,
it'll fire, it's called a cypress.

It'll fire and deploy your reserve
automatically so you don't have to pull

your rib cord, but you have to be falling
at a certain rate for it to, to deploy.

Um, mm-hmm.

But due to the configuration in which
I was spinning, I wasn't falling

fast enough for that to have worked.

And so I would've burned into
the ground like a Phoenix.

That's what he referred to it as.

So that's, wow, that's the Phoenix face.

Uh, and, and again, the whole
point of that, that story when

I tell clients and stuff is, is.

When, when chaos is amidst your daily
life, when you can't tell which way

is up or, or where anybody is, have
something in the distance that's big and,

and able to aim at, and then, then you
can at least maintain a good azimuth,

uh, and the direction of your life.

So, so that's longwinded winded.

Uh, I love that for, for
Phoenix, but that's phase one.

So phase two is the serpent and
it's, it's in reference to the

aura Boris, which is the, the snake
that's eating its own tail snake eat.

Yeah.

So, so my, I heard a good
explanation on, on, uh, on that

symbol, the, the war Boris.

And, and that is as the snake devours
itself, it destroys the parts of

itself that are no longer necessary
and the parts of itself that are no

longer serving itself, uh, in order
to provide nourishment to grow.

So that's like phase two of, of my
coaching program is like, let's eliminate

the things that aren't serving us
in order to give us the strength to

continue to grow on, on our journey.

And then, uh, the last phase is the
tribe, um, surrounding yourself with

people that are on the same journey as
you, uh, in order to progress forward

and to ensure that they will call you
out if you are not measuring up to the

standard which you set for yourself.

Uh, and again, this is a long-winded
answer to say that's what, that's what

the, the intent behind the Facebook
group is, is, is it's a built in tribe.

So when, when you are able to, or when
you want to share kind of some of the,

the goals that you have for yourself,
you have a community around you that are

supporting you and, and then also calling
you out if you're not measuring up.

You know, everyone's gonna be on a
different point in their journey, I should

imagine, once they come in to the tribe.

Sure.

Some people have been in
the tribe for a long time.

Some are brand new, and their value
system might be different in what

they've, as is typically common.

As you further along on a journey,
you're able to recognize things

from a different perspective.

Sure.

Um, do you find that there's, uh,
heavy moderation that's required?

Or is your, are these I I haven't had any
moderation issues in the group so far.

Uh, everybody has been really supportive.

Um, when I try to do like a, uh,
have everybody post their, their

wins and challenges on Mondays.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, Monday's a, a good way to, to
start the week off with like, all

right, let's, let's get motivated.

Um, And the responses in there
is overwhelmingly positive, uh,

from people that don't even know
each other, just like mm-hmm.

When they're, when they're
experiencing challenges, uh, there

is support there from, from others.

Uh, which, which is, which is the
intent behind the whole group is,

um, again, support, but also keep
each other accountable to the

commitments you've made to yourself.

There was a study done, I think it was the
largest of its kind, was it in Ireland?

I'm trying to, for, I'm trying to
remember where this was done, but ma

massive, massive data set that they
accumulated information from trying

to identify sort of the, the people
who identify as happy, the happiest

people in life, and what are the things
that, that they have or that they're

doing that brings happiness to them.

And the number one indicator at the
end of this study apparently was,

Strong social connections, whether
that be family, whether that be

friends, having a strong social group.

And in this day and age of social media,
which a lot of times really isn't social,

it's sort of a comparative matrix.

Exactly.

The comparison is the thief of joy.

Right, right.

Um, having that strong social network
is one of the things that they identify

that if people can come back home
at the end of the day and have a

family that they can, uh, meet with
on the regular every week, or have

the friends that they meet and have
that, that regularity and consistency,

they're gonna identify as as happy.

Mm-hmm.

But the one thing that kind of hits me
is most people are gonna be friends with

individuals that they've known for a
long time, and they may grow and progress

in life, just like the people in your
group might be further down that path.

And other people might not, and there
is a difficult decision that might,

might need to be made at times of who
do we want to continue to allow to be

in our social circle If all they're
bringing is negativity and problems all

the time and they're not doing anything
to help themselves, the group or us.

