The Grit Factor Podcast w/ Karl Jacobi

Episode Summary
Most people see the layoff coming before it hits. Bryan Todd saw it too. The IT industry had been shedding jobs by the tens of thousands, Dell, Intel, HP, whole teams gone in a quarter. Bryan had been killing it at his company, maxed out on every performance metric, building products people actually used. None of that mattered. Wednesday morning his manager called, ran through the HR script like a stranger, and Friday was Bryan's last day. He took it personally. He admits he probably should not have, but he did.

What followed was over two hundred resumes, three final-round interviews that all fell apart, and one VP who told Bryan plainly that his experience was the problem. He was too capable. Too seasoned. Too much of a threat to a thirty-year-old hiring manager trying to protect his own seat. By January, Bryan had stopped waiting for a door to open and decided to build one himself. He took a home inspection course in March, launched his LLC on April fifth, and by June and July was doing more inspections in his first year than most newcomers see in two. Then October hit and the market dropped out from under him.

Bryan Todd is a Black Hawk mechanic turned multi-deployment combat veteran turned cybersecurity professional turned home inspector turned entrepreneur. He and Karl served together overseas more than twenty years ago, and this episode is the first time they have actually sat down and talked through what those decades since have looked like. What comes out of it is a conversation about self-awareness, systems thinking, the cost of lashing out at the people closest to you when the business gets hard, why abundance is not just a philosophy but a practical business strategy, and what the word "good" can do when your temperature hits 103 and you are an hour from done on a client's inspection and you want to cut a corner.

This episode is for anyone who has been handed a door closing and is still standing in the hallway trying to figure out what to do next.

In This Episode, You'll Discover:
  1. How Bryan saw the layoff coming in a market shedding thirty thousand jobs at a time, and what it actually felt like the Wednesday morning his manager called and ran through the HR script like a stranger
  2. Why Bryan kept his composure on the day he was laid off but did not start feeling the real pressure until the following summer, and what that gap between the hit and the fear reveals about resilience built through military service
  3. The VP who told Bryan his experience was the problem, too capable and threatening to a younger hiring manager, and how that conversation finally broke the job search and pushed him toward building his own thing
  4. How Bryan used systems and process thinking developed during deployments to Pakistan and Iraq to build a home inspection business from scratch, including how he studied eight to ten hours a day for four to six weeks after getting licensed
  5. Why Bryan spent two months selling cars after his home inspection business stalled in October, what he learned about overcoming objections and qualifying leads, and why he walked away the moment the lot asked him to do things he could not get behind
  6. The abundance mindset Bryan applies to his direct competitors, calling them when he cannot take a job, sending business their way, and why he believes the one-way-street version of that relationship always reveals itself quickly
  7. Why lashing out at the people closest to you when business gets hard is not just a personal failure but a systems problem, and what Bryan does to protect his marriage and his kids from absorbing the business stress
  8. The after-action review culture from their Army days and how Bryan still uses that framework to ask for feedback on his business, including a blind survey he sent to every realtor in his referral network
Key Takeaways:
  1. A Closed Door Is Not a Dead End. It Is Data. Bryan did not spiral when he got laid off. He got clarity. He had spent enough time in environments where everything goes sideways at once to recognize that a closed door usually means something better is on the other side. The problem most people have is they stand staring at the door that closed instead of looking for the one that just opened.
  2. Self-Awareness Is a Skill, and It Has to Be Practiced. Bryan credits the military's after-action review culture with giving him a head start on this. When you have had to stand in front of your peers and walk through every decision that led to a mistake in a life-or-death situation, asking a client how you could have done better feels manageable. Most people avoid the mirror entirely. Bryan built a career on walking toward it.
  3. Your Business Stress Is Not Your Family's Fault. Do Not Make It Their Problem. Bryan is direct about this. When the business is bleeding, the easiest person to take it out on is the one who loves you most. He has watched guys lose marriages right after going bankrupt. It is not a coincidence. The financial pressure was the trigger, but the lashing out was the cause. He has learned to pick his battles, manage what he shares at home, and protect the relationship that is holding everything together.
  4. Surround Yourself With People Smarter Than You, Then Show Up for Them. Bryan does not just receive from his circle. He sends jobs to competitors he trusts, offers feedback to guys who call him when they are struggling, and treats the abundance mentality as a reciprocal contract. If you are always the one asking and never the one giving, the circle notices. Do not be the one-way street.
  5. Every Job Has a Tax. Bryan sold cars for two months when his inspection business hit a slow season. He hated ninety-five percent of it and sold fourteen cars in the first four weeks. What he took with him was worth the entire experience: how to overcome objections, how to qualify a lead, how to read a room. Skills transfer. The juice you squeeze from a hard season does not expire.
  6. Systems and Processes Win. Especially When You Are a One-Man Operation. Bryan applies E-Myth thinking to his home inspection business. The technical work, the actual inspections, is maybe twenty to thirty percent of what running the business requires. The rest is marketing, taxes, relationship building, route management, client communication. Every veteran who thinks they can just show up and do the work finds this out the hard way. Build the systems before you need them.
  7. Good. That is Bryan's mantra when things go wrong. Not a speech. Not a three-step framework. Just good. It is a signal that something is being learned, a challenge is being absorbed, and another shot at doing it better is coming. He used it at a hundred and three degrees in an attic with an hour left on a big inspection. He did not cut the corner.
  8. Say No Before Your Yes Stops Meaning Anything. When Bryan launched, he joined every chamber and association and said yes to everything. Then he realized he was spending time in rooms that were not moving the needle, and the clients who needed him most were not getting his best. Saying no is not antisocial. It is prioritization. The people you say no to will survive. The ones you said yes to because you overcommitted will not forget the drop in quality.
Timestamps:
  • [00:00] Karl introduces Bryan Todd, a brother from twenty-plus years ago stationed overseas together
  • [02:10] Bryan's sixty-second version: Lakeland, Florida, the Army, Germany, Iraq, Afghanistan, retail, drones, systems engineering, cybersecurity, and home inspection
  • [04:30] The layoff: October, a Wednesday phone call, a manager running the HR script, and Friday as the last day
  • [07:00] Why Bryan did not panic on the day it happened but started feeling the heat the following summer
  • [09:15] Karl's parallel story: moving the family overseas as a defense contractor and getting cut nine months in
  • [11:30] The identity hit: what losing the provider role does to a man and how Bryan processed it without letting it spiral
  • [14:00] Karl's ad break: the Reforge Challenge at reforgedchallenge.com
  • [15:00] God closing doors and opening others: why Bryan credits his faith for his composure on the day of the layoff
  • [18:30] Self-awareness defined: what it actually looks like in practice, why humility is not a weakness, and the shadow Karens of Facebook
  • [22:00] The feedback loop: how Bryan runs blind surveys to his referral network and what a team of forty taught him about crowdsourcing problems
  • [26:00] After-action reviews: the Army culture that gave them both a cheat code for handling hard feedback
  • [29:30] The abundance mindset in practice: calling competitors, sending jobs, and why rising water lifts all ships
  • [34:00] Why lashing out at the people closest to you is the most common and most destructive response to business stress
  • [37:30] Twenty-one years of marriage, picking battles, and what Bryan has learned about what to share at home and what to hold
  • [42:00] The decision to build: two hundred resumes, three final rounds, and the VP who said experience was the problem
  • [46:00] From January to April fifth: how Bryan went from the decision to the LLC, the training course, and the launch
  • [50:00] June, July, and the drop: kicking it in summer then watching the market stall in October
  • [53:00] Two months selling cars: hating ninety-five percent of it, selling fourteen in the first four weeks, and taking the skills home
  • [58:00] Karl's ad break: the Reforge Challenge at reforgedchallenge.com
  • [59:00] Analysis paralysis: why fear disguises itself as perfectionism and what it costs people who wait for everything to be ready
  • [01:03:00] What the military gave him as a business owner: systems, processes, the E-Myth, and the franchise prototype model
  • [01:08:00] Grit defined for this season: removing emotion, turning on logic, dissecting the problem, and getting people aligned
  • [01:11:00] The mantra: good. What it means, where it came from, and how Bryan used it in a hundred-and-three-degree attic
  • [01:14:00] Subtraction: saying no to chambers and associations that were consuming time without moving the needle
  • [01:17:00] The pass-forward question from Honey in Episode 12: what is one thing you wish you had learned earlier in life or business?
