WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000 What you complain about is the price, the price tag. 2 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:05.480 No one says, hey, I don't want to make money. 3 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:08.080 They say, hey, I don't like the price of making money. 4 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:10.240 Hey, I don't like the price of this influence 5 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:11.280 that I want to have. 6 00:00:11.280 --> 00:00:14.080 I don't like the price of gaining this subscriber base. 7 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:16.000 I don't like the price of running ads 8 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:17.880 profitably making $5 every dollar. 9 00:00:17.880 --> 00:00:20.280 I don't like the price of learning how to do that. 10 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:22.040 But the price is the suffering that you go through 11 00:00:22.040 --> 00:00:24.560 and not knowing and embracing the uncertainty 12 00:00:24.560 --> 00:00:26.680 of not knowing how long you'll have to suffer. 13 00:00:26.680 --> 00:00:28.800 It's not about not suffering. 14 00:00:29.680 --> 00:00:31.920 I think it's about finding something worthy of suffering. 15 00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:38.440 My number one tweet of all time happened in the last month. 16 00:00:38.440 --> 00:00:40.720 It was November, I think. 17 00:00:40.720 --> 00:00:44.640 And it was, you must first become consistent 18 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:47.480 before you can become exceptional. 19 00:00:47.480 --> 00:00:51.600 And I thought I would start with that 20 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:56.480 because I feel in reading some of the comments 21 00:00:56.480 --> 00:00:58.720 and posts inside of the community 22 00:00:58.720 --> 00:01:02.600 that I don't think this is understood. 23 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:06.720 And so I wanted to break both of those pieces apart. 24 00:01:06.720 --> 00:01:08.840 So first is what is commitment 25 00:01:08.840 --> 00:01:11.280 and the second is what is exceptional. 26 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:13.320 From the commitment perspective, 27 00:01:13.320 --> 00:01:16.480 I define commitment as the elimination of alternatives. 28 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:20.280 For example, if you get married, you commit by saying 29 00:01:20.280 --> 00:01:21.920 that you will not be with anyone else. 30 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:23.160 So you eliminate alternatives. 31 00:01:23.160 --> 00:01:24.480 So it's the ultimate commitment. 32 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:28.880 There's a story that I really like of a young lad 33 00:01:28.880 --> 00:01:31.040 who was talking to his grandfather. 34 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:34.600 And he said he wanted to make the football team. 35 00:01:34.600 --> 00:01:36.360 And so they're out to breakfast 36 00:01:36.360 --> 00:01:39.400 and they're just a normal diner. 37 00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:43.320 He's got some bacon, he's got some eggs, right? 38 00:01:43.320 --> 00:01:47.920 And he says, I want to make varsity this year. 39 00:01:48.880 --> 00:01:52.320 And his grandfather looks at him and he's like, 40 00:01:52.320 --> 00:01:55.560 I mean, are you interested or you committed? 41 00:01:55.560 --> 00:01:56.880 And he's like, I'm committed. 42 00:01:56.880 --> 00:02:01.920 He's like, well, this chicken that laid the eggs 43 00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:03.640 on your plate that you're eating right now 44 00:02:03.640 --> 00:02:07.200 said that chicken was interested, right? 45 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:12.520 He's like, but that pig that gave the bacon, the pigs committed. 46 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:16.520 And I just love that as just a great visual representation 47 00:02:16.520 --> 00:02:19.280 of what it means to be committed. 48 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:21.960 I think many of you, and to be clear, 49 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:26.960 I'm not saying you shouldn't put food on the table 50 00:02:27.320 --> 00:02:29.640 if this is something that's brand new for you, right? 51 00:02:29.640 --> 00:02:33.240 If starting a business is brand new, then I'm not saying that. 52 00:02:33.240 --> 00:02:35.000 That's not my point here. 53 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:37.120 My point here is that there's other things, 54 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:38.520 there are other alternatives 55 00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:41.160 that you were either entertaining mentally 56 00:02:41.160 --> 00:02:43.440 or that you're actually entertaining 57 00:02:43.440 --> 00:02:45.520 that are not this thing. 58 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:48.840 And the difficulty is that there's an inherent 59 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:52.840 fallacy in that belief set, 60 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:55.360 which is that I will work on many things 61 00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:57.720 and I will see which one works. 62 00:02:57.720 --> 00:03:00.960 When the reality is all of them can work if you do. 63 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:06.760 And the second part of it is that none of them will work 64 00:03:06.760 --> 00:03:09.000 if you try to pursue them all. 65 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:10.840 And so you may have heard the saying, 66 00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:12.360 you could have everything you want in life 67 00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:13.840 just not at the same time. 68 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:17.160 And I tend to be a believer in this in that, 69 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:20.760 people have an unwillingness to make trade-offs 70 00:03:20.760 --> 00:03:22.360 and they try and speak in absolutes. 71 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:24.800 And I think a lot of the content that I make, for example, 72 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:28.120 gets snippets will be taken out of context 73 00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:29.760 and that's the nature of the internet 74 00:03:29.760 --> 00:03:33.800 and decried or people will get upset about it. 75 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:37.000 Because I will speak of a trade-off 76 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:39.120 and they will say, I am not willing to make that trade 77 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:41.760 and I'm saying don't, don't make that trade 78 00:03:41.760 --> 00:03:43.680 if you don't want to make that trade. 79 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:46.960 But there is a price tag that is associated 80 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:48.760 with the things that we want. 81 00:03:48.760 --> 00:03:51.840 And I think my biggest pet peeve 82 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:53.680 is when people say I want the thing 83 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:56.120 but I don't want to pay the price. 