On Purpose with Jay Shetty - Adam Goldston ON: Productivity, Time Management & How To Make Better Decisions

Episode Date: February 21, 2022

Do you want to meditate daily with me? Go to go.calm.com/onpurpose to get 40% off a Calm Premium Membership. Experience the Daily Jay. Only on CalmJay Shetty sits down with Adam Goldston to talk about his entrepreneurial journey. It started with what was then considered a wild idea from two 22-year olds and has ended with a brand that has been revolutionized with technology for maximum comfort and performance. Adam’s story is one that truly is inspirational for he isn’t just a businessman but a person who has learned to turn negativity into opportunities and creativity. Adam Goldston, together with his brother Ryan, founded Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL) at the age of 22. As former two sport collegiate athletes, playing both basketball and football at the University of Southern California, Adam and Ryan created APL with a vision to make revolutionary products symbolizing the intersection of luxury and performance. Today APL is globally recognized as a world leader in Men’s and Women’s athletic footwear and apparel.Want to be a Jay Shetty Certified Life Coach? Get the Digital Guide and Workbook from Jay Shetty https://jayshettypurpose.com/fb-getting-started-as-a-life-coach-podcast/What to Listen For:00:00 Intro04:24 You always focus on where you want to be11:27 Changing your environment when you believe you need to16:31 Hearing important things at the right moment and then doing it23:17 Exposure to footwear technology since childhood28:34 Embracing the negative and turning it into a positive33:04 When faced with negative emotions, embrace and process it35:55 When making decisions, anchor them in clear deliverables42:56 Doing things that we don't truthfully believe in46:29 Three things to do to successfully turn an idea into a business48:10 Knowing what schedule works best for you56:04 Redefining effectiveness and efficiency59:15 Leaving your comfort zone for inspiration and creativity 01:05:16 Adam on Final FiveEpisode ResourcesAthletic Propulsion LabsAdam Goldston | InstagramAdam Goldston | LinkedInAdam Goldston | TwitterSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Jay Shetty and on my podcast on purpose, I've had the honor to sit down with some of the most incredible hearts and minds on the planet. Oprah, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Hart, Louis Hamilton, and many, many more. On this podcast, you get to hear the raw real-life stories behind their journeys and the tools they used, the books they read, and the people that made a difference in their lives so that they can make a difference in hours. Listen to on purpose with Jay Shetty on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Join the journey soon. What if you could tell the whole truth about your life, including all those tender and visible things we don't usually talk about?

I'm Megan Devine. Host of the podcast, it's okay that you're not okay. Look everyone's at least a little bit not okay these days, and all those things we don't usually talk about, maybe we should. This season, I'm joined by stellar guests like Abbermote, Rachel Cargol, and so many more. It's okay that you're not okay.

New episodes each and every Monday, available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you listen to podcasts. The world of chocolate has been turned upside down. A very unusual situation. You saw the stacks of cash in her office. Chocolate comes from the cacountry, and recently, Variety's cacao, thought to have been lost centuries ago,

were re-discovered in the Amazon. There is no chocolate on earth like this. Now some chocolate makers are racing deep into the jungle. To find the next game-changing chocolate, and I'm coming along. Okay, that was a very large crack it up. Listen to obs obsessions, wild chocolate, on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or whatever you get your podcast. You think of a motion, you think you either have to suppress it or you have to embrace

it. And I think there's a way in which you can experience it internally, but you don't have to express it externally. We think through it, we process it, and then we ensane and do what we intend to do, not what we are doing in terms of reaction. And I think like if you control your emotions, you're very powerful. If you're controlled by your emotions, you're not as powerful. You're not as powerful. Hey everyone, welcome back to On Purpose, the number one health podcast in the world.

Thanks to each and every single one of you who come back every week to listen, learn, and grow. Now, you know that I'm always out to find interesting people, fascinating stories, people who, you may or may not know, but'm always out to find interesting people, fascinating stories, people who you may or may not know, but have made really interesting, powerful decisions that we can all learn from. And today's guest is a friend of mine, someone that I bumped into very recently and we just connected instantly, but at the same time, he's had years of experience as an entrepreneur. I'm speaking about none other than Adam Goldstein, who's the co-founder of LA-based athletic

propulsion labs or APL as they're known, and here is twin brother Ryan, who were former sport collegiate athletes, played both basketball and football at the University of Southern California. And then Vision creating a company that would provide revolutionary products symbolizing the ultimate intersection. And this is what I love of luxury and performance. Today, Adam and Ryan are recognized as accomplished inventors with numerous US and foreign patents,

including APL's revolutionary load and launch technology. And recently, they were named two of the 100 most intriguing entrepreneurs of 2020 by Goldman Sachs. Please welcome to the show, my friend and amazing entrepreneur, Adam Goldstone. Adam, thank you for being here, man. Jay, thanks for having me. I'm super excited. I've been long time listening.

Obviously we're friends, but it's funny because like your podcast is one of the only ones that I really listen to and where I think like where I actively listen. So I think there's a difference between passively listening to something actively listening. And it's so funny that so many of the people big and, or like not smaller, but like famous and just more specialized in their avenue, and people that have been important to my personal journey. So like when I listen to the Robert Green one,

and the first book is in my, I'd say like adult life that I ever put like real intention into reading was 48 laws of power. And I read it in a moment it like I think like one of the key things in my personal stories that like I have gotten lucky at key specific moments of my life Through a decision that I made and I was sick with pneumonia and I read Robert Green's 48 laws of power and There wouldn't have been another moment where I would have been again at home and had the ability to just dive into something at such a deep level.

But, and I think the way he talks about power and like just in the past as people think of it as a negative thing. But there's positive, there's definite positives if you use it to not only help yourself but help others. And so that was what my takeaway was, and it was again this was years ago, but that was what my takeaway was, and it was, again, this was years ago, but that was what my takeaway was. And so I just started being more active, more intentional in the way I was thinking about things.

And so when I saw that you had him and then you've had other people that I've definitely taken pieces of their journey and applied it to mine. I just, I love that because you are like the company that you keep. So I think that that was, like, that was cool for me to see the other day. I'm so grateful, man. And you know, we've had so many mutual friends over the last few years. We've tried to connect us. And last year it finally happened.

It was like, Deepika was trying to connect us and then all we were trying to connect us. And it finally happened. And we ended up last year at a pumpkin patch. I think it was just before Halloween or something like that. Yeah. And we just had like the best conversation. I walked away going, I need to spend a pumpkin patch. I think it was just before Halloween or something like that. And we just had the best conversation. I walked away going, I need to spend a lot more time with that guy. So I'm so glad that we're getting to do this and that we get to mine your mind today and really get inside there. And I want to start with actually, I watched your short film with

Rolls Royce. And what stood out for me was when you guys talked about how the journey is what defines greatness and not the destination. Now, that's an idea that we're told and we've heard again and again and again. But when you said it, not only did I believe it, I also understood that you're applying it. And I'd love to hear how you've been trying to apply that in your journey

as you are still growing towards an incredible destination. So I think that one of the key things is it wasn't always, that wasn't always my thought and that wasn't always Ryan and I thought. So I think it's something that we've learned along the journey, and I mean, to backtrack a little bit. I think when you're starting anything, especially when you started at a younger age as Ryan and I did, we started APL when we were in college, you focus a lot on where you wanna end up.

You don't necessarily always think about enjoying the ride and enjoying the journey to get there. And I think that, again, like listening to your podcast and the ride and enjoying the journey to get there. And I think that again, like listening to your podcast and the things and the intentions that you think about, that's been really important to the way that Ryan and I were. So when we started off on our journey, you have these goals, these grand ambitions. We all do, whether it's your day to day life, or your personal life, or what you're doing in your profession, you have these milestones that you're hoping for, that you're wishing for, that you believe can happen. And a lot of times you don't think about what you're doing day in and day out and

appreciating what you're doing day in and day out and how those will get you to where you want to go. And so I think that as Ryan and I started to achieve more, as we really started to go further in this journey, a lot of it was happening really quickly, even though we were years in. And we cut, not, we didn't take it for granted, but we took the achievements, took the successes, not just like financial, but just successes as, as a business, as a brand and individually. And we said, we need to use this to get to the next thing.