  • [01:21:00] Bryan's question for the next guest: what do you consider success?
  • [01:24:00] Where to find Bryan and Karl's close
Resources & Links:
  • Book: "Extreme Ownership" by Jocko Willink (referenced in discussion on humility and self-awareness)
  • Book: "Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss (referenced as essential reading for anyone in business who says they hate sales)
  • Challenge: The Reforge Challenge at reforgedchallenge.com
Connect with Bryan Todd:
Connect with Karl Jacobi:

Creators and Guests

Host
Karl Jacobi
Host of The Grit Factor Podcast, Resilience & Performance Coach, Founder, Entrepreneur, Combat Veteran
Guest
Bryan Todd
Owner / Operator

What is The Grit Factor Podcast w/ Karl Jacobi?

The Grit Factor Podcast brings real conversations with founders, entrepreneurs, and builders. No fluff. Just honest stories, hard lessons, and practical takeaways you can apply right now. New interviews plus solo episodes on mindset, leadership, and execution.

Untitled - March 19, 2026

00:00:00 Speaker: Average is the enemy of greatness. Comfort is the enemy of growth. Welcome to the Grit Factor podcast, where we strip away the highlight reel and get into the darkness beneath it. The real stories, the real battles, and the battle plans used to conquer them. I'm your host, Carl Jacobi, combat vet, entrepreneur, resilience and performance coach, keynote speaker, husband and father. I've built, scaled, and exited multiple companies totaling over forty million in revenue. But here's what that highlight reel doesn't show you. Life has been smacking me in the face with a two by four since I was just five years old. Broken home, constant chaos. No playbook. No safety net. Just grit. And if you're anything like me. You know, you've got another level in you, in your business, your career, your faith, your leadership. You're just not sure how to get there. That's exactly why we're here. Be sure to follow me for more great content and check out my website. Success with Karl dot com. Now that's Karl with a K. Now let's get to work. Brian. Mr.. Brian. Todd, what's up brother? How are you? Good man, good man. It is so awesome to have you here today, man. I'm so. I just can't wait to get started, man. Yeah, it's been a bit man. We just talked a second ago. It's been over twenty years since we've actually seen each other. We're due a couple beers, man. Absolutely. As you just alluded to. Right. We've known each other and just kind of set the stage for everybody that's going to be watching or listening. Uh, we've known each other for well over twenty years, and you were stationed together overseas. And we were just kind of quickly reminiscing because, you know, as, you know, being separated for twenty years when we were really we've talked here and there, but we never had like a moment like this, right? Um, but, uh, you know, we've both done things that, uh, people, most people would see in the movies. And now you're here talking about building businesses. So Brian, again, welcome again, my brother to the Grit Factor podcast. Um, here's what the audience needs to hear and see about the brand that we get, you know, to see and to enjoy the, the time we get to spend with you. You know, you went from being a Black Hawk mechanic to, you know, multiple deployments for combat to cybersecurity and at a major corporation. And then you went to home inspection. You know, being a bean, being a business builder and, um, being been building a business in, uh, home inspection, you know, shortly after being laid off. Definitely want to dive into that. Then, you know, you got this bug of starting another business. And so we'll talk more about this. But Brian, brother, there's a lot of, a lot of chapters to dive into this. So just quick, give us a quick sixty ninety second version. Who are who is this dude that we're sitting in front of today? And what are you building right now? Yeah, man. Uh, I'll give you the Cliff note version. So, uh, born and raised in Lakeland, Florida, uh, left there, went to the Army, uh, pretty much spent my entire tour overseas between Germany, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Uh, got out one of, you know, the world domination mentality, as we all do when we get out, we're just going to accomplish everything and, uh, realize really quick who's loyal to you, who's not what you're good at, what you're not good at. Nobody cares about like your history. So, uh, a lot of growing up had happened had happened. Um, man, I worked retail. I've, um, you know, I worked on the drone industry for a little bit. I worked on systems engineering with aircraft for a little bit. Then I did it cybersecurity and, uh, yeah, I mean, this is curtailing twenty plus years into this, right? Just a few minutes. Just. Yeah. So I mean, success and failures in all of that, right? So it kind of develops who you are. So, but I mean, the military has definitely been the foundation of, um, you know, you know, learning who the biggest thing I think about all of it is learning who you're not and where your faults are and how to get better. I think, uh, I think that's a great way to look at it. So anyways, yeah, I started the home inspection business. I saw a little bit of a gap in the market, um, learned a lot about myself, learned a lot about what to say, what not to say. Uh, but yeah, I mean, it's, it's a great job. It's it's yours. It's forty five years old, still getting the crawl spaces, climbing roofs. And I mean, my blood pressure is lower, I weigh less. So it's, uh, but you know, it's not just that, it's also the entrepreneur side. So yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I, uh, thanks for sharing all that, man. I appreciate you giving us a glimpse into your story and yeah, man, twenty years, there's a lot you can dive into twenty years going from, you know, these various chapters, some of which I've known very, you know, deeply with you, just because we share some of that life together, then of course, you know, um, other years where, you know, you've really gone through the trenches, which is where we're going to cover, you know, a good portion of today. So you talked about going from being this W-2 employee, right? You're this security of the nine to five. Ironically, uh, a couple of guests ago, we talked about the perceived security of the nine to five and how a lot of people gravitate towards this. And I get it right. It's, you know, some people need that and, um, but it's not for everybody. But take me back to the day six months after moving your family to Arkansas, we'll say Kansas because we're talking about that in the green room, right? Yeah. Um, you get laid off. Walk me to that specific moment. Not really the summer, but that specific moment. What was that day like for you when you just made this transition? And all of a sudden, bam, you get slapped with this? That's a loaded question. Um, yeah. Well, I mean, you know, this recession back in two thousand and eight, for a lot of us who had, you know, we were both out and working. Um, we went through a lot of pains with that. So I learned learning and getting better at stuff and realized what you suck at and kind of, you know, developed from there. But anyways, because of that experience, when I was, I kind of saw the writing on the wall, um, corporations, IT companies specifically have been laying off people left and right. I know, um, Dell is laying off like thirty thousand people. I think Intel just laid off a bunch HP. I just saw the news last month it was fifteen thousand or something. So there's, there's a caveat to that. So, um, with that many people there laying off, you could have every sock option, every pay raise that's maxed out every year because you're just killing it. Have great products, but end of the day, it's an HR decision because it's numbers. So, um, it's, it's, that's the tricky part with that. So realizing and because of evolution of what I've been going through leading teams and whatnot, um, I kind of saw it coming. So when October hit, I literally got a phone call on a Wednesday, um, a manager and he did a whole HR rigmarole, man. We went through the trenches together, building projects and he went back to corporate default. Like, you know, the whole script they gave you say, hey, man, sorry, let you know you're leaving. And I was, I took it personal and I shouldn't have, but I did. Yeah. Um, however, uh, so far it was my last. Yeah. So Friday was my last day. And, um, you know, when that many of any industry is pumped out into the workforce, um, it has its challenges, right? So now, now you have a bunch of people, you don't have to pay as much because everybody's trying to get a job. So, um, after about probably over two hundred resumes, um, a few interviews just couldn't lock anything down. So I'm like, you know what? It's time to take my destiny into my own hands. Sure. So here we are. Love it. No, I, I love that you just said that in the sense of, you know, putting destiny in your own hands instead of allowing somebody else to control that for you. Right? But in in that moment, man, when because I've been there, especially in a defense contractor world, it's very volatile right there. For sure. The money is great, but there is no security, you know, and I, I had a similar situation where, you know, we went back to Germany as a defense contractor, contractor, and of course, as a contractor, you have to pay for everything, right? I mean, they'll pay for your airfare, but your families and all your belongings and so forth. And, you know, I didn't know that. Yeah. So, you know, we had to pay for, you know, pay for our cars to get transported. Everything. Well, lo and behold, nine months after we had did this, after our second time going back overseas, um, they walked us in this room right about the same time you were just mentioning this. Uh. Hey, guys. You know, guess what? You know, we've had contract closers, draw downs and stuff of this nature. Um, if you're in this room, you're affected. And, um, it's like, well, shit here I did, you know, here I, I just moved all this stuff over here. But for you, man, there's got to be, you know, there's got to be this emotional stir inside you where, you know, you're told those news, right? You said you just said, you know, a little bit that you took this personally. You know, you shouldn't have. Honestly, I think that's just a human