84 00:03:56.120 --> 00:03:58.840 And so the price in the beginning is commitment. 85 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:00.720 It's consistency. 86 00:04:00.720 --> 00:04:02.120 You must first become consistent 87 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:04.320 before you become exceptional. 88 00:04:04.320 --> 00:04:05.760 Consistency is one of those, 89 00:04:05.760 --> 00:04:07.880 it's Charlie Munger put it in his, 90 00:04:07.880 --> 00:04:10.360 one of his seminal talks on, 91 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:12.800 he was a graduation speech that he gave. 92 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:14.800 And he talked about inverting success. 93 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:17.920 He said, so how would I guarantee you failure? 94 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:21.720 And among the rules of guaranteeing failure 95 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:23.560 is to be inconsistent. 96 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:26.480 He said, it's very difficult to be unsuccessful 97 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:27.320 if you are consistent. 98 00:04:27.320 --> 00:04:29.320 So for sure, you want to make sure 99 00:04:29.320 --> 00:04:32.640 that you are inconsistent, that you start and you stop, 100 00:04:32.640 --> 00:04:35.360 that you interrupt the flow of growth, 101 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:39.600 that you switch tracks as many times as possible. 102 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:41.760 And I see this as a common theme 103 00:04:41.760 --> 00:04:44.320 especially for those of you who are starting out. 104 00:04:44.320 --> 00:04:46.760 And I can speak this really to it 105 00:04:46.760 --> 00:04:49.280 because I understand it well 106 00:04:49.280 --> 00:04:51.560 because I've been in the same position. 107 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:53.960 And it wasn't until I was willing to accept 108 00:04:53.960 --> 00:04:55.880 that I cannot have it all, 109 00:04:55.880 --> 00:04:57.800 that I started to get something. 110 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:00.920 What I would like to kind of reinforce 111 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:03.200 is the elimination of FOMO. 112 00:05:03.200 --> 00:05:04.640 So fear of missing out. 113 00:05:04.640 --> 00:05:07.920 I think FOMO happens when we do not understand 114 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:09.760 the trade that someone else makes 115 00:05:09.760 --> 00:05:12.440 and we simply see the outcome of their inputs 116 00:05:12.440 --> 00:05:14.280 but the inputs are invisible. 117 00:05:14.280 --> 00:05:16.200 And so when we look at social media 118 00:05:16.200 --> 00:05:18.240 and you see the ads or you see content, 119 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:20.320 you always see a curated highlight reel. 120 00:05:20.320 --> 00:05:23.560 You only see the outcome, you don't see what goes into it. 121 00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:26.280 And so it gives a false conception 122 00:05:26.280 --> 00:05:28.040 of what it took to get there. 123 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:30.560 Many people joke about the 10 year overnight success 124 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:33.480 but I have really yet to meet anyone who's been in business 125 00:05:33.480 --> 00:05:35.640 that didn't take basically five years 126 00:05:35.640 --> 00:05:38.440 to figure out like what the hell is going on. 127 00:05:38.440 --> 00:05:41.240 You basically just want to pay down that five years 128 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:42.720 as fast as you can. 129 00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:45.560 Now some of you are two years into that five years 130 00:05:45.560 --> 00:05:47.960 or three years into that five years. 131 00:05:47.960 --> 00:05:49.320 I want to be clear here, 132 00:05:49.320 --> 00:05:51.920 if you're not making a dollar within 12 months, 133 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:53.680 then you have a problem. 134 00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:57.080 Like you're not doing a very basic part of business. 135 00:05:57.080 --> 00:06:00.840 But if you and like the solution to that 136 00:06:00.840 --> 00:06:02.720 is likely take more action. 137 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:04.840 But for the people who have made some money 138 00:06:04.840 --> 00:06:06.960 but not as much as they want to make, 139 00:06:06.960 --> 00:06:09.960 it's typically because you have some level of skill set 140 00:06:09.960 --> 00:06:12.320 but not nearly enough volume. 141 00:06:12.320 --> 00:06:14.240 I think I might have said this last week, 142 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:19.240 but volatility is a symptom of insufficient volume. 143 00:06:21.400 --> 00:06:23.800 And so if you feel like you're not getting 144 00:06:23.800 --> 00:06:26.960 as many leads or as many customers as you want, 145 00:06:26.960 --> 00:06:29.280 it's simply because you're not doing enough. 146 00:06:29.280 --> 00:06:31.080 And the reason you're not doing enough 147 00:06:31.080 --> 00:06:34.400 is either you're distracted doing many things 148 00:06:34.400 --> 00:06:37.440 that aren't actually adding to this efficient volume. 149 00:06:37.440 --> 00:06:39.440 And so in your mind, you see yourself 150 00:06:39.440 --> 00:06:41.320 or you feel yourself working all the time, 151 00:06:41.320 --> 00:06:43.120 you sit in front of your computer, 152 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:46.600 you're at home and you feel like you're like, 153 00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:47.840 this is work time, right? 154 00:06:47.840 --> 00:06:51.760 I've got my timer on, I've got my ear plugs in, I'm working. 155 00:06:51.760 --> 00:06:53.480 But if you look at the nature of what you're doing, 156 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:56.040 you're skipping between tasks constantly. 157 00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:58.560 And so you never actually move the ball forward 158 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:00.360 on the things that matter. 159 00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:01.840 The elimination of alternatives 160 00:07:01.840 --> 00:07:04.440 is what you can do to show commitment. 161 00:07:04.440 --> 00:07:06.880 Like how do you see if someone is committed? 162 00:07:06.880 --> 00:07:08.440 You look at how many alternatives 163 00:07:08.440 --> 00:07:10.440 they have given themselves, right? 164 00:07:10.440 --> 00:07:14.040 There's the old saying, I think it was the Vikings 165 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:17.800 that did this originally, but the saying has been pervasive 166 00:07:17.800 --> 00:07:20.960 at this point, which is when they would go try to sack a city, 167 00:07:20.960 --> 00:07:24.240 the Vikings would land on the enemy shores, 168 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:26.560 and then they would burn the boats. 169 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:28.800 And there's a very different level of commitment. 170 00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:30.720 When you burn the boats and you can't go home, 171 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:32.320 and the only way that you can go home 172 00:07:32.320 --> 00:07:35.000 is that you sack the city, you tend to fight differently. 