REAL AF with Andy Frisella - 49. The Complacency Trap

Episode Date: June 23, 2020

How do you react to success? Do you become stagnant after a minor victory? Or do you use it as fuel to continue on the road of domination and reaching higher levels of success? On today's show, Andy differentiates between the two reactions you can have to success, and how to set bigger goals to ensure you never find yourself in the trap of complacency.

I told my teacher, dumb bitch, I'm going to get millions. Watch this. In a project living. Damn. Spoke it till existence. Voila. Mode changed to 50. What up?

Got more cars than diddy. I only weigh 180, but my watch cost 250. Quarter. Yo, guys, what's up? It's Andy, and you're listening to the show for the realest. Say goodbye to the lies, the fakeness, and delusions of modern society, and welcome to motherfucking reality. Guys, today is a very special episode i'm gonna tell you

why because i'm actually sitting in our brand new state-of-the-art ridiculously fucking cool headquarters building uh and recording our first podcast this is the first one ever recorded in this building so we'll see we'll find out if uh if it was all luck from the other building or if I happen to actually be decent at this or not. So today I did want to talk to you a little bit about how we got here and some of the things that I think people need to be aware of when it comes to having success. You know, a lot of you guys don't know, and a lot of you guys do know, because I have a very, you know, you guys are loyal and you support us and we love you. And so a lot of you guys have heard this before, but some of you haven't. You know, back in 1999, we started with just me and Chris, my business partner,

and 12,000 bucks. And we started a little supplement and Chris, my business partner, and 12,000 bucks. And we started a little supplement store called Supplement Superstores in Springfield, Missouri. And that was, it was humble. The first day we sold seven bucks. The second day we sold zero. The third day we sold $23. It took us eight months to have a day over $200. We spent a lot of nights in the back of that store on a little mattress that we got from the Salvation Army store right up the

same retail center. It had a piss stain on it. You'll hear me talk about that very often. At least I think it was pissed. It was a used mattress. I always like to make sure that my face never laid on that stain because I somehow figured that like, if I drooled, like the, the, the P would like run up my drool into my mouth. So I try to stay away from that. So this is very real. This is how we started our business. And a lot of you guys, um, you know, you have a hard time imagining that, you know, now we're, we've got a number of companies and, and, and almost all of them do very well. The ones that don't will, they just aren't old enough yet.

And I wanted to, I gave a little talk to my team this morning and I wanted to share a little bit of that talk with you guys. As we've grown this company, we have moved from location to location, location. And when we first started First Form, we actually ran it out of the back of one of our retail stores here in Missouri, in Chesterfield, Missouri, actually. And then we moved from the back of that store. Well, actually, we started storing the product in my garage. And then me and Scott Halsey would drive the product around to our stores.

Then we moved into Chesterfield, the back of supplement super stores. Then we moved into a 12,000 square foot place in Chesterfield. Then we moved into a 60,000 square foot place, uh, in Fenton, Missouri. Then we moved into green park,

which is where we just came from, where we had three buildings in that Plaza. And then we have our big manufacturing facility up North. Um, and then we moved into green park which is where we just came from where we had three buildings in that plaza and then we have our big manufacturing facility up north um and then we just moved into this building and this building's 188 000 square feet state-of-the-art office facility it literally has fucking everything that you would find and i don't even know how to describe it. It's more like a pro sports headquarters than it is an office building. But the point is it's fucking awesome. And I'm not saying that to brag. I'm saying that to prove a point because I gave a talk to my team this morning and we talked a lot about this being day one, like this,

all that was done before this day was done so we could get here and we could play amongst the big players in business and really make an impact on our culture and society and our customers lives on a huge scale. So everything we've done to get to this point was to get to this point. And so I internally have been calling today, day one, for a long time. And I was talking to my team this morning, and I think this is a relevant topic for everyone. So one of the things I learned from moving to Aldo's headquarters was that certain people perceive success in certain ways and very different ways. And when we went from our 60,000 square foot warehouse in Biltmore and Fenton to the last headquarters, which was in Green Park, the Green Park facility was tremendously more

up-to-date and nicer and just better. And when we moved into that facility, we actually had a big turnover of employees. And the reason that we had a turnover of employees is because some of these employees thought that we had made it. They thought that the game was over. We had won because we got into this nicer building. And I know that's probably going to happen to some people here because now we have far more employees. I think then we had less than 20 total in all the companies. Now we're pushing over 300 in all the companies. So I know we're going to have some people that think we won because we moved into this amazing building And so I was giving a talk about the two types of people because i'm a big believer that when you're aware

of The options that you have you are more likely to choose the correct option and a lot of people don't realize that Thinking you've won is actually the biggest poison you could ever have to success. And so I gave this talk to my team this morning. I talked to them about the two different kinds of people that have completely different responses to what they perceive success. Okay. So most people will get to a certain point in life and they'll be making a good living, right? Maybe they've got their dream house, whatever their dream house is, that's their dream. It might not be your dream, it's their dream. They get their car and they get their finances somewhat situated to where

they can survive, but they're not thriving, right? And what happens is they start to see this as success. Hey, I've really done something here. Hey, I've, I've done, I've accomplished the American dream. Well, that American dream that you've accomplished is by whose standards, right? Was it by your standards? Is this how everybody else sees it? Because the truth is the reason people never fulfill their own standards and ideas for success is because when they reach what they feel to be society's level of success, they let off the accelerator. Okay. And these people automatically, when they start to feel successful, get lazy. They stop doing the things that they did to get there. They stop paying attention to the little details. They stop going the extra mile.

