REAL AF with Andy Frisella - 1003. Q&AF: Attached To Old Identities, Potential Vs. Success & Struggles Of A Growing Business

Episode Date: February 23, 2026

On today's episode, Andy answers your questions on how to become a better version of yourself by dropping old identities, how to unlock your potential without fear holding you back, and what are the best ways to handle the struggles of a growing business.

On the floor now my jury box froze Fuck a pole Fuck a stole Count it millions in a Got a on What is up guys It's Andy Ficella And this is the show

For the realists sake Goodbye to the lies The fakeness and delusions of modern society And welcome to motherfucking reality Guys today we have Q&AF That's where you submit the questions

And we give you the answers DJ's gonna tell you How you can submit your questions Guys we want your questions Please submit them at Ask Andy at Andyfuseller.com Click the link in the description right now submit your questions for a chance to be answered or if you want to just pop them in the

comment section of this video right here we'll check them out there as well all right so if this your first time listening uh we have multiple different formats on this channel uh on this podcast uh today you're going to hear q and a f uh tonight at seven central you're going to see ct i live okay and that's where we talk about what's going on in the world it's called cruise the internet all right we speculate we talk about it we try to figure it out and then we talk about what we need to do as citizens to make the country better. Other times we're going to have real talk. Real talk is just 5 to 20 minutes and me giving you some real talk.

And then other times we will have 75 hard versus. That's where people who have completed the 75 hard program come on the show. They talk about how they were before, how they are now, and how they use the 75 hard program to change their lives. If you're unfamiliar with 75 hard is the initial phase of the live hard program, which is the world's most famous mental transformation program ever. And it's free. You can get an episode 208 on the audio feed. Again, that's 208 on the audio feed. There's also a book on Andy Fricela.com called The Book on Mental Toughness, which gives you the entire program plus a whole bunch of

other stuff on a discipline mindset and how to apply to your life. Okay. One thing about this show that is different from all the other shows out there is we're an outcome-based show, meaning we are giving you this information both in personal development and society for us to create a better outcome. I don't take ads for that. I do this because I feel obligated to do it. And in exchange, I ask very simply that you help us grow the show and share the show. All right. So we got this little thing that we say around here.

It goes like this. Don't be a ho. Share the show. All right. Maybe we got threatened them a little bit. What was that? Yeah. That was a little aggressive.

Yeah. I got a problem over here with my chair. I didn't touch it. You know, what I mean? One of you motherfuckers did. No, I think the air cylinders, like they go out after a minute, bro. You got a thousand episodes in that chair, bro. Yeah, that's true.

You know what I'm saying? Yeah. This is my most comfortable place to sit. Really? Yeah. Like, that's why yesterday when you were in here, I said, I'm going to have my meeting in here. It's like the only place I can focus. Yeah.

You know, I don't know what that is, but from now on, meetings are in here. Yeah. I like it. Yeah, I like it. You guys, that goes for you guys too. You need to talk to me, we come here. Me, me in the studio. That's right.

That's right. It's so crazy to think, too, man. Like, I mean, I know my first episodes, but I mean, your first episodes, MFCO project was in a conference room, bro. Yeah. It's so crazy. And like, now it's like. Well, you know, people think they got to have all the stuff.

You don't have to have all the stuff, dude. Yeah. Like, you know, this people, they think about this in business, too, right? They think, like, let me get the business. business card and let me get the nice sign and let me get the name of my door and let me get the nice office and like none of that shit matters dude you know and when it comes to podcast creation you just got to go and and by the way creating a podcast isn't for everyone it's a lot of work it's a skill that you have to develop over time and like most skills you know people quit

before they actually develop it you know when we started out there in 2015 dude we didn't even know what we were doing. Like I barely knew what a podcast was. Yeah. You know. Yeah. So in fact, we didn't even start it with the idea of being a podcast. The idea was Vaughn was going to write me a book and he was interviewing me to do the ghost writing for the book. And we started taking the interview clips and posting them on Instagram. This is back. People don't realize this, but Instagram used to only be 15 second clips. All right. So we'd post these, 15 second clips and it was the most popular thing I was posting. Fucking heat.

Yeah. And everybody was like, man, where can I listen to this podcast? And this got to remember, dude, podcasts were popular like in the early 2000s. Then they like went away. Okay, they became like uncool. All right. Like if you had a podcast, you were a nerd. All right.

And then like 2050, and it really happened like right when we came out with it, they became popular again. And so I had all these people, you know, posting in the comments are like, we're going to listen to this podcast. I'm like, dude, this isn't a podcast. This is, we're writing a book. We're doing real shit over here, you know. And after like, you know, probably six months of that, a year of that, finally I was like, well, maybe we should just do a podcast. And that's how it started.