173 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:36.640 You fight as though you're backs against the wall 174 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:38.320 because you've eliminated alternatives. 175 00:07:38.320 --> 00:07:41.920 Some of you probably do have alternatives, 176 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:44.560 but the thing is, is that those alternatives don't serve you 177 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:49.800 because they're draining the resources 178 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:52.840 that you have to hit sufficient volume. 179 00:07:52.840 --> 00:07:55.240 And the big part about hitting sufficient volume 180 00:07:55.240 --> 00:07:58.240 isn't intensity of one day, right? 181 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:01.440 Like you can work out as hard as you want, 182 00:08:01.440 --> 00:08:03.560 one day every three weeks, 183 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:05.200 and you're not gonna look different. 184 00:08:05.200 --> 00:08:07.000 And you can do it that for years. 185 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:08.000 That's the thing that's crazy, 186 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:09.400 because you can do it for years. 187 00:08:09.400 --> 00:08:13.760 You can say that I work out, I've been working out for years, 188 00:08:13.760 --> 00:08:16.160 and I look the same, my genetic suck, 189 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:18.960 my workout regimen sucks, 190 00:08:18.960 --> 00:08:23.440 but you could do 10 minutes, seven days a week, 191 00:08:23.440 --> 00:08:25.600 and get significantly better results, 192 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:28.080 and you would have results that would improve. 193 00:08:28.080 --> 00:08:30.920 And as crazy as that sounds, it's also true. 194 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:33.720 And the thing is, it's also true in business. 195 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:36.160 And so the question comes down to, 196 00:08:36.160 --> 00:08:38.800 what are the things that we're doing instead? 197 00:08:38.800 --> 00:08:42.400 Every person has the same time allowance. 198 00:08:42.400 --> 00:08:44.320 The only thing that we have is the great equalizer. 199 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:45.640 We all have the same amount of time. 200 00:08:45.640 --> 00:08:47.760 Right now we don't know how long we all have, 201 00:08:47.760 --> 00:08:50.280 but in terms of one second for me is one second for you, 202 00:08:50.280 --> 00:08:53.560 and is one second for somebody across the world. 203 00:08:53.560 --> 00:08:56.640 And so it's not that you lack time. 204 00:08:56.640 --> 00:09:00.480 It's that you have priorities that are mismatched. 205 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:03.640 And I think if I had one objective for this, 206 00:09:03.640 --> 00:09:06.600 little podcast right, what are you gonna call it, 207 00:09:06.600 --> 00:09:11.600 is for you to really look at the things that you're doing 208 00:09:12.560 --> 00:09:14.800 and determine whether they are actually reflections 209 00:09:14.800 --> 00:09:16.160 of your priorities. 210 00:09:16.160 --> 00:09:21.160 If you were to show me your schedule and your bank account, 211 00:09:21.160 --> 00:09:24.560 I can tell you what your priorities are, 212 00:09:25.880 --> 00:09:28.720 because I can see what you boat with 213 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:31.160 in terms of your dollars and your seconds. 214 00:09:32.120 --> 00:09:35.000 And those will be the things that you truly care about. 215 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:39.000 And so the thing is it's very easy to say I am committed. 216 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:41.440 It's very hard to be committed. 217 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:45.760 Because being committed has to happen every single day. 218 00:09:45.760 --> 00:09:50.240 You have to continue to keep the alternatives at bay. 219 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:55.240 You have to eliminate the boats of rowing home. 220 00:09:56.400 --> 00:09:59.000 And so many of you, it could be your jobs 221 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:02.520 is the boat that is right there. 222 00:10:02.520 --> 00:10:07.520 It could be the next shiny object that you're considering. 223 00:10:08.880 --> 00:10:12.280 But each of these are boats that you kind of keep one foot 224 00:10:12.280 --> 00:10:14.000 on shore, one foot on the boat. 225 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:16.160 And then you're kind of trying to throw rocks 226 00:10:16.160 --> 00:10:19.560 a little bit at these cities thinking you're gonna sack them. 227 00:10:19.560 --> 00:10:20.720 But you're not. 228 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:22.920 And your rocks aren't even hitting the city 229 00:10:22.920 --> 00:10:24.360 because you're not even getting close enough 230 00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:27.720 because you're so afraid of commitment. 231 00:10:27.760 --> 00:10:30.600 And the thing is it's like we have to make bets. 232 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:32.200 Like you got to take risk. 233 00:10:32.200 --> 00:10:33.840 The amount of risk that you need to take to win 234 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:35.200 is honestly very little. 235 00:10:36.200 --> 00:10:38.200 But Jeff Bezos recently said this 236 00:10:38.200 --> 00:10:39.320 and I like this from an interview 237 00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:40.720 and he doesn't do many of them. 238 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:42.200 He said that I think as humans, 239 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:46.880 we have we systematically overestimate risk 240 00:10:46.880 --> 00:10:51.200 and underestimate upside or potential or opportunity. 241 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:56.400 And I think that is very true in entrepreneurship. 242 00:10:56.400 --> 00:11:01.400 That bias that we have is what has kept us alive. 243 00:11:01.760 --> 00:11:05.240 But it does not serve you to help you get to the next level. 244 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:10.040 I think it would be who you to look at 245 00:11:10.040 --> 00:11:13.240 what worst case scenario actually is. 246 00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:16.840 Worst case scenario might just be like you're, 247 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:18.960 I mean, are you really gonna be homeless? 248 00:11:19.920 --> 00:11:21.160 Probably not. 249 00:11:21.160 --> 00:11:23.360 And when I see homeless people, 250 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:25.680 it's really that they are friendless. 251 00:11:26.680 --> 00:11:29.840 And so they have no one who wants to help them. 252 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:31.560 And so many of you I would consider 253 00:11:31.560 --> 00:11:33.280 are socially normal people. 254 00:11:33.280 --> 00:11:35.520 And I say that in this very rare instance, 255 00:11:35.520 --> 00:11:37.240 not as an insult, right? 256 00:11:37.240 --> 00:11:38.920 You like you have a social circle. 