We need to use this to get to the next thing. I think there is a moment in time, probably 2016, where Ryan and I, we had got this big award. We were known for 30 under 30. There's a lot of other things that started going our way. And one thing we hadn't been great at was celebrating the small daily victories in giving ourselves and our team the momentum to go to the next thing instead of just focusing on moving to the next point.

And so I think we had to have that realization where we were doing so many things, we were achieving so much, but we didn't have the internal appreciation for what was happening every single day. It just became so consistent that it became normal. And I think that's not positive. I think you need to appreciate your daily journey, you need to appreciate the people around you, what they're contributing to it.

And I think that that was a key change for us. And so at that moment in time, Ryan and I, and again, key people around us, we made a clear decision that we are gonna appreciate what we're doing every single day. We're gonna stay inspired by what we wanna do in the future. But if you, there is a way to exist mentally in the current plan and in the future plan. And I, there is a way to exist mentally in the current plane and

in the future plane. And I think there's a delicate balance. And I think for us, we had in the beginning, we didn't have that many victories. And so you had to constantly put in the work, put in the repetition to get that one. But then one of the other key aspects of my story is compounding. And as you get, as you get one thing, the next thing comes typically quicker than the next one comes quicker than the next one comes quicker. And so for us, we tried to slow down the focus on the ultimate endpoint because you are probably going to get there regardless of what your goals are.

You put in the effort, you put in the work and you get lucky, you will end up reaching these points. But if you're only focused on that one moment in time that's so finite and you're not appreciating the longer term, which is actually the day to day and the journey, it's not gonna be a win. It's just gonna be another accomplishment or milestone, but it won't feel the same. And I think that when we decided to put happiness before success and in a measurement for success,

and that daily happiness, and I know you can't be happy 100% of the time every single day, and the ups and downs do make those other things feel greater. But if you can think every day that I want to appreciate this journey, and what I'm doing today will get me to where I'm going tomorrow. And if I appreciate it today, I will appreciate it tomorrow. And you make those clear conscious decisions. You will feel much better about your journey and you will feel much better about your destination. But you spend much more time on the journey than you do at the destination. So if you can appreciate the longer part, the part at the end, we'll feel even better. And I think the only way that we were able to realize that was by not realizing that

earlier. And so, but it's like anything, it's you learn as you go. And if you keep an open mind, and you can take feedback, and you can look at others and see that you're inspired by what they're doing, what they've learned, and then how can I take little pieces of that and apply it to what I'm doing? And I saw other people that were enjoying simpler things than I was, and I appreciated that. And so I said, there's a way that I need to implement that into my day life, as did Ryan and the rest of the team. And I mean, we feel great about what we do, and I think that's the most important thing, thing and that's the key to enjoying the journey which helps you enjoy the destination even more. I think that's that was such a comprehensive answer because like I said it's a statement we've heard it's a statement we've seen but I really appreciate your interpretation of that and how practical you've made it because I feel the same way I always say to people like winning the award or

getting the title That's one percent of the journey like that amount of time you spend on stage is like 30 seconds long Yeah, and and those 30 seconds it took like three years 30 years, you know to get to that three seconds or 30 seconds of time that you spent receiving an award. And you're spot on, like if you don't feel passionate when you wake up every morning to do what you're doing, can you take me back at them? I want to go back.

What I love about this conversation is I'm discovering you, I think the world is discovering you. I know me and my friends are massive fans of APL. I had a ton of your shoes before I even knew you. Not only are they comfortable, they look fantastic. The store at the Grove is one of my favorite stores, just generally, to walk into, which was where I was first introduced to APL.

But let's go back to your childhood. I mean, intrigued by, can you think about a pivotal moment that happened while you were young that has framed who you are today? Was there a particular experience, maybe with a parent, with a friend, anyone in your life, something someone said, something someone did that has created part of who you are today

that you feel has been so integral in your life, positive or negative or healthier or unhealthy? I mean, I think there's a lot of things so it's hard to point to one. I think one thing I realized early on and I know this isn't applicable to most because they aren't twins, but in so I'll choose one that's more applicable

to other people, but I realized early on as did my brother that we had a unique competitive advantage that there was two of us with almost identical points of view, but with unique characteristics that complement one another. So we realized that really early on, and again, like a lot of times with kids, peer pressure is something that becomes really, really difficult. And because there was two of us, and there's typically one other person, we could not be pressured to move one way.

So I think that played a role in terms of building internal character. But I think something that was key to my journey is, I've always believed, always, and now is an adult, but I think this because of a kid, was that you can turn a negative situation into a positive if you change your perspective on the negative and try to skew it more positive. And so I guess one real important example is when I was a kid, I didn't do great in school and I was always an incredible athlete, but I did not do the greatest in school. And it wasn't because I didn't have the intellect,

but it's because I wasn't in the right, it wasn't important to me in this situation that I was in. So I was at this one school. I was not doing very well. I was doing great sports, but I wasn't doing very well. I was a student. And I felt like the environment wasn't the right one for me because it was too small. I needed to be able to become more of myself. I always had this nagging self-confidence that I knew

where, if I trusted myself and I listened to myself, I could make the most of it. And so, trusted myself and I listened to myself, I can make the most of it. And so, middle of my ninth grade year, my parents basically gave me the opportunity to transfer to a school that wasn't as good of a school, but it was more diverse and had a greater opportunity for educational and athletic success. And I changed my environment. And again, like one thing that's been important to our journey is changing your environment when you believe you need to. educational and athletic success. And I changed my environment. And again, like one thing that's been important to our journey is changing your environment when you believe you need to.

And so that gave me the ability to go to a school at a different part of the city and a different environment. And then I was able to learn at a better rate. I was able to do sports at a much higher level. And I believed in myself because it's hard switching schools in the middle of the year, trying to make all new friends and things of that nature. And so I think like the key learning point from that is like if you get out of your comfort zone and you become comfortable with the uncomfortable, you may discover something in yourself that you never knew you could

do or take it to a level that you didn't think was possible. So for me, that was a really big one. And I think it was, if that doesn't happen, I'm not here today. And so I think that movement in the middle of my ninth grade year, I was a young man. I'm 14, 15 years old, but that gave me the confidence to try uncomfortable situations make the most of it. And then they may actually end up benefiting you much more than you ever could have thought. So that was, I think I was a kid, something that went a really, really, really long way.

Yeah, that's such a great insight because you almost don't get to reap the rewards of that up until now, like much later on. Of course. In that moment, you're just like, this is the worst thing that could have ever happened to me, right? And I really do love that you reflected on that moment in that way because I find that anytime I ask someone that question, rarely do they pick something good that happened, right? It's like, people never say, oh, when I was 15, I had the best thing.

You know, it's always like, well, this went wrong or this changed and this shifted. And I think it's fascinating to hear that in your journey too. Now, when you and your brother, and I love, by the way, I love the twins answer. I love the twins answer. So it doesn't matter that we can't relate, we all want to relate. Like we're like, oh, that's so cool. Like, you know, that's how I felt. When you have this idea for APL and I want to talk about the idea, but what I'm

really interested by is also how lots of people start stuff at college or at school. And it kind of fizzles out by the time you graduate and then you go on to get a real job and you get real responsibilities and you wear a real suit, right? That kind of becomes the journey that most people go on. What I'm fascinated by is when you come up with this idea, what did it take to go from this is cool to this is real? And what was that journey like? So tell us about the ideation,

but then tell us about how this went from like, this is cool, we're doing something interesting to, this is actually real And this is what we're going to commit time to So I think I think one of the important things about Ryan and I is that if somebody tells us We're not able to do something That's essentially just gasoline to to what we have to do so I think Ryan used APL as his business plan in school and he didn't even get top 10.