Is that something that you've
had to encounter or deal

with in some of your clients?

Uh, yes.

In some of my clients,
but also with myself.

Um, I like really, really good friends
that have been friends for years.

I've had to, uh, not cut them out of
my life, but be okay with spending

less time and energy with them.

Uh, for, for the reasons you just stated.

Uh, they, they've got a problem
for every solution and, uh, are not

interested in setting themselves up
for success, but would rather, uh, But

would rather just take the time to, to
blame anything and everything other than

themselves for their current situation.

And it doesn't mean I don't love them.

Mm-hmm.

It doesn't mean I don't care about them.

It doesn't mean I'm, I don't root
for them when they are successful,

but it's, I, I'm on a, I am on a
path, uh, towards the betterment of,

of myself and the people around me.

And if, if you don't wanna
participate, uh, on that journey

in a, in a constructive way, then,
uh, I, I'm gonna have to leave you

where you are and continue journey.

Mm-hmm.

Which, which is, it's not easy.

It's not easy, uh, particularly
kind of coming from where I came

from, which is like, you know, never
leave a fallen comrade, you know?

Um, but, but it's almost like
triage, uh, you know, there's,

there's people with injuries that
are easily, um, Easily dealt with.

There's people with injuries that are
gonna require some major surgery, um,

but they're, they are able to be saved.

And then there's people that
are, regardless of what you're

gonna do, who are gonna die.

I mean, that's, mm-hmm.

That's the triage process.

Um.

Mm-hmm.

And, uh, if, and I'm not, I'm not saying
that there isn't still hope, uh, for them

to, to move forward or the people that
are in your life that are, uh, struggling.

I'm not saying that, but like, sometimes
you have to do a little bit of a triage

and, and, you know, um, how much energy
and time are, are you willing to devote

towards, uh, somebody that, um, Isn't
interested in healing themselves either.

You know what I mean?

That that's a big thing for me.

And, you know, the best predictor of
future performance is past performance.

And if that pass, they might say all
the right things, but do all the wrong

things consistently over and over again.

Right.

And there's, there's, there's only so
long that you can play the fool and

be like, okay, I'm gonna keep helping.

Okay, I'll bail you out
until finally you have to.

Like I say, I, you know, same as you.

There's people in my life love 'em.

I've known 'em for a long time.

But you have to make a decision as
to where your time is best spent.

Exactly.

And if that's gonna be bringing you
down and your, those around you down

and creating a, an environment, I
mean, if you look into the abyss

long enough, it'll look back at you.

That ain't saying.

Right.

And uh, um, now I, I've heard.

And, and it's true if you, the more you
look into it, the more it becomes you.

Some of your friends'll
show you who you are.

Mind you, uh, I think Jordan Peterson
says, you just haven't looked into

the abyss long enough because you
will, you'll eventually see light.

And I, I guess what he's trying to say
on that is, and I'm totally speculating,

I guess he's trying to say that once you
look into something long enough, maybe

it's kind of like saying a word over and
over again where it loses all meaning.

If you're looking into something now,
you can compartmentalize it, remove

the emotion from it, and perhaps
look at it from all edges and kind

of see where it's gotta move to.

But um, sure.

Yeah.

Bit, bit of a tangent, but Yeah.

Likewise, difficult thing have
had to deal with, and I just

was curious on your perspective.

Yeah, it's, it's, it hasn't been easy.

Uh, but, but kind of to your
point, uh, a second ago, like,

uh, one of my more favorite quotes
is, uh, I, I never trust words.

I even question actions,
but patterns never lie.

Um, Ooh, I like that.

Yeah, no, I like that.

So, yeah, uh, looking at patterns is, is
particularly patterns of life, uh, is kind

of a good indicator of direction of life.

I never trust words, I'll
even question actions.

Yeah.

But patterns never lie.

Yeah.

I like that one.

I'm gonna steal that one.

I'm gonna borrow it.

Please do.

I stole it from somebody else.

So, um, so, you know, there's so many
other things I'm, I'm looking at here,

but, uh, you know, you are quoted as
saying small steps consistently are more

important than big strides, sporadic.

And that was one of the
things that I look at.

I love that quote.