response, right? Um, for sure, we do take this personally because it affects us personally, right? It's our livelihoods. It's how we produce for our family and, and especially for us dudes, That's how we associate our identity as being the provider for the family, right? But for you, was there was there anything stirring inside you emotionally? Did it scare you? Did it frustrate you? Did it like talk me how it shake your shook your world for a moment when you were delivered those news. Um, well, first off, I'm I'm I'm dumb. So sometimes I don't realize things until it's too late. So, um, it's interesting because, you know, when there was a lot of us that on the same team had gotten laid off, like half my team got laid off or about that. And so, um, it was interesting to hear, you know, um, everybody's like reaction to it. So I had one lady that was up in northeast, but man, she was, she was bougie. So she had like a nanny and nothing against anybody who does it. She had a nanny. I mean, she had her hair and nails done every week. I mean, she had all these expenses. And so, um, she lived that lifestyle, but she had never have gone through hard times because I asked her like, you know, me and my wife did back in oh eight oh nine. So, um, yeah, I mean, my reaction, man, I was just, it's kind of going back to military Iraq and Afghanistan. You go through things. And I think that my, my, my callus of, of my, my, my soul was calloused. My mentality was callous. Um, I think probably I didn't get nervous until about summer, um, later. So I got laid off in October and then next summer is when I got nervous because I realized, um, you know, the business side is way more stressful, um, to be honest. So when I got laid off, yeah, I was upset. But real quick before we keep going, if you've been listening to this conversation and something hit a nerve, if something we talked about made you pause or you felt that little tug in your chest, like, man, that one was for me. I want you to lean into that for a second. Don't just brush it off. Because here's the thing. Conversations like this. Yes, they're great and I love doing this show. I really do. But if I'm being real with you, a conversation can only take you so far. At some point, you got to stop nodding along and actually do something with that feeling. So here's what I want you to do. I want to personally invite you to something we built called the Reforge Challenge. It's a live five day experience I created specifically for people like you, high performers who know they're capable of more. But something got knocked sideways and you'll playbook just stopped working. Or maybe life smacked you in the face with a two by four that you just didn't see coming. Maybe the fire just dimmed and you can't figure out how to reignite it. Five days, five real identity shifts, live coaching, real community in the kind of honest conversations that actually move the needle. Not just another thing you consume and forget by Friday. Listen, you're not broken. You're just in between versions. And I love for you to come see what we've built. Head on over to the reforge challenge dot com again. Reforge challenge dot com. Check it out. See if it speaks to you. And if it does, I'll see you inside. All right. Let's get back to it. Yeah. Makes sense. Makes sense when you see it on. When you see it on the wall. It does make it easier. However, there's probably that side of you. Is this probably making you a. It's not going to happen to me, right? It's not going to happen to me. It's probably gonna happen to somebody else, especially if you're if you're that guy who's always coming through. Right? If you're, if you're that guy who's always showing up and always doing these things, you just have that perceived like comfort that, yeah, it's probably going to happen, but it's not going to happen to me because X, Y, and Z, right? Because my boys, you know, work in HR or because I just show up when hardly anybody else do, they can count on me, right? So there's that. Sometimes there's that comfort. I know, I know I fell into that, um, into that zone and, and felt complacent, you know, for, you know, a large part of that because I just got comfortable. Right. Well, let me inject one thing here real quick. So I, I do think, uh, again, because of my life experiences and what me and my wife and the family has gone through, um, I am at a point in my life where when things like that happen, it's for a reason. Um, and I don't know that, but however at that, the reason why I wasn't stressing out at that, that day I got laid off was because, all right, man, God's got a better plan. He's, he's smarter than me. Um, yeah, I you have control of things you have control of. He's not going to take care of your bank account and your investments and stuff. But you know, you, you make the steps that you think is right. But, um, he closed that door and opened up another one. I mean, time will tell. And businesses fail all day long, but, you know, um, going to give it a good old college try, you know, so anyways, that's, that's, I wanted to add that in there for somebody who's young, has it kind of gone through stuff. Um, just understand like there's definitely challenges will hit you like a sledgehammer in the face. It absolutely will. So just understand it's, it's a door closing that's and another one just opened up and that the thing is where a lot of people, again, in my humble opinion, get off this here in a second. But a lot of people screw up is not seeing the open door. Mhm. The opportunity that showed up. Sometimes it's a step back, right. I have done that. I have taken a step back in some things. And but eventually down the road it paid off dividends. So yeah, don't be afraid of of things. Um, if it's the only door you have to walk through, man, just just go. Agree. I agree oftentimes we're it's because we're so comfortable and we're so it's what we know, right? The ex-girlfriend is oftentimes easier to go back to because you know, that devil. It's a comfort. Yeah. It's comfort one hundred percent. Yeah. It's what we know our brain is. Our brain is designed to keep us safe, you know? So anything that threatens our palms get sweaty. Our heart starts freaking jumping and and everything else. Right? Um, so I appreciate you saying that because the person that's listening and watching really needs to understand that concept because adversity and problems is part of growth. We have to have that in order to get to that next level. We have to have. I mean, it's, you know, that's how you and I are where we are today, you know, and next week we're going to get our, you know, we're going to get slapped in the face with a two by four by life with something, you know, and, uh, you just have to tell yourself, well, this too shall pass. Uh, you know, whatever happens, you know, I can handle it, you know, because you've had, you know, we've both survived things and, and so forth. So you said you became, you're the type of person you really are self-aware, right? And knowing you, as long as I've known you and the conversations that we've had, that is one thing. One of many things I could brag about you is you are the type of person that is really self-aware more than most. And I think a lot of individuals miss that opportunity to really learn to take inventory, right? So when you say self-aware, the person that's probably listening right now are like, what the hell does he mean by self-aware? We're about to get some stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah, man. Um, it's I refer to, I mean, this is a common thing, but, uh, Jocko is, is one of the, one of the best authors I think that's out there. Um, you know, humility is, is there's, there's ethical traits and there's personality traits and things that I think are core to be successful. And not everybody has them. Right. There's, there's guys who are, um, you know, extremely entitled and they don't have to worry about little humility, right? They treat people the way anyway. So long story short. Yeah. I mean, I'm always looking for, um, and I ask people like, hey, what could I have done better for you? And, and really it's not like, and sometimes you have to have thick skin because everybody wants to be caring and complain about anything. Go to Facebook and sit back in the shadows and just watch. Um, yeah, I call them the shadow Karens just waiting in the corner. Shadow Karens love that. So anyways, yeah, I mean, it's just I, I, it's something it takes. But once you commit to like number one, listening. Number two, um, being self aware, but like, there are some things that you have to like, how do I say this the right way? Um, just understand you suck at, but the trick is being okay with it and working for it and another one too, man. Um, I think is a big part of that is not caring what people think. Um, you're going to have everybody is an armchair quarterback. I mean, watch it again. The Facebook stuff, everybody becomes like a gorilla veterinarian. When that gorilla stuff happened. Everybody right now is a geopolitical expert with what's happened overseas. You know, everybody's a a tactician when it comes to vehicles moving. It's just it's. Anyways, um, I can get on a soapbox here, but yeah, no, I, I really think that's a key part of, especially in entrepreneurship because like the business doesn't care about your feelings. Your customers don't care about your feelings. They want a product to pay for. Um, and it's your job, honestly, to feed the family. So like that humility of understanding, that's your role. And, you know, screw everything else about your feelings. And I honestly think there's a healthy part of that too. So yeah, one hundred percent I agree. And that what you mentioned right there, right there was what I call as a feedback loop, right? Yep. You know, constantly asking for feedback on how you can improve, how you can do things differently because, you know, it's not like we're given a handbook for life. You know, whether it's for a marriage, it's for our kids, it's for business. Well, maybe for a little bit of business, but it is, it is it's imperative to have that feedback loop so that you you could be aware. Yeah. To your point, man, it does sting at times, you know, and but they don't hurt you. They don't do it to hurt you. Well some do. So you got to be careful, right? But they don't hurt. It's not. They're doing it to