They stop putting in that extra 20 minutes to make sure that your report is perfect. They stop making that extra phone call. They stop sending that extra email. And this is why they tend to flatten out and never really go any further and become very stale in life. And we hear this all the time. And sometimes, even when people do this, they get to a point where they're winning really big. They're kicking ass. And then all of a sudden, you all know people who have done this, all of a sudden, they lost everything. And it's like, oh, what happened to Steve?

Well, he fell on some hard times. Steve didn't fall on some hard times, guys. Steve let off the gas because Steve thought he was fucking winning. All right. And this is a key point because, and this is the point, there's two types of responses to success. One, people are going to let off the gas. Two, you're going to get hungrier for success and step on the gas.

And so wherever you are in life and wherever you seem to be going in life, I need you to remember that eventually you're going to win something. Eventually you're going to have that break. You're going to get the house. You're going to get the car. You're going to get something that you want. You're going to get the raise. You're going to get the car. You're going to get something that you want. You're going to get the raise. You're going to get the office. You're going to somehow get it. And what I want you to understand is that that is not the end game. That is the time where you, yes, like I said in previous podcasts, celebrate for 24 hours. And then you show up the next day ready to go to fucking work. If you look at any of the major coaches out there that are historically perennial winners,

I'm talking about the Nick Sabans, the Bill Belichicks of the world. These guys don't, you know, they win the Super Bowl. They're not talking about the Super Bowl for the next fucking five years. Sometimes you even see these guys at the post-game press conference talking about, I can't wait to get back to work so we can start working on next year. And a lot of people hear

that and they think, man, them dudes are just trying to look like they want to win. So that's not a game guys. True champions, true winners get hungrier every time they win. This is why certain people continue to win at everything they do, no matter how long they do it. They don't reach a peak. They don't reach a pinnacle. They don't reach a precipice of success. They continue and understand that what they've done so far has just get them in a situation to accomplish more and do more. And a lot of people can't understand that mentality. A lot of people, they're going to say, well, you need balance. Motherfucker, you ain't wired.

Not everybody's wired like you. Okay. There are certain people that actually enjoy the work. There are certain people that enjoy the win so much. They don't care what they have to give. And you're not the person to be judging them on that. All right. Some people get total fulfillment out of accomplishing whatever it is they're on, whatever their it is, right? Whether you're a musician, whether you're an artist,

whether you're a businessman, whether you're an athlete, the true champions at this game, whatever the game is, these are the groups that get hungrier with every win they have. All right. And you need to ask yourself, what kind of person are you? Are you the kind of person that gets a win and says, man, that was cool, but then keeps going harder? Or are you the kind of person who gets a win? And like I was saying earlier, starts looking around and saying, Hey, I'm doing pretty good, man. Now's the time to chill. Now I can, you know, I've done it, man. I did it. And then, you know, their life starts to crumble and it goes, dude, I can't tell you how many

people I've had over the years that I've had in my companies that at one time were my best people and they won and won and won. And then they started to fall off and they started to get worse and the rest of the team started to pass them by. Well, guys, this is because they started to get complacent in their place. They think that winning is a destination when winning isn't a destination. Winning is something that is fluid, that flows through you, that is an event in your timeline that you look to replicate as much as possible. It is not a destination you get to.

All right. This is why when we talk about winning the day, go back and listen to episode 107 of the MSCO project. I think we reposted it under another newer episode on Real AF. It's back at the beginning. I reposted it under Real AF because I want you guys to understand how important it is to win the day. All right. Take inventory of where you are. Take inventory of where it is that you're trying to get and ask yourself, am I the kind of person that gets hungrier with wins or am I the

kind of person that gets complacent with wins? Because a lot of times, guys, when you're not feeling fulfilled, especially for you entrepreneurs and leaders out there that have a group of people that you're looking after, a lot of times the reason that these people get stale is because you got stale in your vision. I can point back to just a few years ago with First Form where my goal for First Form, we had achieved and I hadn't set a new goal. I hadn't set a new standard. And what happened? I got complacent. And what happened then? My employees got complacent. What happened then? We started falling off track and I started, I recognized it. And then I recognized that it was me. And what I needed to do was set the bar higher and set the goal bigger and set the vision

bigger. And then when we had a bigger vision, all the other things fell into place behind it. So if you guys are stale right now, personally, or your teams or your companies, I'm willing to bet that the reason it is stale is because your mission isn't big enough. Your vision isn't big enough. Other people in your company can't see themselves falling underneath the umbrella of your vision. They can't see their place. If your vision and your goal isn't big enough for all of your people to find a place that encompasses their goals within your goals, you don't have a big enough goal, guys.