257 00:11:38.920 --> 00:11:40.760 You have people who care about you. 258 00:11:40.760 --> 00:11:44.040 And the likelihood that you actually become homeless 259 00:11:44.040 --> 00:11:47.480 if you are hard working and just have a bad, 260 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:50.920 you know, a bet that goes wrong is very unlikely. 261 00:11:50.920 --> 00:11:54.880 And I've never said I was quote, homeless in my life. 262 00:11:54.880 --> 00:11:56.760 But like when I made the bet on the gym, 263 00:11:56.760 --> 00:11:57.840 I slept at the gym. 264 00:11:57.840 --> 00:11:59.840 Some people would be like, I slept out of my car. 265 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:00.920 It's like, I mean, I didn't really. 266 00:12:00.920 --> 00:12:02.240 I never slept in my car. 267 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:03.760 I just slept at my gym, right? 268 00:12:03.760 --> 00:12:06.360 And I did I have a home, technically no. 269 00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:08.560 And to the same degree, there was a period of time 270 00:12:08.560 --> 00:12:11.080 when I was launching the gyms and we lost everything 271 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:13.360 where I went back to Layla's parents house. 272 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:14.480 Was I homeless? 273 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:17.200 No, I was just staying at someone else's place. 274 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:20.280 And so these are like the true worst case scenarios. 275 00:12:21.040 --> 00:12:22.640 And so let me tell you a story. 276 00:12:22.640 --> 00:12:25.080 So my father, I think when he was 17, 277 00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:27.920 he left Iran on a like a student visa. 278 00:12:27.920 --> 00:12:30.440 So they had a program before the fall of the shop, 279 00:12:30.440 --> 00:12:32.480 which is when the revolution in Iran happened, 280 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:35.840 when it went from Western to super fundamental religious, 281 00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:38.320 where they would pay for you to go to school 282 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:40.680 as long as you came back and took the learnings 283 00:12:40.680 --> 00:12:41.960 back to Iran. 284 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:43.920 And so that was basically the plan that he was on. 285 00:12:43.920 --> 00:12:46.080 Now while he was away, the revolution occurred 286 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:48.560 and then obviously that deal was no longer valid. 287 00:12:48.640 --> 00:12:52.120 And so he went to Paris to study medicine. 288 00:12:52.120 --> 00:12:54.800 Now, wrinkle number one in this plan. 289 00:12:54.800 --> 00:12:56.760 He didn't speak French. 290 00:12:56.760 --> 00:12:59.080 And so medical system in Europe, 291 00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:00.160 if you're not familiar with it, 292 00:13:00.160 --> 00:13:02.760 is everyone is accepted and few people pass. 293 00:13:02.760 --> 00:13:04.320 It's kind of the opposite of the American system 294 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:05.800 where almost no one gets in 295 00:13:05.800 --> 00:13:07.400 and then everyone passes once you're in, right? 296 00:13:07.400 --> 00:13:09.400 The hardest part about most colleges, 297 00:13:09.400 --> 00:13:10.800 at least in the US or universities 298 00:13:10.800 --> 00:13:12.360 or medical schools is getting in, 299 00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:14.080 the hard part is not passing. 300 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:14.960 There it's inverted. 301 00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:17.680 Anyone can start, but few people graduate. 302 00:13:17.680 --> 00:13:19.760 And so I think in the first year it was something like, 303 00:13:19.760 --> 00:13:22.600 it's something like 70% of people fail the first two. 304 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:24.800 My father was in that first 70% 305 00:13:24.800 --> 00:13:26.680 as cause he didn't speak French. 306 00:13:26.680 --> 00:13:30.000 And so he's trying to take organic chemistry in Chinese. 307 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:34.560 Like hard because he's a persevering guy, 308 00:13:34.560 --> 00:13:37.440 he started again the next year, add zero again, 309 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:39.520 and he took the grade again. 310 00:13:39.520 --> 00:13:41.800 And then the second year he also failed. 311 00:13:41.800 --> 00:13:43.680 So then he calls to his brother 312 00:13:43.680 --> 00:13:45.160 and his brother lives in Paris too 313 00:13:45.160 --> 00:13:46.920 and he says, hey, you know, I don't know if this doctor 314 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:48.800 thinks for me and his brother said, 315 00:13:48.800 --> 00:13:51.600 you know what, why don't you just go somewhere else? 316 00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:54.600 Like get a fresh start and my father was thinking 317 00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:56.840 about going to Brussels, which is in Belgium. 318 00:13:56.840 --> 00:13:59.160 And he said, why don't you just start over there, you know, 319 00:13:59.160 --> 00:14:01.360 and this is now your third year of being 320 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:04.880 a French-speaking country, just see how it goes. 321 00:14:04.880 --> 00:14:07.640 So my father tries a third time. 322 00:14:07.640 --> 00:14:10.520 And he ends up passing that year 323 00:14:10.520 --> 00:14:12.520 and he ends up continuing and he graduates 324 00:14:12.520 --> 00:14:15.520 top of his class by whatever sixth or seventh year 325 00:14:15.520 --> 00:14:16.800 because it's a much longer system there. 326 00:14:16.800 --> 00:14:19.080 College and your degree are one there. 327 00:14:19.080 --> 00:14:21.240 In school, he meets my mother. 328 00:14:21.240 --> 00:14:26.080 My mother is French and she was also an American citizen 329 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:28.800 that she was born in Paris and then immigrated there, 330 00:14:28.800 --> 00:14:31.000 but she went to school in Belgium. 331 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:33.280 And so she says you should come back to the United States with me. 332 00:14:33.280 --> 00:14:35.600 And so he goes with her, knows no one. 333 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:37.800 Also, doesn't know English. 334 00:14:39.800 --> 00:14:42.120 So he gets to the US and of course, 335 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:46.040 his MD is not valid here. 336 00:14:46.040 --> 00:14:48.360 And he can't pass the test because he can't speak English. 337 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:52.880 He then tries to apply to just get a residency 338 00:14:52.880 --> 00:14:56.440 so that he can learn English and then begin that process. 339 00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:58.560 He doesn't get any residencies 340 00:14:58.560 --> 00:15:00.560 because he doesn't speak English. 