hurt you. They're doing it because they love you. They see you that you could do better. Um, and so it's coming from a place of love. Does it hurt? Does it sting? Sure. But they're not hurting you, right? That's what I probably should clarify, because it's not like going to a dentist and getting your teeth taken out. And, you know, they're not like they're intentionally hurting you. They're they're doing that so they can make you feel better. They can, you know, make you better, right? Yep. Same concept. There's a lot of benefit to that too real quick. So there's a lot of benefit to that too. So you transfer that to your business. So let's say if you got a team of forty people. Um, I had a good sized team at the last company I was at, and I'm always looking for that one person that sees something that everybody else doesn't see. So say, hey, anybody have any issues with this plan? You're never going to hear negative anything from me, like list out your concerns. And sometimes we'll have if it's like a just an emotional concern, I get it. We'll talk about that afterwards. But if it's something legit, you've got everybody in the room and let's crowdsource the crap out of it. Right. So by the way, if I'm scaling my business and I've got forty people in a room and a janitor says, I think that's a bad idea, like, dude, what do you got? I mean, I'm, I'm humble enough because we're, we're all trying to do better and increase better. So it works on your personal side. And what it does is it goes into the business side because I mean, you're somebody talks crap about your business. I mean, they're calling your baby ugly is what they're doing. Yeah. You know, so it's you. Yeah, yeah, I agree. And sometimes we can take that personally too, right? Yeah. For sure. Yep. You mentioned, and I know this personally, but one thing I think we fail to really highlight, you know, is you've got a family, beautiful family, wife of twenty one years. Uh, if I wrote that down correctly, two kids. Um, and I, I actually know your wife personally because, you know, the time we shared together overseas and, and so forth. But one thing I want to highlight, because this is often times overlooked, especially, you know, from the sidelines when you're going through that period, any period for that matter. But let's just talk about this one scenario where, you know, you lost that sense of security, you've lost that sense of comfort, and a lot of people would just give up or they would just accrue bad habits or, you know, a variety of things. You and I, you know, we know people in our lives have done those things right. They've crippled and they allowed outside influences to take them into deep, dark places and get into substance abuse and even worse off, take their own lives. Um, but you chose not to do that because when the floor dropped out, there were people that were watching you, right? Yep. What does that do to you as a man, as a father and as a husband? Does that how does that help you show up or not help you show up? Yeah, I mean, I I'm not gonna lie. Um, if I told you it didn't bug me because you're a provider, right? Um, you know, so my, my wife has stayed at home with the kids and raised the kids. I mean, and, and the kids have done phenomenal because of that, because we've been blessed enough to be able to do that. Now we built our life around that. So it's a little bit easier that way. But yeah, um, I guess, uh, I take a, the lack of being like the businesses is how I'm providing for my family, right? It's just end of the day, that's what it is. So when I fail at the business, it's easy to go. Toxic mindset and start blaming everybody. What do you do? You blame the people closest to you first. Yes, it is a traditional way of doing it. I mean, a lot of a lot of guys get divorced. Um, I mean, you've seen people go bankrupt and they get divorced right after. It's just so what it's showing is that like you're found, if you're having, if you have a business or you're having financial issues right now and you and your wife are at each other's throats, uh, or your spouse or whatever. Um, man, like there's underlying things that are happening and you need to get to the bottom of it. So it's not fair to your wife and kids or husband and kids or whatever you've got going, um, to take that out on them. So the only thing you. So my mentality is like, there's things I won't tell my wife about the business just because it, I've learned to pick my battles. Twenty one years there is a cost, I agree. Yeah. I've, I've lost my, uh, you know, I can tell people like, I've got no more self respect. That's why I've been married for twenty one years. So, uh, yeah, but I mean, it's, it's, it's, it's all tied together, man. Um, so to say that it's not is an absolute, um, you know, misunderstanding and, and kind of what I was thinking about, you were saying that too is a normal employee, you know, they just want to get their paycheck every week. Take care of the family. You're an entrepreneur, man, like your employees and your business comes before your family on logistical providing. So you got to pay your bills for your business. You got to pay your employees first, otherwise you won't have a business to run. And then hopefully you have scared yourself away for the kids and wife. So it's not it's not a it's not an easy thing. So hope I answered your question the right way. Yeah, no, it's not easy. You're right. Um, you said something earlier that I want to clue in on because it is an interesting observation. I'd like to get your insight as to why you think this is. But you said we often go to our loved ones first and blame. Not necessarily blame them, but lash out at them first. Right. Why do you think that is? Um. That's a human nature question, man. And I'm not a psychiatrist. I think it's a comfort factor. You know, it's easy to do. It's easy to, to walk to the next room or call your wife and find, you know, why didn't you run? Why didn't you run a dishwasher last night? Why are you complaining to me? Because I didn't take the trash can to the road. So there's there's. And what it is, is that you humans love toxicity, right? We all we there's there's a point where you. I mean, think about it. How many times have you seen a book get rid of the toxic stuff in your life. It's not. Hey, hey, man, become the biggest jerk you can. Um, there's none of those books around because we're all good at it, so. Yeah. Um. You're right. Yeah, yeah, I agree. Well, I think what you're, you're, you're essentially trying to say here and I, I agree it is more comfortable to go to people that we love because we know that typically that we are going to be forgiven. Right? Exactly. We're going to be, which is manipulation in a way. So be careful. That's what I'm saying. Be careful doing that. I agree. And yeah, by all by all means we're not condoning that activity. But this is often why, to your point, human behavior, why we do these things. Because there is that level of comfort there. We know in the back of our minds we could do this again, not that we're condoning it, but we do that because we know that they're going to they're going to forgive us or should and love us should unconditionally. Although there's an asterisk in this. And yes, you can be an ass in that asterisk, but there are often times an ash or sometimes an asterisk in this. But this is why, because we know if we if you know you were to lash out one of your employees, I'm sure that you'd be gone or she be gone or any friend, you know, surface level friend, you know. So that's why it's easier in my belief. And I'm glad you highlighted that. Um, going back to self-awareness for a moment because I think this is really paramount, especially in today's culture, because you said you're becoming self-aware. It was a gut check for you and I can relate. Um, even with my own spouse, especially of now over twenty five years, especially as a father and as an entrepreneur coach, being self-aware is critical. It's not a small thing, right? Most people spend their whole life avoiding that mirror, a mirror of all right, let's face the truth. What did you see when you looked at it? Honestly, when you looked in the mirror, what were some of the things just high level that you saw in yourself that you really needed, needed to immediately change in yourself. Um, I, uh, I blame this on the military. So I said earlier, I don't care. You can't care what people think. There's a there's a gray area in there. You could be too much not caring what people think. And you could be, you know, the other side. But yes, I, I think that's probably a big one. Um, and, and so you have to, um, man, that's a loaded question. Another one. You got some good questions today, man. I try, man, I try. Yeah, I, I think, well, I mean, there's, there's a healthy side of that because again, everybody has an opinion, right? And so I kind of, I would say that starts with who you let into your circle, right? So when you have a business consultant, like, you know, I've called you on a couple things before because I know that you would tell me things and not have a filter, but you also know, you can tell me these things and I won't cuss you out, right? So. Or if I did, it would be, hey, man, I'm sorry about that. Anyways, there's so like building that trust factor, building that group of people you can trust with that. I mean, if there's, there's some guys in this industry that call me because they're like, hey, man, um, I'm struggling right now. Like, what are you doing with this? And, but I know that it's rising. What is it? Uh, who said this? I forgot who said it. I think it was one of the podcasters. He was like, yeah, rising water lifts all ships, right? So yeah, um, I have that mentality, even though if it's competition, my area, I'm a one man wolf pack right now. So if I want to go on vacation, I'm going to call that guy. But hey man, I got some business this week. I can't drop. If I give it to you, I'll give you a good portion of it. So there's, there's things like that as far as like getting partners with your business. I think it's a partnership question. Right? So, um, yeah, I kind of leaning that way. So yeah, who you surround yourself with, uh, and who you be careful. So I did a blind survey to all my realtors that I've, that I have referrals or have done business with before. um, I it was, it was a mixed bag of reactions and I know