And this could be causing what the staleness is, or it could be you're complacent. But either way, either one of those scenarios needs to be corrected and can be corrected if you become aware of it. So guys, that's what I wanted to bring up to you today. This was a valid point that I brought into my meeting this morning. I talked to my team about it. I said, hey guys, look, there's going to be two kinds of people here because we did this before. There's going to be the kind that get better and raise the bar and raise the standard and improve. And there's going to be the people that continue with the old standard and they show up and they sort of just kind of drift away into insignificance. And then they're going to look around one day and be like, what the fuck happened?

All right. And you have to ask yourself, which which group are you in because a lot of you guys don't recognize when you start to get complacent this is why i value the little details right a lot of people give me shit because i i i judge them on really weird shit like if i come out of the bathroom and i go into the bathroom and there's piss on the toilet seat and you just came out, I'm going to judge you for it. Uh, and I'm going to judge your whole entire fucking business career in my building for it. Because if you can't wipe the piss off the seat guys, what the fuck can you do? What's that say about your ability to look at details? And some people can't look at details like that because they see it as a pain in the ass. Why are you always busting my balls about all these details? You got it all wrong, guys.

The best thing about looking at all these details is that it's an opportunity to exercise your detail muscle. What's your detail muscle? Your detail muscle is the muscle that allows you to see the details and then also pay attention to them and correct them and put them right. For example, when I walk into a bathroom, if I'm in a restaurant and there's paper towels on the floor or whatever, there's water on the sink. I wipe the shit off. Now I don't ask myself or say to myself, man, all these motherfuckers out there, you know, they're so late. I know they're fucking lazy, man. Like I already know that. Like I fucking know. Otherwise they wouldn't have done that. I don't get mad about it. But what I do is I take responsibility

to correct the problem because I see it as an opportunity to build my detail muscle. And when you could switch the perspective of, Hey, uh, I don't really want to pick up after someone else, or I don't want to put it in the chair. I don't want to clean the bathroom, I don't really want to pick up after someone else, or I don't want to put it in the chair, or I don't want to clean the bathroom, I don't want to do this, and start seeing it as, hey, this is an opportunity for me to recognize the details and fix it, and that skill is going to carry over into all the other things that I do that I actually get paid for. Now you're on to something. Now you're starting to think like a big-time winner. Now you're starting to realize it doesn't matter what anybody else does. It matters what you do. So guys keep these thoughts in mind. I just wanted to share them

with you because it was a relevant topic for what we covered today. Um, so guys, that's it, man. There's not much to this, a short podcast, but it's very important. Become aware of whether or not you're the kind of person that gets stronger when they win or gets weaker when they win and then if you're the kind of person who gets weaker when they win don't write yourself off as like you can't change it because you can being aware of whatever the issue is usually is enough to correct it with someone that has the intent to be better and i know that if you're listening to this podcast you do have the intent to be better. And I know that if you're listening to this podcast, you do have the intent to be better. Otherwise you wouldn't put up with my shit to listen to this fucking podcast. Let's be honest. All right. So you have the intent to be better. I already know that. Now we want to

bring the awareness. So do you get better when you win or do you get a little lazy? Do you have a period after you win where you get a little lazy? Lots of people have that too, right? They'll go through the ups and the downs. They'll win, then they'll get lazy. Then they suck, then they start winning again because they went back to the basics when they get down to the bottom of that curve of losing. You don't want to be that guy. You want to be the guy or the girl who consistently gets better, consistently wins.

And that takes awareness. All right. And then also as a recap, look at, you know, this little details that you have to do instead of seeing them as a pain in the ass, see them as an opportunity. That's what I do. It served me very well in life. I see even when other people fuck shit up an opportunity to get me better. I don't get mad at them. I know it's building me up, which helps me and helps my family and helps whatever I've got going on, which is the same for you. There's a lot of bitching about other people going on in society right now. Everybody's pointing their finger at every other motherfucker. Well, the truth is the

only motherfucker that you should be pointing your finger at is you. So do that. Take what I said into consideration and it'll make a big difference in your life. Guys, that's the show for today. I'll hit you up again this week. Love you guys. Appreciate you guys. Please share the show. Oh, and forget, don't forget one more thing. If you're interested in detailed business content, RTA Syndicate, the entrepreneur group that Ed Milet and myself founded and run and teach in, in detail, is open right now for applications. If you're interested in that, if you're interested in more detailed entrepreneurship coaching, and then also connecting with all kinds of people that are like-minded, that are vetted as people who actually have shit going on, not people who just decided to join some group, this is a good spot for you to look at.

So go to rtasyndicate.com. You could check it out. If it's not for you, you can still listen to the podcast and get everything there too. But if you're looking for more in-depth entrepreneur stuff, that's where we do it. So r artesyndicate.com. Today is Tuesday. We're going to close applications next Monday night. So this coming Monday night. So if you're interested, get on there now and check it out. And then otherwise, guys, I will see you soon.