Cleared Hot - Powered By BRCC - Full Auto Friday - Round 72

Episode Date: September 24, 2021

Rapid Fire Q and A to finish off the week: 1. Advice for someone starting a business 2. Tips for veterans who cannot let go of their military service 3. Sandwiches 4. People say don't rush to go to college, what should I do with my time 5. What are the 3 biggest threats to America 6. Do I get nervous meeting people that I look up to. 7. Will I ever get married again Enjoy

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land, what is your best piece of advice for someone starting a business? Now, for clarity, I never, I don't know if I ever had a nine to five job. I worked for my dad when I was young. And that was in the summertime when I became old enough to join the military. I joined the military. Military is not really a nine to five job, especially the job that I had inside of that. And then when I left the military, I was working for CrossFit full-time, which also I didn't have an office to go into. I worked from home. I largely set my own hours. So I can't really say that I exactly broke the nine to five model that I think you're talking about, which in my mind, when I hear that or read that in this case, I'm thinking suit and tie, like all buttoned up. And that to me is actually the one

thing I know that I don't ever want to do in my life, which is why I have pursued and tried to craft my life in the way that it is now. So getting to your question, the best piece of advice for someone starting a business. I would say if you are currently working a nine to five and you want to start a business, don't jump both feet into the new bucket, your new business, rapidly, or without giving it some thought, or without ensuring that you have the runway in front of you to ensure that your new situation is not going to become a crisis or an emergency, especially if you have family that is relying upon you. So if you have a job now that allows you to, let's say you're working nine to five,

the traditional nine to five, that's a lot of time to pursue something on the outside of those business hours. And that's what I would recommend. Work very hard to establish the foundation of what you want your next to be. And put the time and effort into that outside of your current obligations at work, build that platform. and if you can, test it out a little bit to see whether or not your idea is valid in the marketplace because it may not be, and that's okay, because you could always shift and adjust.

And that's why I say try to not make it a crisis or an emergency. I have found that I feel like I have far fewer options, and I am much less likely to lateral or change plans when it becomes an emergency or a crisis. I just feel pinned into a corner and I hate that feeling, so I avoid it at all costs. So use the job that you have now to establish. the foundation, like I said, and then incrementally move yourself over, or once you see that it has a legitimate runway in front of it, then go ahead and make that shift. And again, that's especially true if you have people who are relying upon you. If you're super young, if you're like 20 and you are single, I would say dive into that bucket almost haphazardly. You're at a point in your life where you can take an incredible amount of risk because you have so much time in front of you. And really, you're only responsible for yourself. But that's really the only time that I would recommend. that. As you advance in age, notice I didn't say maturity, as you advance in age and you know, you start to collect things in life, you'll have other things that are reliant upon your success.

And I hope that you are successful, but keep that in your mind when it comes to thought process. Now, the best piece of advice that I would say, though, is don't get tied to your plan to the point where you feel like you are unwilling or unable to change. I was having a conversation with somebody a few days ago, and we were talking about the sunken cost fallacy, which is something that I have talked about on the podcast. And I find this is a very real thing talking to people at about the 15-year mark in the military, or when they get to the five to 10-year time zone away from their potential ability to retire from whether it's their fire service, their law enforcement service, or really any type of organization that has a pension associated with it, they start

saying things like, well, I can't get out now or I can't stop doing what I'm doing now because look at what I'm going to lose in the future. Look what I'm going to give up. And I'm not specifically talking about it in terms of that right now. When I look at the things that I do professionally, what I do is I am constantly looking for a few things. One, am I happy doing it. And two, is it providing from a business or an economic perspective to the degree that I want it to? And if it's not, I am now at a place in my life where I will move on from that or I will make a drastic change, regardless of how long I have been doing that thing. And that's where I tie back to that sunk and cost fallacy. Well, I've been doing it this way for so long,

and this is what I've been doing so long. I don't want to start over now. Well, and this is the advice I gave the individual I was talking to is, you know, there's a five-year time period in front of this particular person where a life change could occur or the life change could occur in that moment or relatively soon. So if you're at this path, well, I've been doing this for, you know, X number of years and I don't want to make a change and I don't want to start over. Okay. Five years from now, if you stay on the path that you were on, where do you think you will be? That's one option that you can write out. The other one is, if I were to start over right now, where could I potentially be in five years. And I have found for myself and for most people that you could be doing