some of them are, um, there was no like logical reasoning of why they filled out the survey the way they did. So through that exercise, I learned, okay, I need to circle that real tight as far as who I ask questions in that industry. So yeah, um, I mean, yeah, there's no perfect answer to that question, man. It's, it's kind of just learning as you go. Yeah, one hundred percent, man. Um, you know, oftentimes looking in the mirror in, in revealing the things that we need to improve ourselves and come face to face with it, it is hard. It does get easier, but at first you want to avoid it, right? You want to put your it's just like an ostrich. You want to put your head in the sand and and pretend it's not there. Right? But deep down you're like, fudge, man, I know I need to change this because it is causing X, Y, z to happen. Whether it's failed relationships or it's finances, it's health, it's business, career or relationships. Haven't seen this already, you know? So looking at yourself in the mirror, honestly, I'm like, okay, Carl Bryan, you know, what do I need to change about myself? Because obviously none of us are perfect, you know? So, you know, what are some things we need to change our lives so we can be the best version of ourselves? Are we going to falter one hundred percent? But, you know, um, it's, it's just part of being human. Oh, real quick before we go to the next one. So, um, we actually, if you think about it, so we used to both be crew chiefs. Um, yeah. So, uh, we're part of the flight crew. So kind of educate the audience a little bit. So we're part of a flight crew. So we, it looks like a helicopter Black Hawk or Chinook or whatever flying over. There's a lot of stuff going on inside that cabin and cockpit as far as communication, what we're all doing, um, especially in combat, especially dropping dudes off at the exit, doing logistical movements, whatever. So, um, because there's so much going on and you're fighting like the most challenging and, you know, thing you can do as a human. You got environmental restrictions, you have your 3D, you know, not just right and left. You're up and down. So you have a lot of stuff going on which it introduces challenges to you as a human because nobody can do everything perfect. So let's say if you screw something up, um, what we, me and you went through is we would go through after action. And so sometimes I went through this with after I, I'm not sure if you've been through, I've been through a few of them where if it was damage to equipment, hurting somebody or just a really bad decision, you had to get in front of your peers and your supervisors and go through an after action review. And they would they would you have to explain every little thing you did. So you're building a story, you're telling them where your mindset was and this and that. And really, at the end of the day, is one to keep from, uh, other guys making the same mistake you made or be aware of it or just to, hey, man, you need to fix your shit, right? So there's, but as a young twenty three, twenty four year old full of testosterone and you're, you know, working out and have, you know, you've done some crazy stuff at that time. That's a tough pill to swallow. So being in that culture, I think we have a little bit of a cheat code to that because we've been through it. But in life or death type stuff. So it's hard to explain that to some people who haven't been through that because you corner somebody like, hey man, you really screwed this up. There's, there's, there's a tactful way to approach that. So agree. So when you're asking for feedback, again, because of you and other guys that I was in the service with, I know that you're going to have questions. You're not just going to tell me what you think right away. You're going to have questions for me, which makes and really what you're doing is getting my juices flowing. It's like, oh, I realized what I screwed up on. So that's kind of what I would think would be a good way to approach that. Yeah, I agree one hundred percent, man. I appreciate you sharing that. And, uh, I guess we do kind of have a cheat code in some degree, but that came at a cost, you know? So yeah, for sure. Um, but, uh, You mentioned something that I really want to highlight because this is oftentimes overlooked, and I don't think you said it. I think you said it without really realizing what you meant here in a good way. You said that you you believe in the in the land of abundance, right? There is no scarcity. There is no lack. Right? Because you just said that, you know, when I have an opportunity or when I'm in the trenches with something else, you call some of your competitors that you trust, right? And say, hey, I've got this blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I like to think and I love to hear your take on this. You did this because you believe in the law of property, right? Because that's going to come back to you three fold, five fold, ten fold, right? So let me talk to that person out there right now. That's probably questioning your logic. Like that sounds so stupid. Why would I call my competitor to give them an opportunity. For them, probably take more of my revenue. Talk to that person for a moment, if you will. Like why, why, why changed her mind? Well, think think about it. I mean, as a business owner, you're you're on you're on an island by yourself ninety nine percent of the time. It's your decision. You have data in front of you, but you can't look over your shoulder and be like, hey, boss, what what can I do here? What would you recommend me do? Because you're the best. You're the boss. So, um, now, now there's the reciprocity side you talked about. I've had some, some dealings with some businesses around here where it's been a one way street. But I learned real quickly and I, I still talk to them and respect them, but there's that arm distance of like, hey, man, just stay where you are and we can, I can hear you from there type situation. But, but the, the guys, I mean, there's guys that I highly respect because one, there's surround yourself by people that are smarter than you is my number one thing, which isn't hard for me. Um, so there's. But it's it's. But you also have to show up. You also have to show like. You're there for them as well. So don't make. Don't you be the one way street asking, asking, asking. You have to receive and you have to give. So don't be the asshole. Yeah, right. Yeah. So I mean, that's, that's kind of my take, but yeah, I mean, there's again, if you're now, if you're in a three hundred person town and you're selling dental insurance, I mean, you're, you're, you're probably not going to have as much competition if you do. Yeah. That's, that's just a lack of market abundance, right? So that's, that's business one on one. But yeah, I mean, I, I just think that you got to be one. Yeah, I'm with people if they say, well, I don't think that's right. Well, yeah, but there's always I, I try to trust people first until they burn me. Now I do have protective measures in there, but man, you'd be surprised. I've had guys where I first meet them and I just want to freaking, you know, punch their her face in. And after I get to know him, like, man, this is actually a cool guy. And I've had some great relationships because of that. So you never know, man. It's stay open. Yeah, I would recommend, you know, I, I agree. Um, I, I agree. So you know, everybody that, that listened to that, you know, that came into the, into the idea that we live in, in a, in a land of lack, you know, I hope that changed your mind to, you know, to change your shift or to at least challenge your thinking. Because I just came off a client call earlier talking about the shift, right? If you're always focused on lack, well, you're always going to lack, right? But if you shift your focus to abundance and always focus on what you do have, you know, your brain's just going to naturally gravitate towards those things instead of what you, because your brain can't focus on both. So you can't just it's not possible, man. You're laying out some amazing things, you know, that helped you get out of the dungeon, right? Because you were self-aware, you realize, man, I can't, um. Yeah. I can't trust anybody else from my family, or I can't trust the livelihood of my family. So you decide to roll your sleeves up, right? So let's talk about some building here, because this is something that you and I both love. Yes, sir. Right. You start reacting and you start building. So let's jam into you launched a home inspection business and you're already working on a second one that we talked about in the green room, which is amazing. Um, but that doesn't happen by accident, right? So what was the real first decision that you made that really put all that into motion to move the needle and creating that first business? Um, man, kind of going back to so laid off in October and by, I would say mid January the following, you know, Twenty five. Um, I had gone through like another seven or eight interviews, final round for three of them and none of them hit. And one of them finally was like, yeah, one of them was the VP of the company up the road was like, dude, you're fantastic. The problem is, is that you are aged. This guy is thirty years old. You're going to come in with a ton of experience and he sees you as a threat. So there's a whole bunch of other stuff going on too. But, um, and he's just like, you're going to have a challenge because you come in with a ton of experience and you can talk, you can relate, you can calm things down. I've seen, I've seen what you talk. So they asked this guy in particular asked for like an essay of like, what? What trouble things have you run into and how did you solve them? And all of them systems and vision and things, just basic things. Yeah. Anyway, so, um, yeah, so that conversation, a bunch of other things that led up to that was like, you know what, man? Um, I think that's a big man saying, hey, dude, you're, you're, you're on your own. You're, you're a one man wolf pack until told otherwise. So, um, yeah, I mean, so January I, I talked to a couple friends. One was a realtor in the area and I'm like, hey, man. So I heard about this home inspection side, the one we had done here. It was okay. Um, the inspector missed some stuff and then, um, but come to find out, that was like one of the best ones