Is that your quote or is that,
did you steal that one too?

I probably still, I, I try to, I
try to glean as much smart stuff

from other people as I possibly
can, but, uh, uh, it is something

I, I, I do believe in for sure.

Um, uh, it, like, it's like going to the
gym, uh, maxing out your first day in the

gym and not ever returning for, for like
three months and then maxing out again.

Versus, uh, putting a little bit
of weight on the bar and lifting

it with good form every day.

Uh, for three months, I is gonna
give you two different results.

Um hmm.

And, and that's, and that I
think is applicable in just

about any endeavor in life.

Um, I thi, uh, I just saw a TikTok,
uh, I think it was Jesse Itzler.

Um, he was like, if you spend a hundred
hours a year, Um, in any, in any endeavor,

um, which is only like 18 minutes a day.

Mm.

Uh, then than you are in the top like
5% of, of anybody that's in that, that

particular field, whether it's golf or
writing or an instrument or anything.

Um, wow.

And, and something else I try to
tell people is like, look, you are

the, the master of your schedule
and um, an hour in the gym or an

hour reading is only 4% of your day.

If you can't devote 4%, uh, to better
yourself in some way, then uh, you

have, I think, Time priority issues.

Yeah.

Well, well you've ever watched that
movie The Edge with um, Anthony Hopkins.

Anthony Hopkins, yeah.

Yeah.

Anthony Hopkins.

Alec Baldwin.

Yeah, that's right.

Yeah.

And then you keep saying, well, one
man can do another Can do, right.

Ex.

Exactly.

Exactly.

Yeah.

In, in theory, that's correct.

What one man can do, what one person
can do, another person can do it.

That's a hundred percent in, in theory.

I mean, barring any physical
or, or, or mental barriers,

that might be a challenge.

But you can, there's gonna be
a way, there's gonna be a way

that you can figure that out.

Yep.

But clearly there are some
that don't believe in that.

Otherwise everyone would be doing it.

Right.

And this is why they would come
to somebody like yourself because

they realize they have potential.

Mm-hmm.

But they don't see the
forest through the trees.

They don't see the next step.

You don't see that big guiding light
that they can, uh, they can start working

towards and making their way there.

Right.

If, have you ever had to deal with,
and I realize the coaching career is,

is younger compared to your other life
experiences ever had an experience?

We've had to look at somebody and say,
you know what, you're gonna have to

level back your goals a little bit.

Maybe shoot for something a little
bit smaller or maybe, um, you're not

putting the effort in that's required
and I'm gonna have to drop you.

Uh, more often than not, I, I have
to encourage people to aim bigger.

Uh, yeah, I, I typically try
to focus on five year goals.

I think it's far enough a way that
you could really build some momentum

if you, if you are consistent.

Um, I'll give you a
quick example about that.

So, so one of my very first clients
when I first started out, he was

kind of down on his luck and,
and, um, home life wasn't great.

He was kind of on and off drugs and, uh,
this was kind of like his last shot, uh,

at kind of getting his life together.

Hmm.

And, uh, we got to his,
like, financial goals.

I was like, all right, tell me, tell
me what, what do you want to have

financially at the end of five years?

Um, and he's like, I don't know,
man, maybe, maybe $5,000 in the bank.

And I was like, dude, that is way too low.

You are not thinking big enough.

And he's like, I don't, Hmm.

There's no way.

I was like, how about $20,000 in the bank
liquid, uh, at the end of five years?

And he was like, there's
absolutely no way I could do that.

And so I just started hitting divide
on the calculator and it, I think

it wound up being like $11 a day.

I'm like, dude, when you go to
work, can you put $11 in the bank?

And he is like, yeah, I could,
I could totally do that.

And so it was, it was like a realization
in his head that like, y yeah, $20,000

is a big number if I try to do it
right now, but if I, if I just do it

every day, a little bit every day,
it's, it's incredibly achievable.

Um hmm.

And, and so that was kind of
a big moment for him, I think.

Um, but I.

The times that I, I have had to help
people dial back is, isn't that their

goals were too big, but rather that
they, they wanted to do so much.

Uh, and even, even kind of with my
process of breaking things down into

small steps, there's still so many,
only so many hours in the day and Right.