Yeah. And we just committed to it and we just kept doing it and doing it and doing it. And now we're here. And, you know, it's really parallel to anything that you're trying to build in your life. You know, you got to be willing to suck. You know, if you go back and listen to my original episodes, which are on the internet still, if you're unfamiliar where they are, they're back at the beginning feed of the Real AF audio feed on the audio platforms.

And you go listen to them and you're going to be like, holy shit. Yeah. Like this dude was terrible. Yeah. Right. And, um, that's just, it's a. parallel for what you got to be willing to look bad you know you got to be willing to look stupid in front of people now you're number seven or nurse no number five number five yeah number five

I just checked yeah let's check again just for fun let's see where we're at right now I see that number five the only shows ahead of us are crime junkie dateline NBC a fucking multiple tens of millions of dollars operation of course Joe Rogan who is the fucking greatest podcast in the world. And then the Daily, the New York Times. So, you know, and then there's Sean Ryan and Megan Kelly and we're all right there in the group. And, you know, this, this, you just got to keep going, dude. Like, that's really what it is.

And we've never had corporate support. I've always funded this out of my own pocket. I don't do this for a living. This isn't my main job. I don't take ads because I want people to trust that what they're hearing is my honest opinion. Yeah. Right. Yeah.

And I think that's, you know, for a long time, that was like, why does he not do that? You know, that's, that's cool that he doesn't. But why? Well, now you're seeing why. Yeah. Okay. I had the foresight to understand that we have to be able to trust our people. And I don't want that eroded.

You know what I mean? Yeah. Because once it's gone, dude, it's gone. Yeah. And like, dude, I don't want to listen to someone telling me, you know, what I can and can't say or shouldn't, shouldn't say. And it's just not who I am, dude. Yeah.

You know? Yeah. Well, there's something to that too. Now, if one of you motherfuckers wants to come give me $100 million and I can say whatever the fuck I want, you know, for real, then, you know, I'm going to take the money. But that just never works out that way. Yeah. You know, they always promise these things. And then all my buddies who get these deals end up dealing with a bunch of corporate dorks who are trying to censor them and shit.

And like, dude, that's not with that shit. Hey, can you not talk about that so hard? That's what I'm saying. Like, even shit like that. Like, dude. When someone says that to me, I'm going harder now. Yeah, right. You know what I mean?

Right. So it's just, you know, it is what it is. But anyway, I'm very thankful and very grateful for all of you who have been here the entire time. You guys that share the show regularly and share my content, that means a lot to all of us here. We need to figure out a way to make the show bigger and better on YouTube. Okay. So please tell your friends, please have people join. You know, we're trying to do a good mission here.

Yeah. And that's that. One very important point I would like to say. That number five is not in the business category. That's overall. Correct. That means on earth out of 4.2 million podcasts. Yeah.

Well. That's how many podcasts there are on iTunes. Well, I guess we're doing all right. I like those eyes. That's pretty good. Well, you know, like the newer shows, like the guys who've come around in the last four or five years, they started their show on a YouTube, right? And we didn't start YouTube until two years ago.

Yeah. So, you know, we're behind there, but, you know, our audience on audio is always there. Yeah. So I appreciate you guys. Oh, geez. Yeah. OGs. It's cool, man.

And then, you know, we have the Operator Standard show inside the Operator Standard app, which is the rebirth of the MFCEO, which is going very well. Yeah. But that's not open to the public right now. So, yeah. I'll let you know I suck. Yeah, such you suck.

I love it, man. I love it, dude. Guys, it is Monday. Let's make some people better, shall we? Let's do it. Guys, Andy. Question number one. Andy,

I'm sorry, I be feeling for these people without read these terrible questions, man. It's like, fuck, man. Andy, I say I want to grow, but I'm still attached to the version of me everyone knows. The funny one, the laid back one, the one who doesn't take things too seriously.

Part of me worries that if I level up, people won't like me the same. How do you grow without feeling like you're losing yourself for your people? Is that a real fear to be worried about? I mean, look, dude, just because there's plenty of people that are successful that have good personalities and they're fun to be around and they're cool and they can make jokes. You know, I like to think I'm cool, you know what I'm saying? Like, I actually think I'm pretty cool. But, you know, you have to know when to understand, you got to understand this, dude.

To become something else, there's parts of your life that you're going to have to be okay, letting go. Okay, because the new parts are going to come in and take space where the old parts were. So unless you're willing to let go of who you are to become who you're supposed to be, it's going to be a very conflicting journey, all right? And this is why when we talk about like going down this path, you have to go all in and you have to accept what the price is going to be up front. Okay. And so many people, this is not just during this era. This is in human history.