in the area and I'm not going to say who they are because I respect them, I'm sure. No, no that's fine. Anyways, yeah, if they see this. Yeah. Right. If they see this then, uh, you know, I'll buy them by him or her a beer. Um, anyway, so, um, long story short, I did, I went up to a realtor office and I'm like, hey, you know, I'm wanting to be a home inspector. What's if I was halfway decent and I could carry myself, like, what's the market like for a new home inspector? And resoundingly enough, they're like, if you're halfway decent and can spell inspector, you'll probably do, you know, a good job. And so, um, did some research. And then I think February is when I made the decision. So I bought, there was a guy who was coming to Fayetteville. Uh, Floyd was one of my business mentor, one of the best home inspectors on the east Coast, um, has a huge business and does really well. Anyways, um, so he was doing the training course and it was again, it's just seeing the doors being opened and walking through them. And ever since then, um, now I did have a hiccup, I'll tell you about that here in a little bit. But ever since then, I had, uh, just great like feedback, great exposure, just talking to people, going to open homes and doing this and that, talking to realtors and, um, you know, so in March, I took, it was in March. Yeah, March. I took the class in April fifth, I launched a company and, um, I mean, like I said, seven, eight inspections last year and I'm talking to guys that are on these other like little groups and things like that. And some of them are doing like twenty some every once in a while you'll get one. But man, I like, I mean, I know, but I did for it was a new industry. So what do you do best if you don't know something, you study for four to six weeks? Yeah, eight to ten hours a day. And I have nothing else to do. I wasn't employed so I could do that. And so here's, here's another one too. And I'll just shout out to my wife, my wife knows that when I have to, um, I did college, but I did full time college work full time and had two young kids. So that's probably one of the most stressful times as well. But she was the reason why I was able to do that. Yeah. So I so there's, there's my situation and how we have built everything together so far. She knew that that's what had to be done. So, um, yeah, so then I just, you know, bought business cards, started my LLC, um, and I did some innovative stuff. I had a drone license already. So I mean, I'm just, uh, yeah. So June, July, I was kicking butt and then October hit and like, the market dropped out from under me. And I didn't expect that until like November, December. So, Mhm. Um, anyways, but yeah, no, it's been. And so that was a little bit if you want to, I can go into that real quick. That's a whole. Yeah, absolutely. So, so you as a business owner, in my opinion, um, the first year, it was the first year or two, I think is you're going to have like just my experiences, you're going to have a downtime, you're going to have negative thoughts. Why did I do this? Oh, you're going to start, you're going to start looking at other jobs. You start submitting to other stuff. And then, um, but it's, it was great for me to do. So I will tell you this, uh, um, yeah, I'll say it. I sold cars for two months. The best and the worst thing I could have ever done. Um, man, whatever you think about the car industry, it's about ninety five percent. You're right. That's no matter what your gut instinct on it is like the people that there's a few people that were good, but man, um, anyways, I'll leave it there. But, but the silver lining about it again, looking for opportunity and everything, man. My sales. So my overcoming objections, uh, qualifying the leads. Um, you know how to it got to a point, but I, I actually cared about the people that showed up. Um, so my, the ones that were really cool was like the mom and daughter, they had no husband or husband passed away or divorced and moved. And they're trying to find a new car for a teenager and she didn't have twenty thousand dollars. So I would go out of my way. I really gravitated towards that because we had just gone through that with my daughter. And so, um, now, but it took some stuff happening at the place and I didn't like what they were trying to do to some people. I'm like, you know what I'm going to, and I'm, you're, you're there for ten to eleven hours on the lot, just standing there in the corner like a, you know, like a lady of the night. And, um, no offense if you're one of those, but, you know, they're entrepreneurs too. Anyways, uh, sorry, that's the army coming out anyways. Uh, but yeah, so I'm sitting there looking. I'm like, I'm spending ten to eleven hours a day on the lot here. Like, can I put this towards my business? And so talking to the wife, I'm like, hey, actually, I called a couple of my close business partners and I'm like, hey, this is my situation again, that goes back to the whole circle of your people. So, hey, this is my situation. This is where my head space is at. And they were one of them was like, dude, we've been f ING pissed at you because you left and we have gone through other inspectors and you spoiled us. So please come back, let us know. I'm like, all right, so I'll call the wife. And I said, hey, I'm done. Like, I can't do this no more. I mean, I sold fifteen, fourteen cars the first four weeks of selling cars. Wow. That's pretty good, man. Dude, I. Yeah. Um, anyways, uh, wouldn't it be fair to say, though, that because one thing I grasped or caught out of what you just talked about there is you transfer your skills, right? You know, you transfer your skills that you learn while you're, you're doing car sales, you learn how to overcome objections. And honestly, you know, we're always selling, right? I honestly hear a lot. Oh, I don't want to be in sales. Well, I hate to break it to you, but you're already selling, right? Yeah, you do need you. If you're a business owner and you have not opened up a sales book. Yeah. Like, like Chris Voss, uh, you know, never split the difference. Chaco leadership, all these things to deal with people and challenging you. So there's so many benefits to that. And I think that's, that's the core piece that I think I miss in my business. And so again, it was a door that was open. I walked through it and after a little bit, I'm like, all right, I've done squeeze the juice out of this, you know? Yeah. Fourteen year old orange. And uh, here we are real quick before we keep going, if you've been listening to this conversation and something hit a nerve, if something we talked about made you pause, or you felt that little tug in your chest, like, man, that one was for me. I want you to lean into that for a second. Don't just brush it off. Because here's the thing. Conversations like this. Yes, they're great and I love doing this show. I really do. But if I'm being real with you, a conversation can only take you so far. At some point, you got to stop nodding along and actually do something with that feeling. So here's what I want you to do. I want to personally invite you to something we built called the Reforged Challenge. It's a live five day experience I created specifically for people like you, high performers who know they're capable of more. But something got knocked sideways in the old playbook. Just stopped working. Or maybe life smacked you in the face with a two by four that you just didn't see coming. Maybe the fire just dimmed and you can't figure out how to reignite it. Five days, five real identity shifts, live coaching, real community in the kind of honest conversations that actually move the needle. Not just another thing you consume and forget by Friday. Listen, you're not broken. You're just in between versions. And I love for you to come see what we've built. Head on over to the reforge challenge dot com again. Reforge challenge dot com. Check it out. See if it speaks to you. And if it does, I'll see you inside. All right, let's get back to it. Yeah, that makes makes sense, man. And I love that you mentioned, you know, how you could transfer your skills because oftentimes we we just get boxed in. We, you know, we don't think about how we could transfer those skills, especially sales. If you're married, you have kids, you're always selling anyways. But, um, I just tell them what to do through selling. Right? Um, because you still have to overcome objections, but yeah, you're grounded. That's me overcoming their objection, and I'm just kidding. No. They're great. I'm gonna tell Julia. I'm kidding. No, don't do that. No, she's an amazing person, man. Um, but, uh, thank you. So this is something I really want for folks to take away from. This is, you know, how can you apply and adopt the skills that you've already learned and will continue to learn into this next season of life? Will you still you're always going to learn, right? Yep. Um, learn through experience. Learn through knowledge. But you can only take so much knowledge before you just have to say, you know what, I'm just going to take this first step because I know personally I can count more times than not the amount of people I've run into. They think they need more knowledge. They think they need more time. They think they need more of whatever. Fill in the blank before they just go out and execute. Right? For that someday. What's that? Analysis paralysis. Yes I agree. What's your thoughts on that? So. So let's say if you're wanting to start, I mean you've started enough businesses, right? It is fear. But there's there's a lot of over smart. So sometimes starting a business is, is it doesn't take much logic. It just takes a little bit of work. But people who are logical are always trying to find what can get me or what. So what's. Walk me through one of. I'm sure you've done that in one or two of yours. So have you gone through that before? Every single one. Okay. Every. Every business. There is a side of me that wants to walk into that trap of analysis paralysis. Then I learned, wait a minute. That is this fear disguised as perfectionist, right? Or perfectionist disguised as fear. Because, you know, I'm afraid of making a mistake or making myself look stupid or whatever. Fill in the blank, right? But you know, you just have to take that step, you know? And the reason why it feels so weird, the reason why we feel that we have to have everything is