So I don't remember what the grade is, he still has it, but like he didn't even get top 10, they didn't believe in it. And it's not because they didn't think it was a good idea, it's because they didn't think that we could execute on the vision the way that we did. And so I think one of the things I used to have as a kid and when I was in college, I don't have it anymore because it's more so like a running tally that I keep in my mind is I would have this list of things that we have to do and that I wanted to do. Top thing on my list is I never achieved which is making an NBA. Everything else I've done since then. But I think when thinking about the idea and execution, one thing I heard, and again, I think one of the parts

of my story that's important is I've heard important things at the right moment in time and I've listened to it. And I heard the easiest way to get where you're going is one step at a time. And so when I was in college, and when Ryan and I were, and we were thinking through the idea, one of the things, again, back to the journey aspect is, you think of where you wanna go,

but you don't necessarily usually think of the steps you need to take in the interim to get there. And so Ryan was lucky enough that when he was in this program and people were telling us this wasn't a good idea, it's not going to work. We had to think deeper through the idea, deeper through the execution. And I mean, we started as a direct to consumer brand in 2010.

So it's like, in 2010, people were not going direct to consumer, but we didn't have the resources. And I think one of the thing that a lot of people think when they're creating something is everybody's paying attention to me, if I fail, everyone's going to see it. But most of the time, everybody else is focused on themselves and they're not really concerned with what you're doing. So if you focus on yourself, you focus on what you're doing,

and you try something, if you mess up, there's a way to recover it, and there's a way to keep moving forward, you learn from it, you won't make the same mistake mistake again. And so for us, I can spend so much time working on this technology. We wanted to build a shoe around it. And one thing we did, and I think this is what helped us be successful and go from idea to execution, is again, most people when they're creating something, they are scared to ask for help typically, and they don't go to the highest level of help, they try to go to the lowest level,

because they think somebody that's close to me will help me, not somebody at the top somewhere. And so what Ryan and I believe is, if we went to the largest people possible and said, we have this amazing idea, it's remarkable, we can't execute on this. We will put the work and do it. Can you help us? And they said, yes, we went to sneaker factory that had no business saying yes to us, but they thought they loved the idea. They thought it was unique.

And so from there, we were able to implement what we wanted to do, be able to develop things that typically you would not be able to. And so I think, again, like the nugget of our journey, because we make shoes, so most people aren't going to make shoes, and that's the part that's different, is that we believe that if you ask people for help and you're willing to accept their help, and you go to somebody that typically you wouldn't think would say yes, and you give them the opportunity to help you, people inherently want to help. And so, I think when you're thinking about executing something, you have to think big. It's easier to work your way down than it is to work your way out. And so that was's just we had an idea of how we wanted to execute it. We asked the right questions to people. And we didn't have this idea of you have to have a specific mentor. We believe that you could have specific mentors for specific things. So I need help with

production. I would ask a production person. If I needed help with logistics, I would ask a logistics person. If I needed help with counting, I would ask an accounting person, but there's not an end all be all for each thing. So that was really what the point of difference for us was, we were able to ask help. We had amazing people that were around us in that moment in time. And we just had pure determination.

Like we were obsessed with taking this idea and executing it. And we were going to do whatever it took. And since we didn't have any investors, we had to do it ourselves. And so I think, and we were going to do whatever it took and Since we didn't have any investors we had to do it ourselves And so I think and we weren't scared to fail like that's that's another thing is that there's there's a real difference between Fear and danger and and when you're starting to idea most it's all fear. It's not it's not dangerous It's you're scared of it So you just have to conquer that emotion and you can learn most things if you ask questions to the right people. Adam, you are just dropping wisdom everywhere.

I mean, there's so many things in that that I need to now break down. So first of all, everyone is listening. You need to get your notebook out right now and write stuff. The Adam is saying down because there are so many things. Or you're going to have to listen this episode twice. So it's up to you. You either listen to episode twice or you get a notebook out right now. The idea that there's a difference between fear and danger, what a great way to clarify how we experience it. That is,

that's just brilliant. Like I've never heard it been put in that way before and I think that is such great language to help us realize we react as if if we're in danger but actually we're in fear. And that's where that's where things start to go wrong. So I thought that was brilliant. The other thing that you mentioned that I really am resonating with and it was kind of in there and I think it's an underrated part of entrepreneurship is that you were trying and you have of course now but at the time you were trying, and you have of course now, but at the time, you were trying to create technology. Like there was an engineering aspect. It wasn't just we wanna make cool stuff,

and trendy stuff, and fatty stuff. It was like, no, we're actually working on something. And I find that one of the most underrated things about entrepreneurship is people with deep skill sets and having a skill, whether it's innovation, technology, engineering, speaking, marketing, whatever it may be, talk to me a bit about where did you learn about technology when it comes to athletics?

Because that to me is a really different way to look at product creation as opposed to just saying, we wanna make stuff that looks good. Hi, I'm David Eagleman. I have a new podcast called Inner Cosmos on I Heart. I'm a neuroscientist and an author at Stanford University, and I've spent my career exploring

the three-pound universe in our heads. On my new podcast, I'm going to explore the relationship between our brains and our experiences by tackling unusual questions so we can better understand our lives and our realities. Like, does time really run in slow motion when you're in a car accident? Or can we create new senses for humans? Or what does dreaming have to do with the rotation of the planet? So join me weekly to uncover how your brain steers your behavior, your perception, and your reality. Listen to Intercosmos with David Eagleman,

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A good way to learn about a place is to talk to the people that live there. There's just this sexy vibe in Montreal, this pulse, this energy. What was seen as a very snotty city, people call it Bos Angeles. New Orleans is a town that never forgets its pay. A great way to get to know a place is to get invited to a dinner party. Hi, I'm Brendan Francis Newton and not lost as my new travel podcast where a friend and I go places, see the sights, and try to finagle our way into a dinner party.

We're kind of trying to get invited to a dinner party. It doesn't always work out. I would love that, but I have like a Cholala who is aggressive towards strangers. I love the dogs. We learn about the places we're visiting, yes, but we also learn about ourselves. I don't spend as much time thinking about how I'm going to die alone when I'm traveling. But I get to travel with someone I love. Oh, see, I love you too.

And also, we get to eat as much. I love you too. My ex a lot of therapy goes behind that. You're so white, I love you too. Mike's a lot of therapy goes behind that. You're so white, I love it. Listen to Not Lost on the iHeart radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Debbie Brown. And my podcast, Deeply Well, is a soft place to land on your wellness journey.

I hold conscious conversations with leaders and radical healers and wellness and mental health around topics that are meant to expand and support you on your journey. From guided meditations to deep conversations with some of the world's most gifted experts in self-care, trauma, psychology, spirituality, astrology, and even intimacy. Here is where you'll pick up the tools to live as your highest self. Make better choices. Heal and have more joy. My work is rooted in advanced meditation, metaphysics, spiritual psychology, energy healing, and trauma-informed practices. I believe that the more we heal and grow within ourselves, the more we are able to bring our creativity to life, and live our purpose, which leads to community impact and higher

consciousness for all beings. Deeply well with Debbie Brown is your soft place to land, to work on yourself without judgment, to heal, to learn, to grow, to become who you deserve to be. Deeply well is available now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen and a podcast, big love, namaste. So back to I think a unique competitive advantage. And since we don't have 10 hours, I didn't want to give you the full background. But as a kid, my dad worked in the footwear industry. And he actually helped one of the key parts to my story

is he helped create the LA gear lighted shoes. And so my brother and I were the first product testers ever for the LA gear lighted shoes. And he brought them home and he gave them to us. And that day we gave him feedback on, and we're five years old, give him feedback on how to try to make the shoes better. And obviously it's we're not giving him technical feedback at five, but we're telling him you should move the lights from the back to the side of the shoe so we can see our lights. But the technical aspect of it is from a very, very, very young age, my dad would bring us to the office and would bring us into the technology line reviews, would bring us into the innovation area and we would see how to

engineer specific footwear product. So I think again it wasn't that Ryan and I woke up one day and decided that we wanted to engineer a technology that would instantly make you jump higher. We had been obsessed with footwear specific technology since we were five years old and again when you're talking you asked earlier about key moments in my childhood, my dad, as a kid, showed me what was possible, not saying, come here and look at this, but through ideas. And I think like, that's the greatest type of inspiration you can get for anybody, not just from a parent, but from anyone is showing somebody that something is possible through

their own ideas and executions. So we took an interest to developing footwear technologies from an age of five years old. Obviously, there was a lot of knowledge that needed to come afterwards and took years to get. And we weren't eight-year-old WizKids. We were eight-year-old with ideas. But as you become older, as you become smarter, you focus on the things that are important to you. And sports and technology, and specifically footwear based technologies, are things that were always important to us. So I think that the learning point about that for entrepreneurs is that

everybody regardless of what you do has a predisposition to a specific thing that they care about, that they're passionate about, and they can focus on. If you can learn enough information, you can figure out how to make something better. And that was basically the basis for how we did it, is that we believe that we can make a shoe that we're in a technology that would do what we wanted to do. We just had to learn the basis behind the fundamentals. And that's what we did, and that's how we focused on it. That's how we learned it.