Okay. I actually believe that the reason that most people never get where they want to go is for the reason that this person is asking right here. They are afraid of what they have. have to give up, which actually makes no sense. Because if you loved what you had, you wouldn't be aspiring to have something else. So why are you afraid to give this thing up that is creating this outcome and this reality that you don't enjoy or that you know isn't fulfilling to get what you actually want? That doesn't make sense if you actually think about it. It's like the people who do 75 hard and on day 76 their idea of celebrating is going right back to the things that they did

I'm going to have a big cake and I'm going to go out and I'm going to stuff myself well if that's where you are bro you didn't do the program right because you'd be terrified to go back to who you were all right so we have to understand that when you think about this logically you are not comfortable where you are, you understand that you need to do more, you understand that you want more and desire more, you are willing to go do it, but you're afraid of letting go what you have

that's holding you from becoming this. That doesn't actually make sense when you logically think about it. Right. So we have to separate our emotions from our logic. And, you know, you are going to lose some. friends you are going to fucking you know people aren't going to like it that's the reality of doing anything outside the social norm anytime you do anything outside the social norm you have a weird

haircut you decide to wear different clothes you talk a different way you pursue a different life even if that life would be something that would just be different not necessarily an entrepreneur or success but let's say you wanted to you know be a vagabond and travel to earth and do all these There's going to be people that are going to say, bro, you're fucking up. Okay, but each person's life is each person's life. And you have to understand that those people that you're afraid of upsetting are not going to be there for you when it really counts. That's the truth. Okay.

That is the hard truth that most people don't want to admit. Okay. You come into this world alone and you die alone. And there's people that come and go along the way. And they serve different parts at different places. for different lessons and different reasons. And you can't have that perspective when you're a young, 20-year-old person. But as someone who's lived a little bit of life,

I can promise you that most of the people that you're afraid of upsetting now are not going to be there in five years, and they're certainly not going to be there in 15. So why would you short-circuit what it is you want for yourself? Because maybe these people won't approve of it, or they might not like you. Okay? And here's the final point to this question. It is okay to not be liked.

You don't want to be liked by everybody. If you're liked by everybody, you're irrelevant. There's certain people that shouldn't like you. There's certain things that you should stand for that make people say, I don't fucking like that. Your thing is to make sure that it's the right people that don't like you. Right. Right. For good reason.

Right. Okay. So you have to be comfortable and be comfortable. comfortable, not being liked. And this is something that a seasoned entrepreneur or even a seasoned person who's been on their own path and is comfortable with their own identity and who they are, they don't think about those things. You're thinking about those things because you're a young person and you don't know any better yet. And that's okay, dude. But I'm going to tell you right now, that shit is irrelevant. And there's going to be people that don't like you because of your fucking

haircut, bro. Okay, what are you going to do? You're going to keep doing the dance to make sure everybody's happy. You're going to get your haircut the way they want. You're going to wear the clothes they want. You're going to fucking do your life the way they want. They're fucking probably going to lose, bro. So when you do this dance for everybody, you got to realize the people you're dancing for, they aren't the people you should be dancing for. You should be doing your own fucking dance. You see what I'm saying? Absolutely, dude. I think another, a big thing with, especially the young crowd, man, it's like, you know, I'm known as a funny one. So like, being funny that means you have to go to the bar and fucking make a fool of yourself for people to be

cool with you? Like, is that really what you? You know, Is that a really, is that actually a quality relationship? Yeah, you can do a cool fucking shotgun trick with the beer can. Like, okay, cool. Yeah. Is that really what, that's what you're trying to amount for? Yeah. Like, that's it.

Yeah. That shit goes away, man. Yeah, bro, it does. And I promise you, and this goes out to all the young people out there, and the older people listening can vouch for this. Those people that you think are your friends in high school and college and shit, like, you might still know them and be cool with them and be friendly. them and consider them friends, but they're not going to have the same impact on your life as they do when you're surrounded by them every single day. So at the end of the day, bro, here's what it comes down to. You got to do what you think is best for you. And if you don't and you don't do it

because of all these other people's maybe not approving, you're going to be fucking broke. Your life's going to suck. You're going to be frustrated. And you're going to get to 40 and you're going to say, fuck, I wish I would have done what I wanted to do. You don't want to be that guy. There's a lot most people become that person All those people that you're afraid Are not gonna like you anymore They're gonna be that motherfucker They're gonna be that person at 40 years old