things that are an order of magnitude greater than where you would be in that five years if you just stuck out to what it is that you are doing. So the long way around is don't get tied to how long you've been doing something in the past. Regardless of what your plan is, regardless of what your goal is, if you find that your plan isn't working, instead of just doubling down and putting your nose to the grindstone and just trying to slog it out for years to come, maybe look at making a change now, regardless of how long you've been on that path, because you might find yourself springboarded beyond where you could potentially even thought it possible to be if you stayed on your current path. That's the biggest piece of advice that I would give.

I have reinvented myself so many times over the last five years, and even more so over the last seven years. And for me, my litmus test, is what I enjoy doing when it comes to opportunities that present themselves to me. Would I enjoy doing this? Is it something that I would feel empowered by doing? Is it helpful to other people for me to do this? And the last thing that I look at is the monetary aspect. So that's how I view business at least.

And hopefully that helped. Question number two. Tips for veterans that cannot let go of their military service. I only ask because I can't fathom the amount of veterans I see walking around with their patch hats. and grunt-style t-shirts. It's one thing to be proud, but it's another to blatantly scream, give me attention, you're welcome for my service. Well, damn, man, maybe that's not what they're saying. Maybe they don't realize how many flare pieces they have. That's one thing that I have,

before I even say anything else, I will be the first to admit that I realize that oftentimes I am highly critical of the veteran community. And the reason that I am highly critical of the veteran community is that I actually expect more out of them than I do their non-veteran peers. And maybe that's unfair, but that's the lens that I view this from. So I get it. I'm, trust me, when I travel, you know, my girlfriend will make fun of me. And sometimes the people will make fun of me that are traveling with me because I'm one of the first people to point out the Molly backpack, the blood type patch on the back of somebody's backpack with their Molon Lobby hat,

Don't tread on me, tattoo, 511 tactical pants, and, you know, I don't know what else would necessarily be in that case. But those are some

grunt-style t-shirt. That would complete the ensemble that I'm thinking about. Trust me, I point it out. And yeah, sometimes I make fun of those people.

What I will say is this. A lot of people are just very proud of their service and I think that they should be. So maybe limit it to a few flare pieces. You don't have to be head to toe. And I think the best thing that you can do instead of wearing flare pieces is to set an

amazing example for the men and women and children that are around you. Take the lessons that you learned in your military service and impart them on those that are around you. And the best way that you can do so is through your example. It's actually not through the Molin Lobby hat and the grunt style t-shirt. Not that I have any issue with those two things, but food for thought. for vets who are proud of their service and who want to and identify with that type of apparel, absolutely go for it. But maybe take a second to think about the billboard that you are creating and promoting when you go out in town or just go anywhere. And everybody knows who I'm talking about.

And I think everybody knows who this person who wrote in is talking about when it comes to this individual that is head to toe all the time 24-7 military. Military service is great, but it doesn't make you special. And I say that from the bottom of my heart. You absolutely should be proud of it. And I view military service. I have a baseline level of respect for anybody who joined the military, whether you saw a combat or didn't or had a combat MOS or didn't. Your service is incredibly honorable. And I personally am incredibly thankful for it. So I make no judgment. But it's okay to be more than just your military service. I actually think it's essential to be just more than your military service.

So wear the flare pieces if you want to, but maybe if you're a veteran listening to this and you look in your in your closet and you realize all you have are military hats and all you have are military shirts and all you have are military boots and backpacks. Maybe just try to pair back or limit how much of that you wear out in public. Limit yourself to a few items because the one thing that I hate seeing are veterans that become defined by their service and they are unable to move past it. Like I said, it's an amazing thing. You should be proud of it.