And to this day, I continue to learn so much, not only from our own exploration to footwear, but from other people, what they teach us, and things they bring to the table. And I think that I learned at a really, really young age. And I think it's, again, it's the fact that my dad and the team will listen to our idea. And then I saw it actually come

into life. And so I think seeing what's possible and knowing that if you're passionate about something, you don't have to be a scientist to naturally figure it out. You just have to be a creative engineer. And I think like that's a lot of really successful entrepreneurs. It's not that they know something about everything. It's that they know a lot about a specific area. And for us, like, that's, it's always been our passion.

We've, we've always loved technology and we've always loved innovation and pushing what's possible. And I think that regardless of what you're at, venue is, even if you're not creating product, if you're creating content, if you're creating anything, like, there's a way to be innovative in it. And there's a way to push it to as far as you possibly can. Yeah, I'm so glad you shared that detail because to me, that's the part that I love my community really getting close to because when you've been that close to

something since you're five years old and you've taken an interest that closeness has turned into a passion and then it's turned into your own cause, that's what it takes. Like that's what it takes. Like it takes that obsession, that absorption, that you're immersed in this whole world. It's not like one day you wake up and you have a random idea to go and create something, right? And I think often we don't give ourselves the time to get close to something and deeply immersing it

and experience it. And we're looking for like, well, I don't know what I'm passionate about. Like, I don't know what my purpose is. I don't know what I'm excited about. But that's because we're trying to hope that it's just gonna miraculously appear. And I love that idea that actually,

well, no, this has been a part of our life. Now, when we talk about technology, your load and launch technology became the first that will be realistically appear. And I love that idea that actually, well, no, this has been a part of our life. Now, when we talk about technology, your load and launch technology became the first ban shoe in the NBA history, right? And that is just so, like, that is, I don't know if there's anything cooler than that. Like, to get, I don't know if it's better to get into the NBA,

to get in and get banned, but like, to get banned by the NBA. To me, that sounds like the coolest story ever, but as a company, it can also be difficult. I wanna hear, what was that like to find out? Like, what was that like as an experience? Because that's not common. Like, I don't hear stories like that all the time. So I think the unique part of about that is that

so to this day, we've never raised a dollar outside capital. We own 100% of the business. At that moment in time, we had zero dollars, and I'm going to mean zero. We had zero dollars for marketing. We looked at it as the NBA is the greatest basketball organization in the world. It's top tier. When you think about leagues, it's top tier. And so the dream when you're creating a product

for a specific sport is you want it to be at the top tier with the best people. And the fact that the NBA said that it's too good because it provides a way with an undue competitive advantage, that sounds really positive when you frame it that way. But if you look at it from the other side of the coin saying, the best basketball players in the world can't wear your product, that sounds negative. And so the way that we looked at is that this is a very unique opportunity where we can

wholeheartedly embrace it, or we can fight it with everything that we have, which wasn't much at the time. And we said, let's embrace this. Let's turn this negative into a positive. Let's say banned by the NBA. The reason is it instantly makes you jump higher. And they can't wear it because it's so good. And so there's a way that, again, you change your perspective on something.

You take a negative, you make it a positive. Ends up becoming the best thing that ever happened to us. When it happened, number one news story in the world, number two, three, and 17 most search terms on Google, over a million articles written or posted about it within 10 days. We sold nine months worth of inventory in three days, which is important because we're self-finance, no outside investors. There's three of us in a room that's 60 square feet when we find this out. So we basically find out that the world-leading basketball organization isn't allowing our

product because it provides a way with an undue competitive advantage. So I think at first there's that huge shock like, oh man this is insane like what do we do? And then instantly we thought we need to lean into this, we need to embrace this. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We can make this negative feel positive. And that's exactly what we did. And again, I think one thing that made it special too is that if we would have fought it, I think the NBA would have fought us. But the fact that we embraced it made them embrace us. Like David Sterns passed away, but he went on a show, I think, like that night and said,

that we're looking into the shoe that didn't sleep because you jumped out, it might even make me dunk. And like the way that he said it, it was playful, even though this was a very serious thing that they weren't allowing people to wear it. But I think the fact that we leaned into it and we embraced this thing that could have been negative changed the perspective, made it positive, and it made the people that were

essentially saying, no, lean into it and embrace it as well. So it ended up being a huge win for all of us. I actually think it was the only time obviously it's changed since that the NBA was the number one trending topic on Twitter when there wasn't like a number one trending sports organization on Twitter when there wasn't like a number one trending sports organization on Twitter when there wasn't another thing. So I think that they saw that there was value in the social equity that came along with it.

We leaned into a negative made it positive. We felt positive about it. We read the benefits of it because we sold the product. And then the NBA also got the reward from it. So I think all in all, it was just, it was a tremendous experience and it literally laid the groundwork for where we are today. And if that doesn't happen again, I mean, one of the key things I'm sorry,

is that doesn't happen. I don't know where we end up today. And we made the most of a negative and turned into a positive. That's a true win, win, win. And what I find so fascinating about it is that this is kind of like a recurring pattern in your life. Like your superpower is the ability to transform a negative into a positive and to be able

to pivot. Like that's really a superpower because even today you don't make basketball shoes, even that's what you started making. Like there's just another pivot, right? There's expansion, there's growth. Like I find that that's sometimes the hardest thing to do. And going back to what you said before is the only thing you never got to do

was making the NBA. There's another pivot there as well. Now, Anna, tell me how good were you, how serious were you, and how close were you? Well, so I mean, I was a division one after they played basketball, USC. I think I had a rude awakening when I got the college that I wasn't going to make the NBA because fear of my teammates did make the NBA and I realized that they were much better

than I was and that I wasn't going to be able to get there. But I think to one of the points that you were just making and it's important to our journey is that typically when you think of emotions, and like this turning negatives into positives, you think of emotion, you think you either have to suppress it or you have to embrace it. And I think there's a way in which you can experience it internally, but you don't have to express it externally. And so I think what we've done in these negative situations is we think through it,

we process it, and then we ensane and do what we intend to do, not what we are doing in terms of a reaction. And I think like for me that's been super important to my journey. It's been super important for Ryan Ein, and something that again it became a superpower because if you control your emotions, you're very powerful. If you're controlled by your emotions, you're not as powerful. So I think that was something that we learned really early on. But to your basketball question, I wish I would have been six or ten and had a different

journey in terms of that. But everything works out the way that it's supposed to. So if I would have made the NBA, I probably wouldn't be on your podcast here today. So I'm thankful for the journey that I've had. Oh, yeah. No, I mean, maybe you would. We've had some, I'm trying to think now who have we had from the NBA? We've had. You had a joint weight on it. I just interviewed Dwayne who was amazing. We had Dennis Rodman on a couple of years ago, which was just fascinating conversation. Obviously, thankful to have had the opportunity to sit with Kobe Bryant.

So maybe Adam, maybe it would have happened that way too. We would have been brought together either way. But no, I really appreciate this message, this pattern that's coming out through your whole journey of pivoting, of looking for being able to turn a situation, something that looks like a failure or looks like a rejection and being able to turn that into a win. And sure, it's easy to celebrate that now, but you can only imagine when the news is the biggest organization in the world that is your target market to help promote

and propel this brand is saying you're not allowed and that as a product creator can be really, really challenging. You know, when you think about it's almost like saying, you know, this company's not gonna stock your thing or we're not gonna allow, you know, and so I love the way that I'm hearing this through your journey and how it's constantly shifted. I want to hear how do you and your brother make decisions?