341 00:15:00.560 --> 00:15:04.760 And so my father watches television during the day 342 00:15:04.760 --> 00:15:07.960 and takes, it was like phonics or something, 343 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:08.960 I can't remember where it is, but there's 344 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:10.760 some English thing back in the day 345 00:15:10.800 --> 00:15:12.560 and he took that here in the day. 346 00:15:12.560 --> 00:15:15.400 And he was able to get a minimum wage job 347 00:15:15.400 --> 00:15:16.880 as an X-ray tech. 348 00:15:16.880 --> 00:15:19.240 And so he basically ran slides for people 349 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:21.080 like back and forth between the development room 350 00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:23.160 and the doctor's office. 351 00:15:23.160 --> 00:15:26.000 Meanwhile, he's a fully certified physician and search. 352 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:29.360 And so then while this is happening, 353 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:33.360 it takes one year, nothing, it takes second year, 354 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:35.240 still working minimum wage. 355 00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:38.800 Now his wife, mind you, is like going on the path. 356 00:15:38.800 --> 00:15:42.600 And then finally, he's able to get my mother's father 357 00:15:42.600 --> 00:15:47.000 to pull some favor to get him to get a residency 358 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:49.600 at a medical place in Texas. 359 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:51.720 So he then goes from Baltimore to Texas 360 00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:54.960 without my mother to try and do this residency. 361 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:57.200 And so he finally gets the residency 362 00:15:57.200 --> 00:16:00.560 and he ends up being a physician final. 363 00:16:00.560 --> 00:16:03.880 So he gets back to Baltimore, which is where I'm from. 364 00:16:03.880 --> 00:16:06.840 And he starts the practice out of the same office 365 00:16:06.920 --> 00:16:07.920 as my mother. 366 00:16:07.920 --> 00:16:11.280 And so they decide, you know, joint rent, that makes sense. 367 00:16:11.280 --> 00:16:13.960 But he wanted to start a cash practice with no insurance. 368 00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:17.200 So he had no flow of patients that were coming his way. 369 00:16:18.400 --> 00:16:23.400 And so about a year or two later, it's slow. 370 00:16:23.560 --> 00:16:25.520 It's not really working too well for him. 371 00:16:25.520 --> 00:16:27.920 Again, he still has a pretty thick accent. 372 00:16:27.920 --> 00:16:30.400 And but right as it's about to start working, 373 00:16:30.400 --> 00:16:32.760 his income starts to get close to my mother's. 374 00:16:33.880 --> 00:16:35.240 They then get divorced. 375 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:39.240 And so she changes the locks on the doors 376 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:40.240 without letting him know. 377 00:16:42.040 --> 00:16:43.960 So you imagine you go to work, right? 378 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:45.120 You've got patients that day. 379 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:46.680 You've got people you need to see 380 00:16:46.680 --> 00:16:48.160 and you can't get into the office 381 00:16:48.160 --> 00:16:50.360 and no one wants to let you in, right? 382 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:52.960 You can imagine the drama, right? 383 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:57.960 And so at this time, he has no way of doing anything, right? 384 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:01.760 And so he then is like, well, what can I do? 385 00:17:01.760 --> 00:17:04.200 And so he doesn't have that much money. 386 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:06.920 And he's like, okay, I guess I'll have to start my own office. 387 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:09.800 But as a surgeon, you have to have a surgery center. 388 00:17:09.800 --> 00:17:12.040 You have to have a place that you can do surgery legally. 389 00:17:12.040 --> 00:17:15.240 To have an office that had a surgery center, he got quotes 390 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:17.360 and it was $250,000. 391 00:17:17.360 --> 00:17:19.360 And that was in then's money. 392 00:17:19.360 --> 00:17:22.760 So $250,000 that he didn't have. 393 00:17:22.760 --> 00:17:25.840 He then takes it upon himself 394 00:17:25.840 --> 00:17:29.080 to learn what the legal requirements are for a surgery center 395 00:17:29.080 --> 00:17:31.520 and builds a God-Dem surgery center himself. 396 00:17:31.520 --> 00:17:33.200 By going to home, do you go back and forth 397 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:34.480 and build the fucking thing? 398 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:38.480 And then he finally has his office 399 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:42.120 and he can start practicing medicine. 400 00:17:42.120 --> 00:17:45.520 And he's been in that office for 35 years. 401 00:17:45.520 --> 00:17:50.520 I would go to him and I would be frustrated 402 00:17:50.520 --> 00:17:55.520 by the lack of progress that I felt in my career or my life, 403 00:17:55.520 --> 00:17:58.760 as a student, then as an employee, 404 00:17:58.760 --> 00:18:00.320 I'm not getting promoted fast enough, 405 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:02.400 I don't see opportunities here. 406 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:03.920 And then when I started my gyms, 407 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:06.440 like this isn't going fast enough, right? 408 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:11.160 He said, listen, I wasted two years when I was in Europe. 409 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:14.960 And when I came to the US, I wasted another three years 410 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:16.840 before I could start becoming, 411 00:18:16.840 --> 00:18:18.840 before I could even start practicing. 412 00:18:18.840 --> 00:18:20.080 And then when I started practicing, 413 00:18:20.080 --> 00:18:21.960 I just started over after two years 414 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:23.080 because I didn't have an office 415 00:18:23.080 --> 00:18:25.040 and my reputation got smeared. 416 00:18:25.040 --> 00:18:27.000 You know how many people ask me about that now? 417 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:28.240 No one. 418 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:31.400 You just look at me and be like, life is long. 419 00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:33.120 He's like, you've got time. 420 00:18:33.120 --> 00:18:35.280 And it's not linear. 421 00:18:35.280 --> 00:18:39.880 And I bring this up because I hear the comments 422 00:18:39.880 --> 00:18:42.400 of this is so hard. 423 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:45.560 And I'm like, guys, come on. 424 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:49.640 Like we're talking about six inch pots. 425 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:51.840 We're not talking about, you know, 426 00:18:51.840 --> 00:18:54.080 trying to launch a missile into space 427 00:18:54.080 --> 00:18:56.280 and catch you with chopsticks here. 428 00:18:56.280 --> 00:18:58.320 You know, we're just trying to advertise our stuff, 429 00:18:58.320 --> 00:19:00.480 let people know about it and get them to exchange money 430 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:01.520 for goods and services. 