And, um, and so that it kind
of has to come back to, okay,

what's, what's the priority?

Um, particularly people that
aren't in their twenties anymore,

if they're, you know, in their
fifties or, uh, or something.

It's like you, you kind of have to
start dialing it in, dialing in,

uh, to what you want to prioritize.

It doesn't mean you have to
aim small, uh, but maybe less

quantity, if that makes sense.

Hmm.

I think there's a level of anxiety
that people get when they look

at where they are in life and
where they think they should be.

And, you know, the clock is ticking,
kind of how much time we have

left, but when you pull it back, I
mean, like Vaynerchuk will always

say, you're young, you got time.

Right, right, right.

You, you got so much time ahead of you.

Like statistically PE speaking people live
to what, 74, 80 on, on, on an average.

And, uh, where, where do you
want to be with these things?

Um, the quote from, what was that show?

The inception.

Remember when they're, they pull out a
gun and these, uh, shooting and uh, love

it there or whatever he is shooting.

And then, um, oh, what's his name?

I forget his name.

Anyways, he's like, you mustn't be
afraid to dream a little bit larger.

Right, right.

Pulls out a bigger gun and.

Start shooting.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I love it.

Um, that dream big idea is so difficult
for somebody who's never been there.

And I, and I look at myself and I
look back on my accomplishments.

I never in a million years
would think I would be here.

Like if you ask younger me, man,
I'd be happy if I had just a tiniest

fraction of the success that I've seen
over the years, both in family and

friends and business and, and the rest
never would've thought I'd be here.

Yeah.

Um, mind you, for me, if I had to start
from scratch right now, this is now my

baseline, this is where I would look at
and say, this is what I expect of myself.

Right.

Right.

And it's far easier for me to get there
because I've seen that path and I know

that as, as an expectation for myself.

And like I think of when I
first started my business as my.

Uh, early twenties.

I had a sole proprietorship before
that when I was in my teenage

years, and I was, you know, trying
everything, no clue what I was doing.

And friends, a friend's like
Trav, like, you need a computer?

Like, I can't afford a computer.

He's like, oh, I got some spare parts.

We'll put one together.

We'll make you a computer.

Right.

And right.

He's like, you gotta incorporate, I'm
like, I can't afford to incorporate,

I got no idea how to do this thing.

Right?

Like, man, if I was incorporated, if I had
a business bank account and a computer,

well I am top of the world, right?

Like there's, and from where I
was, I, I, I am way up there.

I'm at the top of that mountain for sure.

Yeah.

But there's always gonna
be higher mountains.

I think the easiest way to fast
track people to get up to their

next highest mountain is to walk up.

A mountain guide who's done these
mountains before, who can rope you

in and show you the way, and give you
the, and I, that's the, I personally,

from an outsider looking in, I, I
see as the biggest value that someone

like yourself and your community can
bring to somebody is recognizing the

potential that is available for them.

And the path isn't really that difficult.

$11 a day, that's not that bad.

Right, exactly.

Exactly.

One step at a time, not bad.

Right?

Right.

And, uh, yeah, and I, I don't want
people to think that I'm like some

guru or, or expert in all things.

I'm, I'm really not.

What, what I am though is somebody that
had, had a dream and chased after it and,

and figured out what it took to get there.

Uh mm-hmm.

And so that's what I want to help
people actualize on is, um, I'm.

Uh, I mean, some of, some of the
people I've worked with are like, you

know, artists that want to commission,
uh, paintings and stuff, and I'm

not an artist, but I, I do know like
what it takes to, to get from point

A to point B, which is, which is
consistent effort and and discipline.

Mm-hmm.

And that, that I can
help you with for sure.

And Val, valuing yourself
properly, which I would think

comes back to the Anne Rand pride.

Exactly, exactly right.

Being, being proud of
what you, you've done.

And that was always a
difficult for thing for me.

I would just give away things rather
than charge for it, because, you

know, I always remember it's like if
somebody does a favor for you, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

And you give them 10 bucks, they're
gonna look at you and say, the favor

I did is worth way more than $10.

Right, right, right.

Or you give someone flowers and
you say, here, here's flowers.