Have you created like a, because when I even met you, what I experienced from you is you're very methodical, strategic, very thoughtful. It's not, you know, it's not random. This isn't just some random luck story. And I really appreciate that because I really admire conscious intentional thinkers. Can you walk me through how you and your brother make decisions when it comes to the business

and then diving into things like recruitment and leadership? Any of those areas that you want to dive into and stories you want to share of how have you made good decisions and what is your decision making process? So I think again to one of the, speaking to the podcast, when you had Ray Dalyan, I mean the key to his entire successes is principles. And I think that a lot of times, when you think back, think back on the things that you love the most, you're most amazing journeys your most amazing journeys, your best experiences,

the usually spontaneous things. And the best ability to be spontaneous is when you have a clear and methodical approach to how you make decisions, because it gives you a lot of room to be spontaneous, because you know you can stay within this realm. And so for Ryan and I, when we think about how we're making decisions, we anchor them in clear deliverables that we have to achieve. And so I think like a lot of times when people want to make decisions, they try to make something for the moment, but they don't think of where that's going to lead them. And so back to thinking of the entire journey and the destination, And so back to thinking of the entire journey and the destination, I think you need to know when you're making, this is a key decision. It's not like daily what you're going to have for breakfast, but like key long term decisions

is you need to know where does this lead you and where do you want it to lead you? What's the intention behind making this decision? And so I think that for us has been something that's been really, really important is that Michael Burke, who's the CEO of Louis Vuitton, he gave me some of the best advice that I ever had, and which is, you need to think about, do you want to do something for the moment, or do you want to do something to be diagnostic? And he took it again, he gave us advice to us at the right moment in time. We heard it. This is back, I think, 2016.

And Ryan and I always wanted to build something diagnostic. And so if you want to build something diagnostic and you want to bring people along for that journey, you have to make decisions and have the approach for the long term. You can't do it for the immediate. And so all of the decisions that we make

are based on building essentially this house. If you want to build a house, you have to have a solid foundation. If you don't have a solid foundation, it doesn't matter what you put on top of it because it won't last. And so the way that we look at it is every decision we make is another brick in building this house. And so if you have one bad brick, you can replace it. But if you're constantly laying bad bricks and you're saying, oh, these are the best ones that I can get right now, but it may not last for a long term, you're going to have to eventually replace it. And so the way that Ryan and I look at it is make fewer decisions, but make better decisions.

And take more time. And there's nothing wrong with saying no. Like you say no 99 times so that you can say yes the hundredth time and that hundredth time is worth more than a hundred x which you did a few would have said yes all of those other times so when we're thinking about decisions it's really keeping that at the heart of it is that where are we trying to go why are we trying to go here how are we going to get there and why should you say yes to this? And like, if you do that and you stand behind each of your decisions, you'll be proud of your decisions and then you will typically make the right ones for yourself. You can't be right 100% of time and you shouldn't hold yourself to that standard and it's irrational to do so. But if you feel confident in your decisions, the intention was right, and the people around you feel great about it,

you will typically make the right decision. And I think like one of the things that Ryan and I have always tried to do is make difficult things as simple as possible, which means move the excess. You're thinking about a really challenging situation. Should I go here? Should I do this? In large scenarios. And take away all of the excess from this decision.

What's at the core of the problem? What's at the core of why you want to do this? And then evaluate that and be transparent and honest with yourself. Like, a lot of times people don't want to be honest with themselves. They build up these other things and they take on these external factors and say, like, I'm doing this for other people and they're not really being

transparent with themselves, but you inherently know what you should do and you're going to make some wrong decisions along the road and it's okay to make a wrong decision if the intention was right, but you don't want to make intentional wrong decisions. And like people do that all the time and they don't talk about it. And so I think, again, that's something we discovered early on in the thought making process and the decision process is if we feel confident in it and the intention is right and it's for the long term, it's in line with the dynastic approach, and the people around us will embrace it, and that's the right decision. And sometimes it's much more simple than you think it is. And I mean, we're complex creatures,

so we can make any simple idea very complex. I mean, I've listened to enough of your podcasts and other people that are leaders in the space. And it's like the whole goal, whether it's meditation or anything else that you're doing is you want to try and simplify the experience because that's when you get most of your clarity.

And so when you're thinking through the decision-making process, that's what you try to do is try to make it as clear as possible the easiest way to do so is to make it as simple as possible. Adam, masterclass in this is your making right there. I mean, that was brilliant. I love this because you know, it's these things you just thrown around and I can tell that how much grappling

you've done with the idea and how you've simplified the idea for yourself. And you're so right that the reason why decision making often feels so hard is we're allowing noise in and distractions and then we're not really asking the right questions. We're not asking the right people where looking at it from the wrong direction. I loved something you said that you said that people sometimes make intentionally wrong decisions. Can you explain and expand on that a little bit more about how we do that? I read an amazing book when I was like, I think I was like 16, 17 years old and I read a book called Predictively Irrational by Dan O'Reilly. He's one of my favorite authors.

And he wrote a book talking about how humans make predictably irrational decisions all the time. And I read that book and I was like, no way. I thought I was smart. And then you read that book and you realize, wait a minute, you're not as smart as you think you are because so many decisions are the way things are presented and what you miss. Talk me about what you meant when you said we make intentionally wrong decisions and

how we end up there, because sometimes I think we're not good at making the right decisions because we don't know where we go wrong. Well, so I think a lot of times it's, you don't know why you are making the decision. So most of the time people can be pressured and again this is back to like a peer pressure situation is that you can be pressured into making a decision and you at your core and Know that this is not the right decision, but you believe that you need to make this decision and so You can every instance you can't make the right decision. So that's not what I'm trying to say.

But there's, we can all point to moments in our lives and we've done it where we said, yes, this is something, or we do something, knowing we should not do it. There's so many things that happen because of that. And there's so many results of that that compound and become worse and worse and worse because we do these things that we don't truth We believe in and know that that they're not right for us to do and so I think a lot of times Think back to your worst decisions or the decision that people make that they're not necessarily proud of or even just the wrong decision They knew what the right one was, they intentionally ignored it because they thought somebody might be upset if I say yes or it's usually they're making it for

someone else or not making it for themselves. So they don't put themselves at the center of this decision, they're putting others there, and you can't help other people if you can't help yourself. And so I know it's a difficult thing and you can't apply to every situation. But I learned really, I'd say early on, that if I'm in a place of strength and I'm in a place of support, I can help you much better than if I'm intentionally just trying to help you and I know I'm going to be at a disadvantage, I'm not going to be able to help you. I can help someone much better from a position of power than I can in a position of weakness. That's like using power as a positive, not as a negative.

So I think that when people are making these intentional wrong decisions, a lot of times they're not coming from a bad place. They're coming from a place where they think they need to do it to help others, but they're not going to be in a position to do it. So I think that I identified that relatively early on because I felt that when I felt the best I could help more people and I can make better decisions and again it's like back to like happiness is the core of success right. If you're happy and you have that energy and you have that charisma and you have all the things that resonate from you, people will gravitate towards you, but if you're pushing out negative

and it's and and people don't feel good about being around you and intentionally making bad decisions, you should not go around somebody like that. And so I think that a lot of times it doesn't come from a place of negativity or or something that's bad. It comes from that you're trying to help somebody, and you're intentionally making the wrong decision, and you end up hurting everybody instead of helping them. So I think that, again, it's not being selfish, it's taking care of yourself so that you

can help others. And I think, again, when you think of intention, you think of purpose, if you do it from a positive place, and you do it from a place where you think you can help yourself, you can help others, you're going to make the right decisions. And I think that's how you avoid those intentional bad decisions that are intentional wrong decisions because they don't lead too much for anybody. They just end up hurting you. Great answer man. If someone right now is listening and they want to start a business, side hustle, really build something, what's the first three things they should be thinking about?