431 00:19:01.520 --> 00:19:04.360 This is not, we're not carrying cancer here. 432 00:19:04.360 --> 00:19:09.360 The lack of effort that I see drives me nuts. 433 00:19:09.360 --> 00:19:13.720 And so I tell that story to provide context 434 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:17.080 to like, if you look at yourself in the mirror 435 00:19:17.080 --> 00:19:20.800 and say, am I really trying as hard as I think I could? 436 00:19:21.640 --> 00:19:26.480 Am I really leaving everything on the field? 437 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:27.760 Am I emptying the tank? 438 00:19:27.760 --> 00:19:29.680 At the end of the day, are you like, 439 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:32.400 you know what I could have done more? 440 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:36.600 Because if you are, then you need to fix that first. 441 00:19:36.600 --> 00:19:38.520 Like you must first become consistent 442 00:19:38.520 --> 00:19:40.400 before you can become exceptional. 443 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:43.160 It's the prerequisite. 444 00:19:43.160 --> 00:19:45.000 There's not a single person who's exceptional 445 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:48.320 who does not, who is not consistent. 446 00:19:48.320 --> 00:19:50.600 You have to keep sticking with it. 447 00:19:50.600 --> 00:19:53.480 And a big part of this is figuring it out. 448 00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:55.040 Because if you can't figure out the basics, 449 00:19:55.040 --> 00:19:56.800 you're certainly not going to figure out the advanced stuff 450 00:19:56.800 --> 00:19:59.120 and everything that's on the internet now makes it available. 451 00:19:59.120 --> 00:20:00.200 It's all accessible. 452 00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:03.200 There was no YouTube when my dad was trying to figure this out. 453 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:04.520 Right, there was no Instagram. 454 00:20:04.520 --> 00:20:06.560 There were no influencers, right? 455 00:20:06.560 --> 00:20:08.400 And to be fair, there was no one who was trying to help him out. 456 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:10.760 If anything, the system was set against him. 457 00:20:10.760 --> 00:20:13.240 You know, the guy had, he had $1,000 when he came here 458 00:20:13.240 --> 00:20:14.440 and didn't speak English. 459 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:18.280 But what he did have, my grandfather would say this, 460 00:20:18.280 --> 00:20:20.200 he said he had one brain and two hands. 461 00:20:20.200 --> 00:20:21.240 So he used them. 462 00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:23.000 I just like, you have one brain and two hands. 463 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:25.720 You've got one life, you know, using it. 464 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:28.400 And I just, I, you could probably hear it in my voice. 465 00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:30.080 I just get, I get very frustrated 466 00:20:30.080 --> 00:20:33.920 because figuring it out is the, is the journey. 467 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:35.920 Like that's, that's the point. 468 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:38.680 And the failure that comes along with figuring it out 469 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:42.480 is what leads to the success and the feeling of figuring it out. 470 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:44.440 Like you never get the benefit of, oh my God, 471 00:20:44.440 --> 00:20:46.280 I got it to work unless you go through the pain 472 00:20:46.280 --> 00:20:47.760 of why is it in this working? 473 00:20:47.760 --> 00:20:50.680 And I think a big part of it is expectations 474 00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:53.360 is expecting that it's going to work the first time. 475 00:20:53.360 --> 00:20:55.920 It's expecting that it should happen in six weeks. 476 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:57.440 Show me any company. 477 00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:01.120 Show me any great, anything that's happened in six weeks. 478 00:21:01.120 --> 00:21:02.520 Literally anything. 479 00:21:02.520 --> 00:21:06.680 A year, even then, is tough to think of anything great. 480 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:09.760 Can't become a doctor in a year, right? 481 00:21:09.760 --> 00:21:11.760 You can't build a massive company in a year. 482 00:21:11.760 --> 00:21:12.880 You can start. 483 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:13.640 That's what you can do. 484 00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:14.760 You can start. 485 00:21:14.760 --> 00:21:16.960 You can start and you can figure out one piece at a time. 486 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:19.440 I want to encourage you to stick with it 487 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:22.640 because the years aren't wasted 488 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:25.280 because you are the product of those years, right? 489 00:21:25.280 --> 00:21:27.800 And my dad learned how to build a surgery center 490 00:21:27.800 --> 00:21:28.920 because he had to. 491 00:21:28.920 --> 00:21:31.240 And I can promise you, starting an online community 492 00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:33.280 is easier than that, right? 493 00:21:33.280 --> 00:21:35.040 And doing it when you don't speak the language 494 00:21:35.040 --> 00:21:36.160 is also hard. 495 00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:37.840 Part of this is I share my upbringing 496 00:21:37.840 --> 00:21:39.160 that I don't share as much. 497 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:41.160 But like, you gotta feel that. 498 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:44.000 You don't mean like it's you, like you gotta do that. 499 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:46.160 Like no one's gonna do it for you. 500 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:48.600 Like no one, I'm not going to do it for you. 501 00:21:48.600 --> 00:21:50.160 I can't. 502 00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:51.560 No one can. 503 00:21:51.560 --> 00:21:53.560 And so I think many of you are looking for saviors 504 00:21:53.560 --> 00:21:55.520 when you need to look in the mirror. 505 00:21:55.520 --> 00:21:57.120 And for the few of you who are like, you know, 506 00:21:57.120 --> 00:21:59.040 the people in my family don't support me 507 00:21:59.040 --> 00:22:01.840 and you know, my wife or my spouse is not, you know, 508 00:22:01.840 --> 00:22:03.280 is not supportive. 509 00:22:03.280 --> 00:22:04.720 How bad do you want it? 510 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:06.200 Like what are you willing to give up? 511 00:22:06.200 --> 00:22:07.760 I'm not saying give up your relationship, 512 00:22:07.760 --> 00:22:09.280 but I'm saying you can give up a proof 513 00:22:09.280 --> 00:22:10.920 for a short period of time. 514 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:12.800 Okay, I need you to take this in. 515 00:22:12.800 --> 00:22:15.280 One of the toughest parts about being human 516 00:22:15.280 --> 00:22:17.080 is the social construct. 517 00:22:17.080 --> 00:22:19.320 Right, is how we learn, right? 518 00:22:19.320 --> 00:22:21.400 We learn through shame, right? 