I'm grateful for everybody who served. But it's not a hard thing to be more than your service and to move on from that service. You're going to have tools that you were taught, whether it's in basic training or in the occupational schools that you went to, that are going to prepare you for success in the outside world or the real world in air quotes. Use those things. And, you know, food for thought, this is the way that I try to present myself when I encounter people out in real life. I want to arrive at a place where after multiple interactions with them and multiple social setting engagements with them, they are shocked to find out that I use. used to be in the military. I would rather not be defined by my military service. I would rather

very quietly use those lessons that I learned in my military service to hopefully aim for, accomplish, and achieve other things outside of that. I would so much be rather, rather be known for that. And I'd much rather be known even more so for helping elevate other people. and you're going to have a really hard time doing any of that if you can't put down that suitcase of your service and move forward. It's always going to be with you and it should be. But you can control it as opposed to having it control you. And that's the advice that I would give. Question three, what's your sandwich if you were to make one?

Well, hunting season is just around the corner and that's why I chose this particular question. My go-to hunting sandwich, which is one of the most delicious sandwiches that I've ever had, is a peanut butter. and honey. But this year, what I'm going to be adding into that is about a pound of pre-cooked bacon that I'm going to very finely dice up and then put it into that concoction. So go with whatever bread you want to. I feel like a nice sourdough is probably the best for this. But what you can do, chop up the bacon and cook it, obviously. I pour the honey into the peanut butter and I start to whip it up until it's all basically one consistency. But this year, what I'm going to do is I'm going to put bacon in there. And then I put it in the old sandwich, and I'm talking at

least three quarters of an inch, but separating the pieces of bread. This needs to be a pretty goddamn awesome sandwich to hold you over during those long days of walking with Signora John Dudley. And you'll know you have the right amount on after it's been in your backpack for an hour or two and you pull it out there and you look at it and it's saturated all the way through the bread. So that would be my sandwich if I were to make one. I would go peanut butter, honey, and bacon. You're welcome. Enjoy. question four is going to college worth it at the age of 18 when you don't know what you want to do in life and if you decide not to go to college what should I do in that time because I hear a lot of people say

take your time before you go to college now what should I be doing in that time just laying around I'm going to go backwards on this one and no you shouldn't just be laying around these this is your question to me is kind of similar to somebody saying hey well would you rather get shot or would you rather get stabbed? And my answer to those or that type of question is, is there an option C here? Because there are so many other things in between those two very extreme examples. Should I go to college or should I lay around? Well, I mean, I guess you could do both if you wanted to. But how about option number C, which is anything other than those two polar extreme. So I don't, I absolutely don't recommend laying around. And I'll tell you why I

don't recommend you laying around or spending your entire day or hours upon hours upon hours on video games. Even if you don't know what you want to do for a living or what you want to do with your life, there are some skills that you can learn by being active and seeking meaningful employment. And by that, I mean just the ability to pay for things on your own as opposed to relying on somebody else. There are so many skills that you can learn that will improve your likely outcomes in life. How about discipline? You know, getting up, you know, first off, going out and finding a job on your own. And then making sure that you are up, ready, and at work early every day that you need to be there.

Trust me, that skill in and of itself showing up on time, which, by the way, is about five to ten minutes early. With all of the things you need to do to successfully complete your job and a positive attitude, that puts you ahead of about 99.34% of human beings that I have encountered. You can learn that in your teens by, again, going out and seeking that meaningful employment. You'll learn some financial responsibility, financial and fiscal responsibility. You're going to have social engagements and interactions. You're probably going to learn how to structure your time accordingly. You're going to learn how to plan.

You're going to learn how to budget. All of those things are definitely going to help you out. Now, for myself, when I was 18 years old, I was not ready to go to college. I needed a community of people that were going to show, well, actually, yeah, shelter. and shepherd my immature ass because I definitely was at the age of 18. I knew what I wanted to do, but I was a total fuckstick. And the community of people that I went into, they helped me get through those years. So I would have failed at college because I would have been on my own with no oversight. And I can tell you, looking back on my life, it wouldn't have gone very well for me.

I think I probably would have failed out of college or I would have wasted my own money or my parents' money. Have they agreed to pay for me to go there? I agree with the statement, take your time before going to college. But I changed it a little bit. And I just say, you know, take your time figuring out what it is you want to do in life. Now, I know a lot of people who pursued higher education and in the course of doing so, they figured out what it is they wanted to do because they found a subject that they were passionate about and that led them down a different path. But college in my mind is not the end all be all. When I look at the higher education system today, to be honest, I would actually probably recommend trade school to all three of my kids over going to college because I don't think that starting a young man or woman in their early 20s saddled with probably nearly $100,000 in debt is a great way forward when it comes to setting them up for success in their life.