If someone is listening right now going, Adam's advice is great, I have an idea, I want to get started, what's the first three things they should do? Well, I think it depends on what the type of business is, but I think the first thing you need to do is identify how you're going to start it. And so I think you need to know, like, you can have the best idea in the world, but I think the first thing you need to do is identify how you're going to start it. And so I think you need to know, like, you can have the best idea in the world, but ideas don't matter much if you don't have execution behind it. So I think you need to figure out how are you going to execute it, too. I think you need to figure out what you don't know in terms of where you want to go and who you can ask to help you get there. And then three, you need to understand

that it's gonna be longer, harder, and more expensive than you think it will be, but it will also be more rewarding. So you have to have that same type of energy as you go through it. I think there's clear specific things that apply to different businesses. So I don't think there's generations more so the idea,

but starting anything the easiest way to do it is one step at a time and you will become better every day, even if it doesn't feel like it, but repetition leads to progress. And so I think that that's really, really important when you're starting something. And again, like you have to believe in yourself because belief is different than hope.

Hoping for things won't get you very far, but belief in things will get you very, very far. So I think that that's those are key underlying principles to those three things, but starting anything is the easiest way to get to where you want to go. Our 20s are seen as this golden decade. Our time to be carefree, full in love, make mistakes, and decide what we want from our life. But what can psychology really teach us about this decade? I'm Gemma Spagg, the host of the psychology of your 20s. Each week we take a deep dive into a unique aspect of

our 20s, from career anxiety, mental health, heartbreak, money, friendships, and much more to explore the science and the psychology behind our experiences, incredible guests, fascinating topics, important science and a bit of my own personal experience. Audrey, I honestly have no idea what's going on with my life. Join me as we explore what our 20s are really all about. From the good, the bad, and the ugly, and listen along as we uncover how everything is psychology, including our 20s.

The psychology of your 20s hosted by me, Gemma Speg. Now streaming on the iHotRadio app, Apple podcasts, or whatever you get your podcasts. I'm Dr. Romani, and I am back with season two of my podcast, Navigating Narcissism. Narcissists are everywhere and their toxic behavior in words can cause serious harm to your mental health. In our first season, we heard from Eileen Charlotte, who was loved by the Tinder Swindler.

The worst part is that he can only be guilty for stealing the money from me, but he cannot be guilty for the mental part he did. And that's even way worse than the money he took. But I am here to help. As a licensed psychologist and survivor of narcissistic abuse myself, I know how to identify the narcissists in your life. Each week, you will hear stories from survivors who have navigated through toxic relationships,

gaslighting, love bombing, and the process of their healing from these relationships. Listen to navigating narcissism on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I am Mi'amla, and on my podcast, the R-Spot, we're having inspirational, educational, and sometimes difficult and challenging conversations about relationships. They may not have the capacity to give you what you need and insisting means that you are abusing yourself now. You human! That means

that you're crazy as hell, just like the rest of us. When a relationship breaks down, I take copious notes and I want to share them with you. Anybody with two eyes and a brain knows that too much Alfredo sauce is just no good for you. But if you're going to eat it, they're not going to stop you. So he's going to continue to give you the Alfredo sauce and put it even on your grits if you don't stop him. Listen to the art spot on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts. For sure. For sure. Can you, Adam, I want to shift from like your mind and your ideas and the way you think to how you live.

Can you take us through a day in the life of Adam? Like, how does it start? How does it end? What does it look like? What's been your routine more recently? What are some things that you've changed over time that have actually created momentum and acceleration? So it's funny because my schedule is completely different than I'm sure yours in most in general. And I think this again, becoming comfortable with who you are, this was, was was a process

and I didn't have the ability early on in the journey. I do have much more of an ability of it now. But I go to sleep at nearly 4 a.m. every day, and I woke up closer to 11 a.m. So I think a lot of times they think of entrepreneurs and people in my position. I think you're up at 5 or 6 a.m. or you're beating the sun.

But I'm the exact opposite. And I found that my greatest point of inspiration and joy is typically during the night time when there's less activity because I can focus on where we want to go, what we want to do. And also, on myself, and back to inherently known who I was and my brother as well, we've known since we were 15 or 16 that the night schedule worked better for us,

but we didn't have an ability to implement it because we're in high school, we're in college, and then when we're starting the business, you have to be on other people's more traditional. I guess like calendar or schedule. And so as we got to higher levels, we were able to continually shift it. Obviously, we have people on our team that supplement the early mornings and whatnot. We worked the late nights.

But I really embraced what my natural predisposition was for my schedule is that, and I knew that I would be better if I could operate on this schedule. And just like, morning people, we'll have to be up in the morning. I love to just push it as far as I can, lay it into the night.

And I think there's nothing wrong with it. And a lot of times, it doesn't get glorified because it's a difficult schedule. It doesn't work for everybody. It's not essentially normal. But for me, it's been the absolute best thing. And being able to build my schedule the way that I want, I believe is the ultimate luxury.

Because again, if you can control your time and not necessarily what happens throughout your time, but control how you allocate your time, most people would rather have 10 minutes of you at 100% than 3 hours of you at 20%. You can't even though you spend more time, you can't give them all of you. And so one of the things that I identified as I was building my schedule this way and really leading into it is I can give people 100% of my effort when I'm on a schedule that aligns with when I want to go to sleep and when I want to wake up and also when I want to work out. If I can anchor those specific things, I can

give everybody much more of myself in a shorter period of time. And again, like I've heard you speak about it before and you said it beautifully. And it's true. Like most of the people in your life, Jay, they would prefer for you to have, be with them for 10 minutes, give them 100% of Jay's an amazing experience. And for you to be sitting in the room on your phone, dosing off and not giving them the energy that not only they deserve, but that you deserve to give them. And so I think that that's something that I identified through how I built my schedule now.

I mean, I work out every single day and I think that's for me it's a really important thing because discipline has been something that has been pivotal to our journey too. And I believe that with discipline, if you anchor yourself through specific things, it gives you more freedom. Discipline is something that opens you up and gives you more opportunities for us to be spontaneous, more freedom is because you have clear pillars, clear anchors. It's like if you're playing a video game and you get to the checkpoint, you can be more

brave in your action because you know you can always go back to the checkpoint. So like that's the way I live my my day-to-day life. I try to have specific windows where I'll do calls, but then I leave everything else essentially open because I love I love the chaos in a positive way and I love the spontaneity in a positive way. And I think that, for me, this is the last one. I found my schedule, if it's too back-to-back-to-back-to-back and scheduled out. There's no real opportunity for the spontaneous excitement, which I think that we all need to have in one way or another. And I don't think that it's the same for everybody, but I think that you have to leave yourself the ability to discover something

or discover a relationship you didn't think was going to happen or a partnership you didn't think was going to happen or a friendship or things of that nature. And I think that being able to anchor myself known, I'm doing these few things at these few times, leaving this window open so that I can try things. And again, the greatest opportunities I've ever had have come from taking a chance on something and then anchoring it in the way that I live my life through my schedule.

And so again, it's something that I've had to work towards. It wasn't like that on day one. It's as you get further in the journey, you hone it in more. You have more opportunity to try things, and you have more control, I think, like, again, one of the key things for me in terms of success is control over schedule and control over time. You don't get to, you don't know how much time you have, but if you can control how you allocate that time, that's truthfully the greatest luxury, and that's something that I think is pivotal to success. And I think, again, when we're thinking about our team, and it's

specifically in the headquarters, everybody has different schedules because everybody works differently. And I've seen how positive it's been for Ryan and I. And so we try to translate that to the team as well. I love hearing about how different your schedule is to mine because it still represents the same thing to both of us. So you still have discipline, you still have focus, you're still prioritized around when you can be creative, it's based on self awareness and what's good for you

and right for you. So the values that we're choosing our schedule on is the same, like there's a very similar value set and it just looks different. And that's actually the beauty of life. Like that, and I think that's where we go wrong where we go, you know, in a few years, people are gonna be saying,

oh yeah, I need to do what Adams do. I need to sleep at 4 a.m. and you know, wake up. And it's like, well, that's not really gonna work. All people can be looking at going, oh yeah, I need to wake up like, you know, like I need to go to sleep at when Jay does and we're, and it's like, well, that's not really what to work. All people can be looking at again, oh yeah, I need to wake up like, you know, like I need to go to sleep at when Jay doesn't wait. And it's like, well, that's not really what we're saying. What we're saying is, if you're self aware and you create discipline and rhythm in your life and space for spontaneity, then you've got

to figure out what works for you and where it works for you. And so I love hearing how different our schedules are because it just proves that there are multiple ways that it can look even though there's a depth of why they're created that way. And in addition to that, what I really appreciated you were talking about is I think we think of discipline as ease of either back to back. And we think of laziness or spontaneity as completely free. And what you've actually said is what discipline is, is that you've created a discipline where you can be, what I've been thinking about a lot lately is you can be effective and efficient.