And saying man I wish I hadn't fucked off I wish I had went a little harder I wish I had chased my dreams I wish I had become what I wanted to become You don't want that you want to be the guy of 40 years old That says hey I got 20 years in this shit now Now we got good momentum While everybody else is just trying to figure it out

And they finally realize their party life is over And you got 20 years fucking stacked That's how you get it head, dude. So if you're my friend and I'm talking to you straight up, fuck those people. That's it. Okay? I don't give a fuck what they say. I don't care if they like you or not. I don't give a shit because this is what I'm doing. All right? And that's the attitude you have to have. And if you don't have that attitude and you don't have the ability to cultivate it, you don't have what it takes to win. I love it, man. I love it. Yeah, I don't know how that do.

I do know how this next person is. Guys, Andy, question number two. Hey, Andy, I'm 19 years old. Fuck, were you remember you 19? Yeah, like yesterday. Like yesterday, man. I still feel that way. Yeah. Yeah, fuck, man. I still feel that way.

I still feel that I still feel the same as I felt then. Just no more shit. Yeah. Yeah. You can handle shit quicker too. Yeah. Yeah. I've had people tell me for years that I have a lot of potential.

Teachers, bosses, friends. But I'm starting to wonder. if that's just something people say before you disappoint them, like how do you make sure you don't end up being that guy who almost did something? Fuck, I mean, yeah. Well, that's a good question. I would tell you that just like we talk about where there's a paradox when it comes to success, okay? Most people believe that if you're successful, you had some sort of advantage that they did not have.

they believe that you were fed with a silver spoon and that things were always smooth and that you just got all the breaks and got all the luck and everything was great and there you are and that's what they believe all right but the truth of the matter is is that the most successful people on earth come from the most chaotic things as a childhood and the reason that those people grow up to be successful or total nightmares is because they learn how to win or lose battles at a young age. All right. They learn how to navigate life at a young age.

They learn hardship at a young age. They came from shit. They didn't have anything. They had a parent that was, you know, abusive or mentally abusive or they had, there's some sort of battle or probably a lot of them that they had to fight through. And because they learned that skill to fight early, it applies later when it comes to them building shit. So then when bad shit happens, they're like, well, fuck, I've been through shit.

This ain't nothing. Okay. So there's a paradox there, right? And there's another paradox, which is the one you're talking about, which is the kids who are told that they have all the potential in the world and that they can be anything they want and that they're probably going to be president of the United States and everybody tells them how great they are and they get straight A's and they're the MVP of the football team and they're all this shit in high school, those people end up being fucking losers.

That ends up being the peak of their life. They end up taking all of the praise and saying, I'm great, not realizing that they've got 80 motherfucking years left. Okay. So they attach their identity to this thing of everybody else's belief and everybody else's praise and all the things they accomplished. And then they go out in the world and they think that the world is going to just spread its legs and give you the fucking prize okay and it doesn't work that way but I got all this

potential right potential doesn't mean fucking shit okay action means shit the people like me who were considered dumb who were considered unfocused who were told repeatedly by their teachers and their coaches and and by the way I had good teachers and coaches too but the people who were told that they weren't going to be shit that they weren't smart enough, that they weren't good enough, that they weren't, you know, what it takes. Or in my case, cream of the crop, which was the exact quote used in my scenario. Those are the people that develop a fucking chip on their shoulder. Because they've been told all this shit and they're like, fuck you.

I'm going to fucking show you. Okay. Now, in each one of those paradoxes, you have the ability to choose. All right. You have the ability as a young person. who went through a very difficult upbringing to choose, do I turn out like that and just repeat the cycle or do I break the cycle? And I don't want that. There's a very famous story. I don't know the exact lingo, but it goes something like this. There was an alcoholic man who had two sons.

One son became an alcoholic like his dad. The other son never drank a drop of alcohol because he didn't want to be like his dad. And those are the children. choices that we have. So you sound like you have some good things going for you. Maybe. Maybe they are just telling you that you have this potential. But here's the bottom line. It doesn't fucking matter because potential doesn't mean anything. Action means things. So if you don't want to become the guy who gets told that, you know, they're the most likely to succeed and win and become all these things, then don't put any weight into the praise that people give you. And this goes into a even bigger topic, which will address the first question as well. You have to know who you are

and you have to decide who you're going to become. And when people tell you along the way that you're doing bad or doing great, you have to let that shit roll off your shoulders. There's a lot of talk about people saying hey you know fuck the haters don't listen to them but there's no talk about hey fuck the praise don't listen to that either because that'll get you just as fucked up there's no talk about that all right so and that's probably a bigger killer than the negative because it makes people believe they've already done something all right so so we have to understand that along our journey it is very important to stay centered and when people call criticize you, don't be emotional about it at first. Ask yourself, is this a critique or is this