Thanks so much.

Those flowers may have been 10 bucks.

But they feel valued all of a sudden.

Right.

So, right, right.

Under, under that, under that sort
of mentality, I would say, why would

I allow somebody to give me, uh, X
dollars of money when I feel what

I've provided as much more, I'll just
give it to them for free and Right.

You know, um, I, I'd
feel better about myself.

I'm not, it's not like
I'm selling myself short.

Mm-hmm.

That has always been one of the
most difficult things for me, is

knowing what your value is and
what I've learned as time goes on.

Cause I'm still having a
difficult time with that.

Is, uh, your value is whatever
somebody's willing to pay, really.

Right.

Right.

And, um, your value structure that
you set for yourself is one that.

Is one that'll essentially
train your clients too, right?

You look at high-end products out
there, uh, I mean, in the mountaineering

world, art Arteris is gonna have a
higher price tag than let's say Tega.

I don't even know if Tega
is even around anymore.

Or, um, let's say North Face.

Mm-hmm.

They, they both offer jackets that
Butch jackets both do a great job,

but, uh, one of 'em is gonna attract a
different sort of clientele to them and

put them in a different sort of circle.

Right.

Um, right.

I, I think, uh, I think those are the,
the two sort of things that, that I've

learned so far and I'm still learning.

Mm-hmm.

Hmm.

PE your value is whatever
people are willing to pay.

Uh, and you don't have to accept any
jobs that, uh, are outside of that.

And if, if you value yourself at a
high level and you provide high quality

service, you're gonna attract high level.

Clients.

I, I 100% agree with that.

And something else that I have found is,
um, when I, when I first started out,

uh, I, I set my prices relatively low.

I, I thought they were high, but,
uh, that they were pretty low.

And what happened was, um, the pain
point for the client wasn't high enough,

and so they wouldn't do the work.

Mm-hmm.

Um, if the, if they're not investing,
uh, enough, they, they don't,

they don't see the value in it.

Uh, even if the, even if they paid,
you know, a couple hundred bucks or,

or whatever, it's, the pain point
wasn't high enough for them to,

to actually commit to the process.

Mm-hmm.

It wasn't until like I, I like bumped
my prices pretty significantly that.

And maybe that just attracted a different
crowd, but, uh, but ultimately it

was like those are the people that
are actually doing the work, uh,

because they, they see it as a higher
investment in themselves, uh, and they

want to capitalize on that investment.

And I think it's brilliant.

Tony Robbins does the same thing.

He'll just, and he says, I charge
a ridiculous amount of money, not

because I need the money, not because
I have to, but because if you're

willing to pay that amount of money,
you're willing to put the work in.

Exactly.

Uh, a hundred percent.

I had a, uh, I heard a marketing
fellow say, you know, the difference

between a $500 job and a $5,000 job.

The $500 job you provide the,
uh, the artwork to the client.

The client will come back with
their suggestions for changes

and, uh, what they want to do.

And, and you put, you put it
through and then they put it up

and they advertise maybe in a
couple places, the $5,000 artwork.

They just.

Throw it up, they advertise it and
they reap the benefits of it, right?

They charge them more.

You make more money.

You have a less difficult client.

The client trusts you that there's
a reason why they're hiring you.

Right?

And I, I, I learned that
one at a very early age.

I just didn't implement it still,
I mean, but, um, I did Silvercore

gun works before having Silvercore
training, and I was doing firearms

repair and maintenance and gunsmithing.

So I do work with armored car companies,
extended work for law enforcement,

for, uh, mineral exploration and
forestry companies that have firearms.

And, and then every Joe Blow who's
got a gun, who wanted to bring

it on in and have it worked on.

And, uh, I found.

There was an excellent learning
process working on all the different

types of firearms out there.

But I had an old guy come in
and he says, I got this rifle

and I picked up a barrel blank.

I'd like you to be able to, uh,
thread it and chamber it, and I want

it with an X thousand tolerance.

Uh, uh, and I wanted, uh,
a muzzle break put on.

So I had to make a muzzle break and
cut and crown and thread and action

work and a whole bunch of things.

And then he wanted the whole thing.

I think it was parkerized,
might have been ballooned.