And efficiency is often seen as discipline, but efficiency means you do a lot of stuff. But effectiveness means you do important stuff. And I think that's what I'm seeing is missing in so many of our lives is that we're trying to be efficient. We do the laundry, do the dishes. We spoke to the team. We checked this off, checked this off, checked this off.

But then you're like, well, I haven't had any creative inspiration today. I haven't been effective. And so I really glad that you actually explained discipline to be the meeting of efficiency and effectiveness together. I mean, I think you said it in an efficient, ineffective way, the way that you just like illustrated what I was trying to get across. But it's true. I think a lot of times people think of discipline as something that lacks freedom. But discipline is the threat in the opportunity that gives you freedom. And so I think, and again, as you become more efficient, you can become more effective.

But it's hard to be effective if you're not efficient. And so I think, again, you said it in an amazing way. And you took a complex thing and you digested it. But it's been a really paramount. And I think it's something that is the way that my life has gone. And again, I think that we have the same theories you and I in terms of what we want to accomplish from our day to day lives.

We do it at a different time. Like I'm working out at midnight. You're doing things early in the morning, but we're looking to get the same type of result. And I think, again, when you were talking about being self-aware, that is the absolute most important thing. If you tried, if I tried to work your schedule, it wouldn't do the same thing for me. If you tried to do mine, it wouldn't work. But I think the fact that we've both been transparent, honest with ourselves and self-aware

what makes us show up as best as we possibly can. And then that makes us better for other people. And so I think for us, that's the incredible way to phrase it. Yeah, and I respect and appreciate that in you so much because I think there is a noise. I mean, I get different noise. So my noise is, hey, Jay, why don't you hang out late? Like, why don't you come to this?

So why don't you, right? And then your noise is, well, if you're an entrepreneur who's disciplined, shouldn't you be waking up earlier? And, you know, and it's just really interesting. Like, no matter what you do, there's going to be someone who disagrees with it. And that's why it has, and that's why I respect what you just shared.

So I'm so happy to hear that you have this. I had no idea that that was your schedule. Now I know when to spend time with you. And, you know, and I really like that because I really hope that everyone who's listening, you're feeling more confidence that you're not doing it wrong if you're doing what's right for you. But notice that Adam and I are still basing it

on values of discipline, of focus, of creativity. It's not that, Adam's not just saying, I do whatever I want, whenever I want, and there's nothing, there's no structure. He still even has a sleep, you still have a sleep routine. It sounds like when you're like, yeah, for M-11A, there's still a routine, and so that's what I find is really healthy.

Adam, this has been so powerful because what I love about the way you talk about entrepreneurship is that it's strategic and intentional, but then there's the spontaneity and creativity. And I'm so excited to see what you continue to build. It's, you know, you're 12 years in, and I cannot wait to see you just continue to crush it. I mean, you're already crushing it, but for the business to continue to grow and grow and grow, I wanted to ask you, before we come to the final five around creativity and

innovation, and you spoke about spontaneity, they're meeting someone random, like bumping into an idea. I love that so much. What has been your secret to creativity and innovation? Where have you continued to find that find that discipline and that connection? So I think one of our, I guess one of our, I don't know, secrets is the right word, but again, back to my brother, like the fact that there's two of us and that we're able to go through life together and we've had similar experiences. I mean, my brother, like to be fully transparent, is more creative than I am.

And like when we're thinking of color stories and whatnot, Ryan's always building these beautiful color stories, Cody, who's our design director's amazing Jake and his our content director. He's an incredible Sam who has his social. She's amazing as well. And just the whole team, like I could go on and on.

But one of the things that I discovered, and this actually came from my mom. So, and you wouldn't know it based on what my life has become, but until I was like 25 year old, I'm 34 now. So, no, maybe even older. This is like 2013. But let's use 25 as number until I'm 25 years old. I hardly have ever left the country. I left the country One time twice actually. I went to Mexico one time and I went to London one time and it's like each one was for two days.

And then when I'm 25, my mom basically says like, you guys need to do more and see more things you need to discover more things so we're so Lays are focused on what we're gonna do so a lot of the things that I've reflected on today with uj Things I've learned more specifically over the last six or seven years in terms of like the spawn Nady the freedom and I've always had the discipline But it was almost at a level that was too high. And so my mom had said, you need to, they were going to Hong Kong and she was in was through this wedding. She's like, you need to come like the old family friend, you have to come to this wedding. And I had no intention of traveling overseas. Long story short, I end up right and I end up going. It's a most incredible trip, just like going outside

of the country, seeing something completely different, changing our perspective. And when we're there, we get inspired by this bridge. And this bridge that I've never seen pictures of it, anything we get inspired by this bridge. We end up creating a shoe based on this. We end up going to another another country this years later inspired by that. And so I think that travel allowed us to change our point of view, change our perspective when you're thinking of creativity. A lot of time

is just things in your day-to-day life that when you're thinking about repetition, you don't pay attention to it because it comes almost a second nature, it's a rear-current. But when you go to a new place, everything is new. You have to pay attention to your surroundings because it's uncomfortable, not necessarily negatively, but in a positive way. You get all of the stimulation through your senses, you're seeing things, you're meeting people. And so when my mom pushed me out of my comfort zone, then it

completely changed the way that I was viewing the world. And it made it so that I was much more open to receiving what the world had than just pushing what I wanted to do or what the intention was. And so I think like that made it so it's kind of like a room. I don't know if you remember on the old cell phone signals, when you would make it a call going out, we'd like an arrow pushing like this, but when someone sending you a message, it's going both ways. And so that's kind of what that calibration did to how we discover creativity. And now like, one of the greatest things that inspires me is movement, whether it's movement

and cars movement on foot movement and the air. And so I think like movement in general, changing your surroundings, not necessarily going to another country or another state, but even going anywhere, just discovering, I think the opportunity for movement, that's really where the creativity came for us.

And then again, I think that if you can take an idea, lean into it and see like and speak to why this makes you feel different, you'll find inspiration in it. And I think that for us, like we have, we have an incredible team that finds inspiration in different places. And then we're able to talk about it. And the greatest thing you can do is be a great communicator because if you can articulate what your vision is and whether that's through verbal, whether it's through art, whether it's through anything, people will understand and people will feel it, not everybody will, but some people will. And I think that's one of the things that's gone really, really far for us is that we've

been able to take these inspirational things like our stream line shoe, which is my favorite one, is inspired by Japanese souffle pancakes from when Ryan and I were in Tokyo and like Ryan's obsessed with them. But we took that and we made it into a shoe. And so it's like, you'd never know where the inspiration is going to come from, but if you allow yourself to receive it, you can get it. And I think like that's something that a lot of people don't think of. They think they have to put it out there and push it.

But a lot of times just receiving what's around you will give that a lot of people don't think of. They think they have to put it out there and push it, but a lot of times just receiving what's around you will give you a lot of inspiration into what you should do. I am so glad I asked you that question. I was about to not ask you that question, but I am so happy. And even though you're giving, of course, which is wonderful to hear the credit to your team

and your brother for being the creative ones, but the fact that you've been able to observe that and see that that's where it's come from, and the example from your mother too, I love that Adam. Adam, you've just, this has been phenomenal, and I hope this is the first of many. I mean, I want you to come back on the show regularly and give us updates as things continue to grow for you and APL

and your brother and, as I said, massive fan, supporter, getting to hang out with you at a pumpkin patch was the weirdest place that I ever taught me and you would meet each other, but it was weird a great time because we just had a personal growth, self development, like, you know, complete connection there. But Adam, these are your final five. You know the drill. It's rapid fire. I do. One word to one sentence, maximum, you've heard everyone, so you should have had enough practice by now. But Adam Goldstein, these are your final five, are you ready?