emotional fucking hater shit? If it's a critique and it's true, then you can adjust. If it's emotional hater shit, then you put that into your fucking chip that you got on your shoulder and you draw upon that on one of the 10 million times that you're not going to feel like doing what it is you want to do. Or one of the 10 million times that you're not going to feel like doing what it is you want to do. are one of the 10 million times that you're going to feel like quitting. All right. Now, on the other side, if someone comes in and they say, oh, you're doing so great, you're the greatest on earth,

you're the winners will let that shit roll off their back. They don't give a fuck. They don't celebrate. They don't put any stock into it. They look for the truth. All right. Is this person telling me the truth? Is this person pumping me full of shit?

or are they identifying things that I'm doing well? And if they're identifying the things that I'm doing well, what am I not doing well that I can prove upon there? This is how champions think. Champions look for ways to get better in the negative and the positive, and they stay very balanced. There's a saying in professional athlete world where you don't read your newspaper clippings.

Okay? You don't read them when they're good. You don't read them when they're bad. You focus on what it is that you have to do, the actions that you have to take, you keep your head down and you work like you've got something to prove your entire life and eventually you look around and everything that you ever dreamed of is your life. All right.

But that doesn't come from other people's input unless you have the ability to deduce the ways to get better from both the negative and the positive. All right. So you got to keep yourself balanced. You got to learn everywhere you can. You've got to be able to recognize the dead. difference, which is hard in the beginning because you don't have the experience. But you got to be able to recognize the difference between people just hating or people giving an honest critique

and how do you use it? All right. Same with positive. Okay, they're telling me I'm great at this. Well, why didn't they say I was great at that? I'm working really hard at that. Maybe I need to work harder at this. Winners don't give a shit about the critiques or the praise unless it serves them in a certain way. And it shouldn't serve the ego, all right? People's ego, they're hubris. Now, there's applications of ego, all right? It's important to have a big ego at certain points of time. What people really say is a big ego is confidence. That's what most people think is a big ego, because confidence is so rare that they never see it. And they say, oh, that guy's full of himself. Well, let me tell you something, dude. If you're going to walk out onto a football field in front of

100,000 people, you better think you're the shit or you're going to get fucking killed. Can you get ran the fuck over. If you're going to go speak in front of 20,000 people, you better think you're fucking good or they're going to be, they're going to, they're going to know it. They're going to know that you're insecure. So ego serves us in certain aspects when we go to perform. But it doesn't serve us when we're preparing to perform. It's two different things.

Champions will be humble in preparation and confident or cocky in. execution. All right. So we have to be able to determine where our ego is appropriate and where our ego is not appropriate. And the easiest way to know that is what I just said. It's humble in preparation. Don't think you're better than you are, no matter how good they're telling you. Do the things you need to do. Do them to the best of your ability. And then when you go out and execute, know that you did all the things that you can do, which generates real confidence and go out and perform. All right? So when you when you let your ego get involved and the emotions get involved in the preparation process, that's not a good thing. That's always going to that's always

going to get you off your game. All right? Yeah. Yeah. It sounds like a lot of this just comes down to some self-awareness, right? Like absolutely. People like, oh, you're fucking, you know, you're killing it. And I'm not killing it yet. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Or you're fucking, you're doing terrible. I look at my bank on eyes. I can be broke. I got to know right. Yeah. But the thing you got to remember here, DJ, is that their praise or their criticism is coming from their perspective. They don't know what you have playing in your head. They don't know what you're working on. They don't know what level you're trying to reach. They don't know these things. So, for example, like, I have big dreams. Okay. Like even what I've done so far in my life, I'm still very young

and I have massive goals, massive goals, so big that if I were to even tell you what they are, A lot of you guys would be like, dude, what the fuck? This guy's fucking insane. But it takes crazy to do crazy shit, all right? So we have to understand that when you get praise and you get criticism, like, for example, a lot of people come to me and I know it's a compliment and I appreciate it. But they say, dude, you're killing it. But like for me, I'm so far away from where I want to be that like, I'm like, no, dude. Like, I'm not.

But for them, I'm living their dream every single day. right so it's all relative to where they're they're at at the moment you got to keep that in mind yeah that's some real shit dude that's real uh guys andy we got one more question for you bro uh guys andy we got question number three um Andy my business is finally growing uh I own a plumbing supply company uh but the more it grows the more complicated it gets more people more issues more moving parts it's not fun the way it used to be is that just the next level or is that a sign you scaled something you didn't actually want? Like, bro, I want to win, but I had a way better time when we were small than if I'm, if I'm being completely honest.