because we've gotten so comfortable to, you know, what we've been through, right? To, to your point, you know, to speak to your life for a moment, you lived a W-2 life for so long, you just get comfortable. You get complacent. And so anything outside that man, your your your palms get sweaty, your heart rate starts racing. All these thoughts start racing through your mind. Man, what if I look stupid? What if I make a mistake? What if I lose money? What if my relationship with my spouse gets damaged or all these different things, all these what ifs starts racing through your mind. You know, ninety five percent of the time when we just take that first step, all those false scenarios, they made up, all these stories, you made up your mind, they don't come to fruition, you know, and ninety five percent of our actions, ironically, is governed by emotions governed by feelings, which are temporary. You know, I was reading a report, I forget this neuroscientist, um, I can't even pronounce his name. Actually, he's in Germany. I got to spit a few times in order to accurately pronounce his name, but yeah, for sure. But yeah, ninety five percent of our actions are governed by how we feel by our emotions, which come and go, you know? So let's get back to building because you mentioned some things in here that I really want to highlight, especially as we start to wrap up. You mentioned that the military laid the foundation, showed you what you needed to work on, which I can relate here, right? You're building this business now in the hard moments. Is there something in your time in the Army or any time of your life, but specifically in your army? Because I really want to, you know, hone in on that, that you're reaching back and pull from. Like, is there anything, man, in specifics? The key thing I would say is, is, um, is systems and processes, right? So there's a guy I forgot his name. First name is Chris. I forgot his last name. I'm terrible with names. Um, his name is, uh, he's got a book called E-myth. Right. And so what he's doing is he's explaining that. Okay, so you know what I'm talking about. So for those who don't, he basically says, take your business and develop a franchise. Uh, you know, uh, example, like what do you, what do you call it? Uh. Yeah. It's just to introduce introduction into building a franchise model, right? So what you're doing prototype. That's what I'm looking for. So you're building a prototype franchise with your business. And so, um, everything I've done to this point has been, okay. If something's broken, it's because of this system. How does this work? How does this affect the mission at hand? So everything I do in my business is what is this process? Um, what processes do I need? And what's really, really important about that is one being okay with failure, being okay with, okay, you bought a system and it doesn't work. Cool. You've learned everything, you've is always positive and everything you do. Yes. Um, so collecting data. Right. Exactly. So that, you know, for deploying to the border of Pakistan have to be self-sustaining for four to six weeks. Um, like those things have been absolute key and it's not difficult stuff. So I'm saying I went through it as a young, you know, young guy and had Broderick. I'm not sure if you remember him, but. Oh yeah, I remember him. Yeah. He was key to teaching us a lot of that stuff. So understanding the processes and just kind of know when you walk onto a job, like what tools do you need? Uh, what are common things that fail? Um, and so, but that's just, that's, so that's a technical side. So talking about anything that's a technical side, then you get the managerial side, which is how do you manage all the clients that you have? How do you manage the, the routes? How do you manage the type of work you're going to do? And then you got the entrepreneur side. So where I think and he is completely right on that book. If you haven't read the E-myth, go get it. Um, the biggest part with me was, um, there was an eye opener was, um, like ignoring the entrepreneur side of the business, like all of us want to do. Like if you're, if you're an AC tech or you're an electrician, that's all you want to do. That's probably about twenty, thirty percent of what you're doing. The other eighty, seventy percent is going to be taxes. is going to be payroll is going to be SEO. It's going to be, you know, marketing. It's going to be relationship building. Um, you know, finding new clients and figuring out things like that. So that's kind of what I would say, um, is a big part of, um, the core of what I pulled from the military systems and processes and just keep learning, keep opening up a book and just trying to figure out what's working and what's not. Yeah, I love it, man. I can definitely relate to that or, you know, definitely agree on that. That was something I can draw on. Uh, was systems and being systems mind, especially in aircraft, right? I mean, it's very systems driven and, um, you know, and there's an order to everything, there's a checklist for everything. And, and, uh, yeah, even when stuff goes haywire and stuff goes to the fan, there's a process, there's a checklist to follow. Um, you know, as we start to wrap up, man, I'm going to rapid fire through a couple of things, some of which we discussed in the greenroom. Unfortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, we do have to wrap this up because I know we could talk forever on this kind of stuff. It might be a part two. So if you love to hear some more on this conversation, love to hear some some feedback and comments. Let Brian know too, because he needs to hear this feedback. But I'm of the belief that grit means something different for everyone in different seasons, right? Whether you're a parent that's navigating early childhood or, you know, like us, you know, kids are starting to spread their wings and they've got some more complex things and life is more complex. Yeah. Um, for, so for you in this season of life that you're, that you're in building businesses and being a, you know, a father and a husband and so forth. What does grit mean for you right now? Yeah, I would say where people freak out is mainly emotionally driven, right? So any decision that comes up, um, I try to get rid of the emotion, the stress and turn logic part on. And what you're doing is you're dissecting the problem, okay, what's causing this problem? What are my options to solve this problem? And just kind of work, work through the people that are in the problem with you and try to get them all on the same page. Love it man. Love it. That's overcoming grit in my opinion. Yeah. So emotions is a big thing for some. It reminds me of something I learned a couple, well, several years ago. You know, basically us, man, we process emotions through logic and women process logic through emotions, you know? And I think for anything that we do in life, we've got to remove emotions out of the equation, whether it's your peak or your low. You know, you've got to get back to the equal state as fast as you possibly can so you can make the best decisions possible. So awesome man. So as I talked to you in the green room, I asked you for this directive, right? So what is this? When you're in the trenches, you're you're going through the thick of it. And you know, whether it's in the season or a moment or whatever, you're just like, man, you've got to pull yourself through. What is a quote or directive that you're finding yourself, you're reminding yourself of to champion yourself out of that moment or through that moment. Um, the word good, it's if you're going through something like, good, I'm getting challenged right now. How do I come out of this? Yeah, yeah. No, I'm telling you, like, just just just there's, there's, you gotta find them as your own person, but there's people out there who come up with stupid, simple ways to solve problems. Yeah. Um, and to me, like this last one, I had a temp of like, I think one hundred, three hundred and four and I was like second inspection of the day, climbing up in the attic space and just, I mean, I'm getting older. It sucks getting old because your body doesn't respond. So, um, and so I went out and, and so I'm an hour away from being done. And this is a big purchase for somebody and it's their home. And I was like, man, I could cut the corner. You know what? No. Good. Let me see how much more efficient I could be from when I first started today. So, um, that's that's a my mentality. It's good. I need it accurate. You know what? Thank you. I needed that reminder, to be honest with you. Yep, I needed that. And I hope those are listening. If you're not sure what you're or what we're talking about here, it's really a like a thirty or no, it's like a sixty or ninety second clip of Jocko, you know, talking about these different scenarios. Oh, you didn't get that promotion good. You you lost this, you know, competition. Good. Why is it saying this? Well, it's because a moment for you to learn. It's a moment for you to learn from that situation, to dig deep and see just what you're truly made of. And man, I actually needed to hear that, man, I appreciate that. Yeah, man. Um, I'm of the belief because especially in this season of life and I'm sure you can agree with in the building aspect of what you're in right now, there's been a lot of attention on adding, right, adding processes, adding systems, adding this, adding that right. But conversely, growth also requires subtraction. Addition by subtraction, right? So what is one thing? It could be a belief or you know, something, a point of friction. What is something that you're either actively subtract or you've had to subtract in order to level up saying yes to everything. Um, yeah. So when I first started, I joined the chamber. There's a couple associations I'm part of and like, they need help as much as anybody does. And so when you're starting a new business, you're super hungry to develop those relationships. And then you get to a point where I was, I've had to tell a couple of them like, listen, I'm going to hurt your feelings, but I cannot do this this week. I've got and then you stop showing up to meetings because you're actually working. So, um, I, I have There was a soft landing approach that I had to it. But just telling people no every once in a while um is key now agree. Um there's there's side effects to every