I'm excited. Awesome, all right. So the first question is, what is the best advice you've ever received? I have to mix two, because I think it's important. The first is and they because they go together. First is when I was a kid my dad would say if you touch it you can catch it. It was about sports but I think it's applicable to life which is if something's within your grasp you can get close enough you can make it yours and it is possible. So you have, if it's in your site, you can make it yours. The next thing that aligns with that is

Larry Ellison, again I heard this at the right moment in time, said the larger the apparent risk, the fewer people that will try to go there. And so that's basically is, is if it seems scary, it seems risky, but you have the deep down belief. Fewer people will try to do it, so you actually have a competitive advantage. I heard that when Ryan and I were thinking about starting a PL, so that kind of was all I needed to hear in pushness over the edge. Yeah, I love those answers so much because I think about the things in my life as well, there are just lines that I live my life by,

and it's exactly what you're saying. Like, it's not like you knew those people, it's not like you had a like a 10-hour conversation with them. It's just you heard someone say something that what you said earlier. So one of Einstein's lines is, if you can't explain something simply, you don't understand it well enough. And that is what I live my life by. I'm like, if I, I can read as many books as I want,

but if I can't explain that idea with simplicity, then what's the point? And that's kind of what I built my life around. And then there's another beautiful thought by Martin Luther King, which is the people who love peace need to learn to organize themselves as well as those who love war. And I love that because that's kind of why I get my, you know,

I want to be empathetic, compassionate, loving kind, but I want to accelerate in the most strategic focus driven way because you can't just be this fluffy woo woo kind of vibe because that doesn't make change. And so those two, and those are not two, that I have been familiar with those thoughts. And that one about risk, I mean, that's gonna stay with me for a long time.

So I really appreciate you sharing that with me. And I hope everyone who's listening can realize that you don't need to meet someone. You don't need to, you don't even need to interview them if that, you know, you could literally just hear one line and it could change your life. So, love those answers, beautiful answers. All right, Adam, second question.

What's the worst advice you've ever heard or received? It was actually around the time when I heard what Larry Ellison said about risk. And it was when we were in school in Ryan was in the business program and somebody had told them don't even try it and the idea was like you can't possibly do this because you don't know how to do it but I think that if you try something and you fail you tried it you'll learn for the next part of the journey but if you never

try it then you automatically fail and so I think like that thing, and again, I know it's not as much of a nugget as the other ones, but don't even try. I think so many of us hear that throughout our lives. And it gets conditioned into us. So I think flip that just try it. Like, and but don't even try it as the worst piece of advice that I've ever heard. Question number three, top five rappers of all time. Because I know that this, we didn't get into this, but I know that I, I love rap music and hip-hop music too. I grew up on it. I know that's a big part of your life. So let's hear you, top five. Nipsy Hussle, Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Young Jay-Z, and TI.

Nice. Great list. We literally just interviewed Lauren London earlier today, who's a dear friend of mine, and she was married to Nipsey. I mean, it's not to get off topic, but a lot of Nipsi's thoughts and entrepreneurship. I mean, I had a few great conversations with him when he was alive, but the way that he looked at it was, and we used to talk about it, it was so similar to the way that we thought about APL in terms of building something independently

from the ground up. I Ryan and I spoke at Harvard at the Harvard Business School. And one of the things that we talked about, and this was right before Nipsi passed away, was he did this interview and he talked about taking the stairs, not the elevator. And that's been paramount to our journey. So I think like, I was a fan of his when I was in college,

because I went to USC's from South Central. So we were hearing it at one room in the locker room and everything like that. But just what Nipsey did, what his thought process is an entrepreneurship and just like building that people up around you. If you build within your community, you can help so many other people. And if you start local, you can take it much further and just like not only was he incredibly talented, but like he was just like such a

like he was a leader and he was a thought provoking person. And he lived what he said. And so I think like again, like he was a leader and he was a thought-provoking person and he lived what he said. So I think, again, he was super, super, super inspirational in addition to being an incredible rapper. I love that, man. Thank you for adding that note. That's beautiful insight. I'm really glad, again, I asked that question because it led to an even deeper deep a takeaway. All right, question number four, how would you define your current purpose in life? I think it's maximizing each day and staying focused on the future. So I think it's being able to enjoy the present,

but it's still being excited about the future. Like that, that's really, really important to me. I think that's what gives you energy to keep going forward is just enjoying today, but being excited about the future. All right, Adam, and fifth and final question, what is something that you used to value, but you no longer value? Probably in a stagia. I mean, I think that I get so excited about what I'm doing today where we're going in the future, and I think I've done amazing things, and we've done incredible things But a lot of times we live in the past and we don't and that keeps us from enjoying the present and so I think that I Can appreciate the past but I definitely

But I definitely love the president in a mix I did about the future and I think that that shift of perspective Has been something that's really been important to my journey and also just my happiness as a person. That is such a good answer. We've never had that before and I love that answer because I couldn't agree with you more. I always saw individuals who lived as if their best years had already gone. And that's such a hard way to live because life is so long than you think it is. And so that is a beautiful answer. Everyone, make sure you follow Adam across social medias.

You can connect, make sure you follow APL across social media. And I want you to make sure that you tag me and Adam and APL in any insights that you gained from this episode. There are tons. Like I said, I hope you're making notes. Second of all, go listen to it again if you weren't making notes. Third thing, recognize that Adam is a true modern entrepreneur.

It's highly strategic. It's highly focused. There's creativity. There's spontaneity. There are so many lessons to learn from this incredible human. And Adam, I have had so much fun today. I've learned so much from you. I think there have been moments in this interview

where you've said things that are gonna stay with me for a very, very long time. And I personally am gonna make sure that I apply them in my life. So I wanna thank you for those gifts. And I cannot wait to continue our friendship, to continue to see you succeed and win and continue to build. And I'm excited to be a part of the journey, man. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Jay. I mean, I appreciate it. And I think like you've done so much to inspire so many people. And I mean, there's a reason why you have the number one health podcast in the world. And it's just people can come here. They can learn a lot, but they can be inspired. And I think like the greatest gift you can give to someone is inspiration. And then you've got to leave it up to them to execute. But you've done a lot of amazing things for so many people.

And I couldn't be happier to be a part of it. And again, like just becoming friends with you and getting to know you over like in recent time has been incredible. So I'm happy that we have this friendship. I'm happy I could be here today. And I appreciate your support. And obviously I hope that everybody we have this friendship. I'm happy I could be here today and I appreciate your support.

And obviously I hope that everybody listening to this just takes us as something that can help push them even if it's just one step forward. Just take something and make their lives more enriching. It definitely will, man. It definitely will. Thank you, Adam. Thank you so much coming on the show.

Thank you, everyone, for listening. Make sure you share this and pause it on. And I'll see you next time. What if you could tell the whole truth about your life, including all those tender and visible things we don't usually talk about? I'm Megan Devine. Host of the podcast, it's okay that you're not okay. Look, everyone's at least that you're not okay. Look, everyone's at least a little bit not okay these days. And all those things we don't usually talk about, maybe we should. This season, I'm joined by stellar guests like Aburmate,

Rachel Cargol, and so many more. It's okay that you're not okay. New episodes each and every Monday, available on the iHeartRadio app, or wherever you listen to podcasts. I'm Yvonne Gloria. And I'm Maite GomesRajon. We're so excited to introduce you to our new podcast Hungry for History! On every episode we're exploring some of our favorite dishes, ingredients, beverages from our Mexican culture. We'll share personal memories and family stories, decode culinary customs and even provide a recipe or two for you to try at home. Listen to Hungry for History on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Conquer your New Year's resolution to be more productive with the Before Breakfast Podcast in each bite-sized daily episode. Time management and productivity expert Laura Vandercam teaches you how to make the most of your time, both at work and at home. These are the practical suggestions you need to get more done with your day. Just as lifting weights keeps our bodies strong as we age, learning new skills is the mental equivalent of pumping iron.

Listen to Before Breakfast on the I Heart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. before breakfast on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.