I'd rather have them with a very valuable and usable job skill that they can immediately start making money at. and the biggest thing is not that crushing debt sitting over their head. Now, are both viable options? Of course they are. And guess what? There is everything else in between. You could work for a family business. And again, just everything in between.

There are so many options. The only option that I wouldn't recommend is laying around because life is going to leave you by. They're going to leave you right by the wayside. And you can start laying around when you're 18 and guess what? Before you know what, you're going to be 19, then you're going to be 20. Then you're going to be behind your peers and you're starting. from a deficit. So whatever you decide to do, do something and keep that momentum going in the

right direction. College or not. Short question, but an interesting one. What are the three biggest threats to America? Now, of course, this is my personal opinion, not based off of any, like, super secret information being sent to me from some crazy agency. This to me, when I read this question and I thought about it for a grand total of about 30 seconds, these are the three things that popped into my mind first. The biggest threat to America, in my opinion, are is Americans. I am extremely concerned with the polarity and divisiveness of our society. I am extremely concerned with how people are willing to turn their neighbors into their enemies and forget that regardless of the side of the political aisle or the ideological aisle that

you sit on on whatever the topic may be, the people to your left or right, whether they agree with you or not, are still fellow Americans, and we are still supposed to be one very large United States of America. And the way that I look at that is community, right? I live in Montana, so I don't at a large level interface with Utah, Idaho, or Wyoming or the Dakotas, the states that are touching the state that I live. So I look at it. And I look at it. And I'm, at a very micro level, the people that I interact with, whatever state they may be from, whatever it is they may believe, we can agree or disagree. But I'm not going to view them through the lens of being an enemy because they don't have the same beliefs and ideologies

that I do. So that's the number one thing. The number two thing that for whatever reason recently has been bugging me, and I think is a big threat to the United States of America, is debt. and that's at a national level, but also at a personal level. And again, talking about like the previous question, having somebody who goes to a higher education, they end that in their early 20s with nearly $100,000 in debt. That's super fucked up. And that doesn't set somebody up for success. If anything, it's pressing them down, in my opinion.

And then at a national level, our unwillingness or inability to balance a budget. And I would just recommend that people take a look at how this country borrows money and who we borrow it from to continue to be able to turn the lights, the metaphorical lights on and off. I think it's a fucking problem, especially if we can't get it under control. So number one was our fellow Americans. Number two was debt. And number three, the number three thing that I think is the biggest threat to America is fear. People who are afraid, in my opinion, are much easier and much more likely to be manipulated. Fear is an incredibly powerful emotion and I oftentimes find that it will take over for people.

And when they start thinking emotionally, we are headed in the wrong direction. And I think emotional thinking actually drives us to my number one point, how these people are not how these people, how people in general are somehow able to immediately turn their neighbor into an enemy based off of an idea or a difference. I find that to be a very emotional response, not an objective or a rational response, which is what we should be going for. People that are afraid, they're easy to control. They're easier to lie to, and they do unpredictable things, which to me is a threat. Objectivity and critical thinking. I wouldn't expect people to naturally have those things. In my experience, they need to be taught, and we should be teaching them.

And one of the best ways to teach them is to model them in your own behavior. And those are my top three that I think are the biggest threats to America. Next question. Do you ever get nervous meeting people that you look up to? Quite simply, the answer to this is no. And I don't know how old I was when I came to the realization that essentially we're all kind of the same. We're defined by our similarities, not by our differences. I've met some relatively famous individuals.

And take a step back. My answer to this may come from the fact that I'm just and I never have been, somebody who has gotten starstruck. Because, again, at the end of the day, we're just all people. I've met some very influential people. I've met some very famous people. I've met some very wealthy people. And some of them I looked up to.

Some of them I did not. But there's no reason to get nervous meeting them. Because trust me, pick who. whoever you would be the most nervous meeting. And then let's say you get to spend a year with them. At the end of that year, and well before the end of that year, you will come to the realization that they are just a human being as well. And they are going to have flaws and they are going to have issues just like everybody else.