Yeah, that's the way it goes. Okay. Look, oh, man, I can relate to that so much, dude. Because as much as I love doing what I'm doing now, as much as I love seeing all the people here, and coming here every day. What I really loved was working the floor of one of our retail stores because I was face to face with the customer. I was able to help them with my own two hands and my brain.

And I got to see the payback of that, right? Like that was very rewarding. I really enjoyed that. And as the business has grown, you know, I, my, my, uh, my place of usefulness in the business is no longer that. All right. So you're going to go through phases. You started the business.

It's going well. When it was small, it was probably much more intimate and like you had better time. You went drinking with the boys and all that shit. Your own tailgates. Right. Yeah. That shit's amazing. Yeah.

Like that's the best memories. Well, not the best, but some of the best memories of my entrepreneurial journey. Sitting on it. Dude, like I can't tell you how many times Chris and I sat on, you know, that shitty-ass couch in the store, or one of us we sit on the floor and we'd be drinking beers and we'd be talking it'd be fucking midnight, we'd be talking about

what we're gonna do, you know what I mean? Or as we got a little bigger and there was a core of 20 guys and we were going out to eat together and going to bars and having fun, that was just a different era. So you're gonna go through eras of growing a company

and certain points in time are not gonna be fun, bro. And when you're stretching from one level to the next level and you don't know exactly what to do. It's very high stress. It's very high anxiety. It's very unfulfilling because you're frustrated most of the time.

But what will happen is your company will evolve to that next level. And then there will be a new set of fun that you enjoy. There will be new experiences that you enjoy. There will be different aspects that you enjoy. So we have to be very careful to think like, oh, well, these were the good old days. Well, the reason they're the good old days is because you kept progressing. All right. If you didn't progress, they'd just be the days. You'd just be an alcoholic.

Yes. And here's the reality, bro. If you stay where you were, that will no longer be fun. You will no longer be having fun if you stayed exactly where you are. You're only saying it was fun now because you're in a different part of the business. But if you were there every day and you're looking around, how do you even appreciate that for what it is if it's what you do every day? Okay. You see what I'm saying? So you're going to go through these levels where you're going to be building shit, then you're going to go through a scaling period.

And then you're going to the company will become a different version of the first company, the way it was in the beginning. And you're going to go through that many different times. And there's many different phases over the course of my business career that were a lot of fun. They were just different. All right. And now my fun is much different than it was in the beginning. But I appreciate all of those levels because those are some of the best. best memories that I've ever had. So you need to let go of the idea that, you know, you're moving

into something that is perpetually never going to be fun again. That's not reality. You're just in a place of scaling and anybody who's scaling will tell you or scale anything that those are the hardest years. So the way businesses typically scale, people think this because this is what they see on the internet. They see the glory stories. They see the guy who came up with a business and in three years it was a $200 million business. That's what they see. That's not most businesses. Most businesses scale in phases. They go from one. And then so like if you're watching, okay, if you're not watching, I'm using my little finger drawing here, okay? You start out at the bottom and then you start to move up, okay? And then you plateau. And then you plateau. And that move up usually lasts,

you know, two to three years. And then you get to this new phase. In that phase, usually last two to four years and then you start to go again and that's the way so it's kind of like a step up if that makes sense um but instead of the up being vertical it's like at a 45 so it's like flat 45 flat 45 and then there's time along those periods and when you're in that 45 period it's fun because you're making more money and things are going well um but it's also sucking all your money okay so now you're like fuck i'm making money but i don't i'm still broke where the fuck's the go right so So then you get into this phase, you know, where things start to stabilize and the company operates and you're probably making some money and then you're going to go on another

growth phase. And during those growth phases, you're probably not going to make much money. All right. So, and dude, making money is not fun. All right. So. And then, you know, to pile onto that, what's not fun about it is not only are you not making money, you don't know what the fuck you're doing in the same time.

So there's like, you're learning. you're learning, right? And so when you are in this phase of not making any money because it's sucking all your money in because you're scaling. And then you don't know all the answers because, you know, you've never been on this before. Now you're in a position where it feels like fuck this sucks. Yeah, fuck this.