519 00:22:21.400 --> 00:22:23.240 A lot of times, like you do something wrong, 520 00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:24.760 someone yells at you, you feel shame, 521 00:22:24.760 --> 00:22:26.080 you want to be in the in-group 522 00:22:26.080 --> 00:22:27.360 and then that corrects your behavior. 523 00:22:27.360 --> 00:22:28.920 And honestly, it's a pretty good system. 524 00:22:28.920 --> 00:22:31.760 Like it gets a lot of productive human beings out of it. 525 00:22:31.760 --> 00:22:34.720 The problem is when that system works against you. 526 00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:37.520 And the reason for that is because that system 527 00:22:37.520 --> 00:22:40.240 has a short feedback cycle, right? 528 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:41.560 It's very immediate. 529 00:22:41.560 --> 00:22:43.200 And so it's very good for getting people 530 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:45.640 not jump into traffic for getting kids 531 00:22:45.640 --> 00:22:47.280 to not put their fingers in electrical sockets. 532 00:22:47.280 --> 00:22:50.840 For kids to not try and look at the pasta when it's boiling, right? 533 00:22:50.840 --> 00:22:53.080 From below, like all of those things, 534 00:22:53.080 --> 00:22:56.160 like those immediate feedback loops of punishment are very good. 535 00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:58.560 They change our behavior in a good way. 536 00:22:58.560 --> 00:23:01.240 The problem is that those feedback loops are far too short 537 00:23:01.240 --> 00:23:03.760 for the level of accomplishment that you want. 538 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:08.560 And so most of you could accomplish all the dreams you have 539 00:23:08.560 --> 00:23:10.880 if you just said I'll give it 36 months. 540 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:12.560 That disapproval, 541 00:23:12.600 --> 00:23:13.840 that shame, 542 00:23:13.840 --> 00:23:16.960 this is where you need to start decoupling your ego 543 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:20.640 and yourself worth from what other people talk about 544 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:23.360 because they're going to disapprove you. 545 00:23:23.360 --> 00:23:25.800 So rather than seeking approval, 546 00:23:25.800 --> 00:23:28.680 be willing to be misunderstood. 547 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:30.800 And this is the second part of that statement 548 00:23:30.800 --> 00:23:31.880 that I started this with. 549 00:23:31.880 --> 00:23:35.840 You must first become consistent in order to become exceptional. 550 00:23:35.840 --> 00:23:39.040 In the beginning, becoming exceptional is being an exception, 551 00:23:39.040 --> 00:23:41.960 which is sliding outside of societal norms. 552 00:23:41.960 --> 00:23:43.640 You're going to get feedback that tells you 553 00:23:43.640 --> 00:23:45.480 that this is a bad idea. 554 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:47.200 And that's because a lot of times people aren't willing 555 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:48.720 to take the risks that you are. 556 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:50.320 And this is where they will chastise you 557 00:23:50.320 --> 00:23:52.440 for doing something that they're unwilling to do 558 00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:54.600 to get something that they know they can't get. 559 00:23:54.600 --> 00:23:57.080 If you want something that they don't have, 560 00:23:57.080 --> 00:23:58.920 then don't do what they do. 561 00:23:58.920 --> 00:24:00.480 And don't listen to what they say. 562 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:02.240 By definition, you will have to be an exception, 563 00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:03.880 especially if you're the first person your family 564 00:24:03.880 --> 00:24:06.240 that's made any kind of wealth or wants to make any kind of wealth. 565 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:09.400 You want to break the generational tree that you have 566 00:24:09.400 --> 00:24:12.880 and plant a new, start a new. 567 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:16.520 In order to do that, your self-worth has to come from 568 00:24:16.520 --> 00:24:19.840 the work that you do from who you are. 569 00:24:19.840 --> 00:24:23.000 And the who you are only comes from the actions you take. 570 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:27.520 For many of you, I think that you treat this opportunity, 571 00:24:27.520 --> 00:24:29.880 the life you have, the time we have, 572 00:24:29.880 --> 00:24:34.000 like the chicken, you're interested, but you're not committed. 573 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:35.720 And I think if you were just committed 574 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:37.920 and you were consistent, you limited the alternatives 575 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:41.960 and you showed up every day, it would happen significantly faster. 576 00:24:41.960 --> 00:24:44.320 But I think a large part of the entrepreneurial journey 577 00:24:44.320 --> 00:24:46.760 in the beginning is learning what commitment even means, 578 00:24:46.760 --> 00:24:48.960 is learning exactly how much volume it takes 579 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:51.560 in order to get that first ding, right? 580 00:24:51.560 --> 00:24:52.800 That first dollar. 581 00:24:52.800 --> 00:24:55.360 And how much more it takes to get the next one. 582 00:24:55.360 --> 00:24:58.360 I say this because I think there's this mismatch 583 00:24:58.360 --> 00:25:01.520 of expectations and I want you to win. 584 00:25:01.520 --> 00:25:03.800 I think that the world does enough coddling. 585 00:25:03.800 --> 00:25:06.840 I try not to coddle, I just try to tell the truth. 586 00:25:06.840 --> 00:25:09.080 It's tough, it's hard. 587 00:25:09.080 --> 00:25:10.880 You're not going to know the answers. 588 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:15.160 And battling the unknown is par for course for entrepreneurship. 589 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:17.320 Like this is entrepreneurship. 590 00:25:17.320 --> 00:25:19.840 And one of my favorite stories, which I'll tell you right now. 591 00:25:19.840 --> 00:25:22.280 So years later, right, my father had me 592 00:25:22.280 --> 00:25:23.760 and then I ended up going to college 593 00:25:23.760 --> 00:25:25.440 and I ended up, you know, joining fraternity 594 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:27.000 and then they ended up electing you president 595 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:28.520 which I was very grateful for. 596 00:25:28.520 --> 00:25:32.600 And every year, every pledge class would have a revolt. 597 00:25:32.600 --> 00:25:34.040 And the thing is, is that every pledge class 598 00:25:34.040 --> 00:25:36.400 thought they were unique in revolting at some point. 599 00:25:36.440 --> 00:25:38.440 But every single class, every time, 600 00:25:38.440 --> 00:25:40.000 would have this moment where they would say, 601 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:41.360 this isn't what I signed up for. 602 00:25:41.360 --> 00:25:42.720 This is not fun. 603 00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:44.720 I can't talk to girls, I can't drink. 