And ups and downs. And maybe they have a team of people to help them manage those ups and downs. I'm not necessarily sure that that makes life any easier at an individual level. You know, if it did, we would never see people that have those teams that make the decision to end their life. I really, really feel that the human species, like I said, is defined by their similarities and not their differences. And when I view meeting new people or people that I looked up to from that lens, I think it allows me to give them a little bit more grace. Because I have heard the saying before, and I think it is true, you know, be very cautious or careful meeting your heroes because eventually they're going to let you down. And I think you can just change that to be very cautious when it comes to meeting other people because eventually they are going to let you down.

But if you look up to them or you put them on a pedestal and you think that they are above or beyond any of the issues that you may be feeling in your life or the struggles that you may be having in your life, that let down when you realize that they're just human is probably going to be even bigger. It might have a larger impact on you. So I don't. I don't get nervous because I don't think there's any reason to be nervous. Fame seems like it's cool, but also the downside of it seems to be horrendous. You know, wealth, it seems to be cool unless you're completely consumed by that wealth and everything that you do is in this never-ending pursuit to continue to have wealth and you never actually get to do anything with it or help anybody else with it. Take people for what they are. Take them for just being people.

And hopefully that would, not that you said that you are nervous meeting people that you look up to. But if anybody out there who is or you get to meet somebody at some point in your life that makes you initially makes you nervous when meeting them, you know, Just try to view them from that lens. Hey, they're just a person just like me and enjoy your time with them. Because if you spend your time around somebody that you're nervous meeting, it'll change the social interaction. And you might look back to me and like, damn, I wish I would have done something differently. Last question for today. Will you ever marry again?

Or is that a no-go? So I was divorced. I have been divorced. My divorce was finalized, I should say, in February of this year. And people who listen to the podcast know I don't talk about the specifics because it's not fair for me to do so. the other half of the equation that my ex-wife, that relationship, until she has the ability to speak about it on the terms that she wants to, I'm going to keep my mouth shut about it. That's the only way that I think it is fair and equitable. Having said that, I think marriage is more about

the people that are getting married or the people that are married as opposed to the institution in and of itself. I know there are many people and quite a few of them have reached out to me and said, you know, hey, I just went through horrendous divorce. I'm fucking never getting married again. And my response to them is exactly this. I don't think it's about the marriage. I think it's about finding the right person. I've given this advice on the podcast before when it came to, if I had the ability to talk to myself when I was younger, what piece of advice would I give? The first piece of advice I would give is wait until you're a little bit older to make that level of commitment. And that has nothing to do with the person that I was married to.

That has everything to do with the fact I didn't have a great understanding of who I was and it was just too early for me. So I turned 44 next month. And I think I have a much better understanding of who I am and what I want to be and what I am looking for in a partner and what I would appreciate the most in a partner. it's the thought of marriage doesn't scare me at all because to me and maybe I'm super old-fashioned when it comes to this I think that if you find somebody that you want to be with that that step is that that commitment to them whether people think that the government should be involved in their life and have a legal document or wear a ring or any of those things whether or not those matter to you to me I think it's an important step to take I think it shows that

level of commitment both internally and externally. There are some legal protections depending on your situation, but I don't think that should necessarily be primary in your decision-making process. But I think, again, perhaps in an old-fashioned way, that it is a statement that matters and shows your level of commitment. So will I ever marry again? Yes, I will marry again. I try not to share too much stuff privately or about my private life. So this may come as a shot. to some people, but I'm actually currently engaged right now to my girlfriend of almost two years. And we'll be getting married, likely in August of next year. So it is not a no-go.

It is actually something that I am really looking forward to because, again, the marriage, it's not about the institution. It's about the person that you're decided to make that decision with. That's all I got for this Friday. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you. Thanks for taking the time to tune in, whether you're listening on an audio-only platform, or you're watching on YouTube, I appreciate that you take the time every week to tune in. People ask me a lot, what can they do to help me spread the word? And the answer is actually embedded in the question. The biggest thing you guys can do to help me if you enjoy the podcast

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it would be an item you would like to wear around town. And then you can tell people what it is when they ask you. But that is it. The biggest thing I can say is thank you. I truly appreciate it. Until next time. See you.