I'm not making any money. I fucking hate my life. I'm frustrated all the time. But dude, you just got to keep going because what happens is you end up leveling up again. And that happens over and over and over. And like for me, somebody who's been doing this for 27 years, I understand that. All right. And the reason I was able to push through the first version of that was for no other reason

that I didn't have any other options. And this is why we talk about having a zero option mentality. All right. In the beginning, your back is against the wall, bro. It's either do or die. All right. And then when you start to have a little comfort and a little money, it's no longer do or die. But you have to create that mentality in the way.

inside of you where it still is do or die. And the way that you do that is that you realize that if you don't keep going, you're going to lose everything you got. And you're going to go back to that place of discomfort where you didn't have shit. All right. And that's worse than fucking anything for an entrepreneur. So we have to cultivate this idea, even when it's not true that we don't have any other options. And when things get hard, like it's funny because I'll say this to people.

You've heard me say this where I've said, you know, I don't want to dig ditches. Okay? Because that's what I've convinced myself that I will be doing if this fails. Even at this point in time, even at this point in time of my life, I look back and I say, all right, I better to go because I don't want to fucking dig ditches. All right. Now it's a little bit different.

Now it's more so like I know that's not the truth because I've cultivated a certain set of skills. that will always, I'll always be able to provide for myself. Yeah. I'm a great speaker. I know a lot of shit. You can't really take that for me. You know, you know what I'm saying? You might have to start a ditch digging company.

Well, I mean, you know, I could be like everybody else on the internet and just sell what I know. Yeah. Which is I probably should do because I, you know, that's what everybody else is doing. But, you know, regardless. The point is, is I can always take care of myself now. So now the, the, it moves into you guys. all right and these guys and everybody that works and associates with our companies whether it be you know uh any of the companies that we work with i feel a sense of responsibility to continue to go

but don't think that i'm still not thinking like fuck that this really goes south not only do they fucking lose but i'm going to be digging fucking ditches i think that shit every day yeah all right so you got to cultivate that mentality um to make sure that you continue to act urgently yeah how many times of those stair climbs, I guess would you say that it took you before you realize, okay, cool, this is just, this is how it works. You know what I'm saying? Because I'm sure that first, the first big jump was- Honestly, it probably took like 15 years from me to figure it out. Really? Yeah, maybe even 20. Wow. Because those are like three and four-year spans. Yeah. You see what I'm saying? So you can't really figure it out until you go through a few of those cycles.

Yeah. All right. Yeah. So- I was also probably too, like just historically, some of the hardest years. too right like 2009 you had to deal with oh yeah like yeah oh no no listen dude though the years where your company is actually growing or the hardest everybody thinks that's the most exciting time no it's like you're running around with your fucking ass on fire like it sucks dude you know and there's there's the the positive is is you're like okay well things are growing let me just real this in and let me get it operate right and let me make sure it's profitable and you know it's like pruning the fucking bush you know what I mean um so yeah dude it takes takes time and that's why I share this lesson because those of you who might be in that first

cycle, especially when you're in your 20s and you're just getting started, you know, you have to understand that you're in the place where most people give up. And most people are in your position right now. Like let's take this guy, for example, who's got, he started this little thing. It's not what he wants it to be. It was fun. Now it's hard. And he's like, fuck, maybe I pick the wrong thing. Those are his words. Yeah. Those are his words. Okay. But you, You already got, do you say how many years he hasn't it? No, he didn't. Okay, but you already got significant amount of years built into this, all right?

And here's where people fuck up their lives. They get to this place where it's very frustrating and they turn around and go back. And they say, well, this isn't what I wanted. It's too painful. This can't be it. Right. But what happens is, is they just, now you just wasted three years. Okay.

And here's what happens. They go out and they do something else. And then they find themselves in the same pattern. And they're like, this isn't it either. So then they go back again. now you're talking about nine years wasted all right so three years go back three years again go back now you're talking about nine years and people do this all the time without realizing it all right they don't understand that people a lot of people waste their lives going from thing to thing to thing to thing

hoping that it becomes the thing that they quote unquote enjoy that's not how the fuck it works bro You've got to force it into something that you enjoy. You've got to keep going and you've got to understand that we are all working on a time scale. You will die. All of us will. So wasting, you know, 12 years going from thing to thing to thing to thing to thing is not really a good thing. All right. And by the way, you're in plumbing.

That's never going away. So if I were you, I'd be in a, I would be grateful for the business that you're in. I would be real about the challenges that are faced by building anything meaningful. And I would understand that I have all this time invested. I have a certain skill set them. A lot of people don't have. And I need to build upon that. And when you build upon that, you will get to a place that is higher than the beginning guys.