604 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:46.240 You guys are just having me clean up all the time. 605 00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:47.320 You're driving me all over the place. 606 00:25:47.320 --> 00:25:50.600 I'm just mopping floors and doing errands, this sucks. 607 00:25:50.600 --> 00:25:53.440 When I was president, unsurprisingly, 608 00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:57.360 the pledge class that we had, only something guys revolted. 609 00:25:57.360 --> 00:25:59.960 And they said, we don't want to do this anymore, we're up. 610 00:25:59.960 --> 00:26:01.040 I said, okay. 611 00:26:01.040 --> 00:26:03.600 And they said, we want to negotiate the terms 612 00:26:03.600 --> 00:26:05.800 of our settlement. 613 00:26:05.800 --> 00:26:07.960 And so they asked me to meet them 614 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:08.960 in the freshman campus. 615 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:10.560 So I was on the other side of campus. 616 00:26:10.560 --> 00:26:12.280 I came over to the freshman dorms 617 00:26:12.280 --> 00:26:13.760 and all the guys are in one dorm 618 00:26:13.760 --> 00:26:14.760 and these dorms are not big. 619 00:26:14.760 --> 00:26:16.040 All right, so like they're climbed, 620 00:26:16.040 --> 00:26:19.280 they're all, there's a four bedroom box, four bucks. 621 00:26:19.280 --> 00:26:21.200 There's guys all over the place, right? 622 00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:23.760 And it's me and I took my VP with me. 623 00:26:23.760 --> 00:26:26.120 And it's been like, you can imagine the setting, right? 624 00:26:26.120 --> 00:26:28.120 A ton of dudes and then just like me, right? 625 00:26:28.120 --> 00:26:29.040 And I walk in. 626 00:26:29.040 --> 00:26:30.120 You could cut the tension. 627 00:26:30.120 --> 00:26:32.680 I mean, everyone's angry and rolled up. 628 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:34.720 And you know, they all kind of, you know, 629 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:36.440 their pledge glass president said they're, 630 00:26:36.440 --> 00:26:39.760 it said his bid if like this isn't fair, blah, blah, blah. 631 00:26:39.760 --> 00:26:41.440 And I remember just like taking all of it 632 00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:43.320 and just taking a deep breath once they were kind of 633 00:26:43.320 --> 00:26:44.960 done airing their grievances. 634 00:26:46.040 --> 00:26:49.160 And I paused and I was like, raise your hand 635 00:26:49.160 --> 00:26:51.960 if you thought this was going to be easy. 636 00:26:51.960 --> 00:26:53.560 No one raised their hands. 637 00:26:53.560 --> 00:26:54.560 I said, okay. 638 00:26:54.560 --> 00:26:56.360 I said, everything you just described, 639 00:26:56.360 --> 00:26:58.720 the feeling you have right now. 640 00:26:58.720 --> 00:27:00.960 So this is what hard feels like. 641 00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:02.720 And they all kind of like internalize that. 642 00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:05.760 And I said, the complaints that you have are not new. 643 00:27:05.760 --> 00:27:06.800 They're very old. 644 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:09.880 And I'll ask you the next question, 645 00:27:09.880 --> 00:27:13.360 which is if this were easy, would it have been worth it? 646 00:27:13.360 --> 00:27:14.600 And I said, no. 647 00:27:14.600 --> 00:27:17.440 And I said, would you respect all the guys in this house 648 00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:19.000 if they hadn't gone through something 649 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:22.520 in order to earn these letters, this brand, this logo? 650 00:27:23.440 --> 00:27:26.080 And I said, no, it's okay. 651 00:27:26.080 --> 00:27:29.600 So wouldn't it be befitting that a very great achievement 652 00:27:29.600 --> 00:27:32.280 would be worthy of sacrifice? 653 00:27:32.280 --> 00:27:34.120 And they were like, yeah. 654 00:27:34.120 --> 00:27:36.480 And I was like, then this is the sacrifice you make. 655 00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:40.320 And in that setting, I said, you got to give eight weeks. 656 00:27:40.320 --> 00:27:43.040 Give eight weeks and then you have three and a half years 657 00:27:43.040 --> 00:27:45.040 of enjoying the benefits of pledges. 658 00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:47.640 You give eight. 659 00:27:47.640 --> 00:27:50.280 You give eight, you give one semester and you get seven. 660 00:27:50.280 --> 00:27:51.360 It's a pretty good trade. 661 00:27:51.360 --> 00:27:53.280 And so of course, the guys all got back again 662 00:27:53.280 --> 00:27:55.360 and everything was fine and it went forward. 663 00:27:55.360 --> 00:27:59.400 But I think that many of you, when I see the comments 664 00:27:59.800 --> 00:28:03.720 and the complaints, honestly, the gripes, the grievances, 665 00:28:03.720 --> 00:28:07.680 will you complain about as the price, the price tag? 666 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:09.160 No one says, hey, I don't want to make money. 667 00:28:09.160 --> 00:28:11.760 They say, hey, I don't like the price of making money. 668 00:28:11.760 --> 00:28:13.920 Hey, I don't like the price of this influence 669 00:28:13.920 --> 00:28:14.960 that I want to have. 670 00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:18.600 I don't like the price of gaining this subscriber base. 671 00:28:18.600 --> 00:28:21.320 I don't like the price of running ads 672 00:28:21.320 --> 00:28:23.440 profitably making $5 every dollar I put in. 673 00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:25.960 I don't like the price of learning how to do that. 674 00:28:26.920 --> 00:28:28.680 But the price is the suffering that you go through 675 00:28:28.680 --> 00:28:31.880 and not knowing and embracing the uncertainty 676 00:28:31.880 --> 00:28:34.560 of not knowing how long you'll have to suffer. 677 00:28:34.560 --> 00:28:37.920 It's not about not suffering. 678 00:28:37.920 --> 00:28:40.760 I think it's about finding something worthy of suffering for. 679 00:28:40.760 --> 00:28:42.400 And I think many of you have dreams 680 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:45.080 that I would hope you believe are worth suffering for. 681 00:28:45.080 --> 00:28:49.120 I want to leave you with this, which is to encourage you 682 00:28:49.120 --> 00:28:51.520 that if you want what you say you want, 683 00:28:51.520 --> 00:28:54.400 then pay the price that you said you'd be willing 684 00:28:54.400 --> 00:28:55.600 to pay when you started. 685 00:28:55.600 --> 00:28:58.360 It's easier to say you wake up at 4 a.m. every day 686 00:28:58.360 --> 00:29:00.840 when you've set your alarm, but it's much harder 687 00:29:00.840 --> 00:29:02.160 when you actually have to hit the alarm 688 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:03.000 and get out of bed. 689 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:06.480 Many of you know the price, you know logically 690 00:29:06.480 --> 00:29:07.920 what the price is. 691 00:29:07.920 --> 00:29:10.320 But when you actually have to pay the price 692 00:29:10.320 --> 00:29:12.880 is when the bill comes due, 693 00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:15.640 is when you guys don't want to take your wallet out. 694 00:29:15.640 --> 00:29:19.040 And so I would encourage you to push through that 695 00:29:19.040 --> 00:29:21.120 because you were not alone. 696 00:29:21.120 --> 00:29:24.280 You're not following a path that others haven't tried before.