He wanted the whole thing.

Um, uh, a finish on it.

I, yeah, it was a manganese phosphate
coating I put on the thing and, uh,

I look at this old guy, old pensioner
and he all this work and there's a

company called Brown L's and they've
got, uh, you're aware of them.

I see by nodding your head in the
back of their, uh, their catalog, they

have high low of what, uh, people in
the states charged for their work.

And so I looked at all these things
and even at the low end, it was

ticking up on the high price scale.

So I took all of the low ends and
then they cut the price in half and

then gave this guy a wicked deal.

Yeah.

I give him this rifle trigger job done,
whole bunch of stuff and he throws it in

the back cuz his truck gives me the money.

Hey, thanks.

See you later.

Right?

I was like, oh, okay.

Right.

He seemed holy, ungrateful.

But a week later he came back with an
exact same type of action and exact same

barrel, wanted the whole work done all
over again, just in a different caliber.

And now I'm feeling like I'm
being taken advantage of, right?

So, so I go through this whole thing and
I'm like, well, I'm gonna charge him.

And it was still, wasn't at the
high end of what Brown ELs was

saying, I'm gonna charge him.

More.

And uh, cuz I explained to him, when
I did the first one, I gave him a

screaming deal because of the sob story
that he gave and his everything else.

And anyways, number two comes in.

Exact same thing, only thing different
was his chamber in a different caliber.

Yeah.

He, it was sitting there on the
workbench and he comes and he

looks at it and he leaves, he says
nothing goes into his vehicle.

And he comes back and I
was like, is he annoyed?

Like, what's going on?

Right.

And he puts on white gloves, picks it up,
and he says, no, that that's quality work.

There's no difference between what
I did there and what I did in the

other one except charged them more.

Oh man.

So that, that one always
stuck in the back of my head.

Yeah, that's, that's an
interesting learning experience.

Yes.

So is there anything that we haven't
touched on that we should touch on?

Are there things in your business
that you're looking at, uh, at

doing or, or things that you want
to get out to the audience that,

uh, you think would be important?

Uh, that's a good question.

Uh, No, I, I think we, we covered,
like, my biggest thing is getting

kind of my philosophy out there.

Uh, it, it doesn't resonate with
everybody, but I think it resonates with

some, and sometimes throughout, throughout
the process when I work with folks

is they, they love the whole dreaming
big of the five year goals and stuff.

That's like the sexy part
that they really get into.

Mm-hmm.

It's the, it's like the backwards planning
and then the accountability piece that

is boring, but the most important.

And that's where I kind
of come in and, and help.

Uh, I'm like, I'm like the bumpers
when you go bowling and you

don't want to get a gutter ball.

So, uh, that's kind of my role is,
is to ensure that you're, you're

operating, uh, within your left and
right limits, uh, according to the plan

that, that we come up with together.

And, uh, I've had to kind of like, figure
out how to communicate with people,

uh, coming from, you know, the teams.

Uh, I could be relatively assertive
and zero filter and it'd be okay.

Yeah.

And so I've had to, I've had to kind
of dial that back some, uh, although

some people are like, Hey, you can, you
can be meaner to me if you need to be.

I'm like, all right, I can sure
straight, I can do that too.

So, uh, that's been, uh, an interesting
learning experience too, is like how to,

how to communicate with people again.

Yeah, I guess so.

Do this now.

You'll be better.

Right, right.

Why I, because I said do it, trust me.

Right.

Uh, well, Chris, Thank you very much
for being on the Silvercore podcast.

Like I'll just reiterate for anyone
listening, there's gonna be links

both on YouTube and on the podcast.

You can find Chris, follow Chris, see
him on Instagram, the Facebook groups,

TikTok, you're all over the place.

Uh, and, uh, you know, if you enjoy
the content you're hearing here,

make sure to tell others about it.

It's really helpful.

Subscribe, comment, follow, and
uh, if you want to get some of the

inside, uh, perks and privileges
associated with the Silvercore Club,

by all means, check that out to you.

Chris, thanks so much for being
on the Silver Core Podcast.

Thanks so much for having me.

It was awesome.

Uh, I hope to do it again, sir.

Absolutely.