Okay. And remember this too. Lots of people that are competing with you that have other plumbing companies and they're doing the same thing that you're doing. they're quitting in this fucking hard part okay if you don't quit your competition actually goes down all right there's less people that you're competing with this is practical stuff okay if you do it again there's even more people to quit all right and then eventually you find yourself on a level where you're kind of looking around there's probably like two or three other guys that are at your level and they didn't quit either and you know what happens you become friends with them

some respect yeah because you all respect each other because of what you know you went through. All right? And that's what I was trying to say the other day when we were talking about getting into circles. I think we're talking about this on the hangout last week. All right? A lot of people who are day one, they want to be in that like year 20 circle. But you don't get in that circle, bro, because you have a page your fucking dues. You don't have the respect of people who have been in in 20 years. Like, dude, when you complain about three years in, the guy who's been doing it for 25 looks at you and he says you're a bitch. Okay. So you don't get into those rooms and unless you earn that respect.

All right. And then you could get it. Now I'm not saying you can't like physically get in the room and learn from the people and pick up what you can and provide value and potentially, you know, get a friendship going with some of these people, but they're still going to always look at you different.

They're going to look at you as a little grasshopper, which by the way is a great thing. Because if you actually do have the ability to connect and get in a room with high level people and you're humble about it, a lot of those people will go out of their, way to help you as long as they see that you're pushing through this hard shit. Okay. Nobody wants to waste their time on people that are bitching about how hard it is.

It's fucking hard, bro. It's the hardest thing you could ever choose to do. You could not pick a harder profession in the history of humankind than to become a fucking entrepreneur. It's the hardest thing. That's also why there's the biggest reward. So you have to think about what you really want. Entrepreneurship.

And the way the internet, you know, tries to make it. They try to make it like it's for everybody. But dude, quite honestly, it's not for everybody. And it's not for everybody, not because they can't do it. It's not for everybody because it doesn't produce the life that they think entrepreneurship is about. You follow me? Absolutely. They get into it thinking, oh, man, I'm going to become an entrepreneur.

I'm going to start a brand. I'm going to become my own boss. Make my own schedule. you're not your own boss. You just think you are. Because when you own a company, your customers are the fucking boss. And by the way, if you're a good leader, your employees are the boss because you're answering to them.

You're helping them. You're developing them. You're taking care. You're always going to answer to somebody. It's just who do you want to answer to you? Do you want to answer to some dude that, you know, uh, you know, and maybe you like him. Maybe he's a good dude. Maybe, maybe, maybe you really like your boss.

Okay. And that's a good thing. the way. But maybe you're thinking, oh man, I need to go on and do it on my own. Well, you need to really think about what that dude goes through because it isn't what you think you see. It's not, you know, the high life that the internet makes it out to be, right? And everybody has a different version of what success looks like. And you need to be real clear about what you think that is. Here's what I will tell you from my experience. I'm glad I went when I was young. I'm glad I went hard as fuck when I was a young man. I'm glad I didn't waste that time. All right. That's my perspective

on it. It's been well worth the journey. It's been very hard. There's been a gazillion times I wanted to quit. There's still times I want to quit. Fuck, it had literally probably every week I go through a serious debate in my head of like, what the fuck am I doing? Okay. But that's where you have to have this big vision, bro. You've got to have this vision for your life that is so big that it literally like propels you forward into it. And you have to understand that once you create that vision for yourself, if you don't fulfill it, it's going to be one of your biggest regrets of your life. When they've interviewed thousands of people when they're on their deathbed, the regrets aren't the things that they did. Their regrets are the things they didn't do. Okay. So you got to think about

that. Not everybody has this big vision. Not everybody wants to, you know, make, you know, millions of dollars a year. But those people are going to have different challenges, right? They're going to have to consider what things cost on the menu. They're going to have to consider where they go for vacation. They're going to have to consider what cars they drive. They're going to have to make different concessions in their life that you're not going to have to make when you have a lot of money. Okay. Having a lot of money is a great fucking thing. And no, that has a lot of money will ever tell you any different.

You always hear from people who don't have money how evil it is, how bad it is, and how you shouldn't pursue it. You ever wonder why that is? You ever wonder why you don't have people like, uh, who have gone out and built things, say, man, I really regret doing that. Have you ever heard that? No. I've never heard that either. I only hear that from do nothing losers on the fucking internet who are

trying to morally have a high ground over people who are actually doing things. Okay. So keep that in mind too. Everybody shits on it and the reason they shit on it is because they didn't do it and you're doing it. That's real bro. That's real man. Guys, Andy, dude, that's three. That's a hell of a way to start a week, man. All right, guys. Well, we will see you tonight, 7th Central on YouTube and X and 7 p.m. Central CTI Live. Don't be a ho. Show the show. Stowl Counting millions in a cold Bad bitch booted swow got her on bank row can't fold

Just a no headshot case closed