decision that consequences every decision, good or bad. So just, just, you know, learn it. Don't be afraid of failure. Don't be afraid of pissing people off. Just learn and move on. Yeah. That's all I can do. You know, you're probably the third person I've heard this this past week. Not all guests, but just, you know, in general of when they're in that season of when that they need to learn to say yes and when to say no. You know, saying yes to the right things, not to good things, but saying yes to the right things and knowing when to say no. Because, man, that could get you in hot water fast for sure. All right, man, so this last question is a two part question, which I prefaced or I kind of prepared you with in the green room. right? So it just kind of level set the audience. I always love to give my current guests the opportunity to ask my next guest. Man, what is one thing if you're a me, what would you love to ask my next guest? Because maybe you went through something in your marriage or in your finances and your health, your business career. What would be that one thing? Man, I just went through this. I will have to get their perspective on this or that or however they would handle this, right? And so far, this question has or the question has been perfect for every single guest. And there is no, you know, insight as to who is who like the guest lineup. So my previous guest, actually, I dropped a ball and asking her because the conversation was so amazing. So I actually sent her a text like, oh, shoot, I forgot to ask you. Um, but her question for you was this what's one thing you wish that you wish you learned earlier in your life or in your business? That's a tough one. Um, because I feel like I'm always working on fixing something. Well, what would, what would I. Well, let me ask you. Give me a second to think about that. But while I'm thinking about it, what's your answer to that question? Honestly, none. Yeah. Yeah. And I answer this because I am where I am. Because I had to endure the trials and tribulations. Are there things I wish I knew? Yeah. You know, I wish, you know, when I got out of the military in two thousand and three, when I bought this Mustang Cobra and I went on I eighty five in Charlotte and tried to road race somebody that I would get arrested. Right. Um, but doing that, you know, for some hard lessons. Hey, dumbass, you shouldn't have done that because you get your car impounded, you get taken away and so forth. Are there things I wish I had, you know, wish I had done differently? Sure. But I'm also on the same side. No, because. God has designed this life for me. He has me right where I need to be at the time. I need to be here, you know? And so there is a side of me wishes. Yes, but also on the other side, I just, you know, it's been hard. Yeah. I've had my nuts kicked in more times than I care to count and care to admit. But God, he put this, you know, for a reason. Yeah, I think I think for me, um, and you knew me when I was coming up as an enlisted guy, um, I could have worked harder and worked smarter in general. And that's, that's with everything I was, um, I, I had and growing up, I didn't have, I mean, I had some pressure, but not a lot of pressure to be better. Yeah. Um, or work up to the level that my, my parents and teachers and, and in the military sometimes y'all, but like, for example, my, my son, I mean, he's a fifteen year old strapping young lad. And, uh, of course, he's your son. He's got to be strapping young lad. Oh, yeah. Well, you know, allegedly. No. Um no, he's well, so he's he's kicking butt, but he's going through this this testosterone hormonal thing right now where I'm like, so pulling the curtains back. He plays for a football team here in town and they're a great football team. And he's played quarterback before other teams and did really, really well. His IQ was always spot on. His throwing was always spot on. Everything he's had was a lack of confidence to a certain degree, not completely, but to a certain degree because he needed he wanted to like, know, be one hundred percent sure he's not going to make a mistake. And that has his faults too. Kind of going back we were talking about earlier. Yeah. So my big thing now is like, hey dude, like, be okay with failure. Um, and just don't, don't let the fear of failure holds you back from doing more. I wouldn't say that is exactly my issue I had growing up, but maybe a little bit. I think I was more in fear of like the being made fun of or not being accepted by my peers or something like that. And so we stay in the middle. You're kind of like in that realm, but I would say that's kind of my biggest thing I wish I'd have learned earlier was the harder I work, the more I focus on the mission, the task, whatever. Um, I will be better. So that's, that's, I think I've kind of came out of that realm around thirty seven. That's, that's a great, that's a great response. You know, and I think everybody can relate to that. You know, I know I can, you know, I mean, but that's, that's the school of hard knocks. And we've, we've had to learn those things. We've had to learn those hard lessons. I'm watching my son and my kids do the same thing. And it's like, bro, you know, there are clients that pay me a lot of money for, for me to, you know, for the advice you're getting, but you're choosing to endure the pain anyways. Okay. Gotcha. Yeah. Um, yeah. That's boys. Boys are dumb. Yeah. Um. Yeah. But, uh. Well, all right, as we wrap up, man, last, you know, the last part of the last question, what is the one question you will love to ask my next guest? Um, what do you consider success? Oh, and that's perfect for my next one. That's everybody. Everybody does that. Every, every time I've asked somebody that like, it's even really stupid successful people, they're like, it takes them a second. Yeah. So, but at the same time, I'm okay with like, I don't. And probably when I die is when I feel success. I'm okay with that answer too. But some, I don't think some people don't have that vision of where they want to be because the problem is then you retire and you die early and yeah, you know, so anyways, no, I that's a, that's a good one because in fact, uh, I was, I was on a call earlier today and we talked about that, you know, because he kept saying success, success. And I was like, all right, well, let's let's be a little more specific because I hear this word. Let's stop generalizing. What does that mean to that dude? Right? So yeah. Awesome man. Great question. And ironically, it is going to fit perfect to my next guest. So I can't tell you who that is. So awesome. Well, Brian, I do thank you so much for not just, you know, coming on here and giving us the highlight reel because that is easy to do, especially in today's culture, especially in social media. It's all you see is everybody's highlight reels. Look at this, look at that. Look how amazing I am. But you came in here and said like, yes, you showed us some highlight reels, but you showed us some very specific moments where you had the floor pulled out from underneath you. You could have easily gone many, you know, some very toxic directions, but instead you chose to, to rise up and build some, some amazing businesses and build a life for yourselves. Yes, it was hard, but you chose to rise up and show the your, your, your family and lead by example. So I dude, I appreciate you coming on here, man, and sharing. Well, good luck with your, your endeavor here, man. You're getting good information to the people who need it for sure. Yeah, absolutely. Man, I appreciate it. So for, for the person that's listening, maybe they're in or Kansas or Arkansas, you know, they're like, oh my gosh, I'm looking to buy a home. Or maybe they just want to connect with you because they, you know, they, they love hearing as Brian Todd who can't not love Brian Todd, by the way, um, he's a great drummer. That was sarcasm. Yeah. No, I forgot to mention that I gotta eat that one for sure. That's good. Oh, man, that's really a blast in the past. Oh gosh. I can't remember the last time I've actually gotten behind a set anyway. Well, yeah. Sam, I hadn't touched a guitar in too long, honestly, but, um, but, uh, but nonetheless, you know, what is one place that somebody could find you if they want to just reach out to you, connect with you, or maybe they want your services or home inspection. Yeah, well, I mean, social media is big. So, uh, social media look up unified inspection services or go to unified inspection dot com. Um, all my contact information and listen, here's the deal. Um, I do try to take time out of my day to help people where I can. So if you have, you know, um, if you want to be told you suck, if you want to be told you're a great person, give me a call and I'll tell you whatever you want me to tell you, but I'll, I'll ask some questions. So be prepared for some tough questions. But yeah, no, I mean, we're all we're all in this together, man. It's it's really, um, life is life is too short for us to be, you know, selfish and envy. Right. Envy is kind of a bad one. So, um, anyways, we're one team, one fight. Yeah, no, I agree. Thanks for sharing all that, man. Those will definitely be dropping at, uh, in the show notes, uh, to those listening and watching, as you know, if you've, if you've, if you're listening to the first time, I'm going to say it again, but the gap between average and excellence is merely just action, even in perfect action. My challenge to you is simple, guys. Take it. Don't just listen to what Bryan's disclosing here and all the knowledge and wisdom he's dropping here. Just take one thing from, you know, from the things he shared in the conversation today, whether it's you're looking at yourself in the mirror and doing an honest assessment or, you know, doing some feedback loops, or maybe it's finally taking action on building a business or what have you. Just do it, please, because I will tell you the future self, you will give you high five and it's not going to be in the face. Maybe, but be the reason. Please. Someone doesn't quit today. Share. You know, don't keep this to yourself. Share the link. Share the episode because someone in your circle definitely need this. So again, Bryan, thank you so much my dude. I appreciate you joining the arena today. Man. Humbled my man. We'll hopefully do this again sometime. Absolutely, absolutely.