Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset - Getting RealAF with DJ

Episode Date: February 15, 2022

Listen in as Shawn French sits down with RealAF’s co-host DJ. If you’d ask DJ how he thought his life would look 2 years ago he surely wouldn’t have given you the description of how his life looks today. Find out who and what played significant influence in his life that allowed him to achieve heights that he couldn’t imagine in such a short time. You’ll quickly find out what DJ’s secret is and the best part of it all is…YOU can have it all too.    Find DJ on IG: @officiallydjohnson  Also on:  RealAF Podcast --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/shawn-french/message Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, you know your choices matter. You're the expert because you know what fits your life. And getting it right starts with good information. That's why America's beverage companies are sharing more information about our ingredients at good to know facts.org. No spin, no judgments, just the facts straight from the experts for more than 140 beverage ingredients. Visit good to know facts.org. It's one thing to have a fucking story or to have a struggle, right? It's one thing to have really went through some shit, right?

And then you turn that adversity and you put that into a positive and you go build some shit. You make yourself a name, right? Like you become successful, whatever it is, right? Like that's one thing. You know, but on the other hand, just sitting there complaining about the fucking struggle, that's not, that's not, like, that won't get you anything. It's not going to change anything. It won't change anything that what happens.

happen. Now, what could if, okay, yeah, I went through X, but I learned this and this and this, and now I'm going going this way. You know what I'm saying? Like, that's what, I'm cool with that all day long, you know, but the victim stuff, like, like, me, the world does not give this shit. It doesn't care how hard, like, it doesn't care how hard you're fucking having it. It doesn't care. What's up, guys, Sean French here with another episode of the podcast, the Determined Society. Tonight, I have a very special guest with us, and this is a guest that I've been wanting to have on the show since I started this podcast. You guys may know them as DJ. Some people call them Big Reggie, which we got a big laugh at. And when we were talking before,

we came on to record. But for those of you guys that don't know, DJ is the co-host of the number one rated self-development podcast in the world, Real A.F. with Andy Versella. I truly love DJ's story. He's a future husband. He is a father-to-old. He is a father-developed. to a beautiful daughter named Ryan. And you guys are going to get a whole lot out of his story today. And I can't fucking wait to hear it. DJ, what's up, man? What's going on, baby?

Oh, man, we're just doing it here in Florida, ma'am. Florida's, man. I would much rather be there. We got snow and freezing rain and ice and bullshit help here in the Midwest. You fucking shoveling snow? No, I don't shovel snow. No, I just drive. The wife stays home.

I just drive right through it. We're all good. You got a tank? I probably should. We're supposed to get up to 18 inches. I mean, it's, yeah. 18 inches in one day? So it's been freezing raining for the last almost 24 hours.

And so we have a nice little break right now and then about another hour. So it'll be snowing for the next 24 hours. Damn, so you're just sucking the house in, right? Can you get out? I still work. You know, I still go in and, you know, I got a Chevy Suburban that, you know, I got a four-wheel drive. I'm able to power right through it. Damn.

Yeah, so I still get it done. We don't have those problems here, man. It was like 30. I woke up at four the other morning. We go to the gym and it was like 38 degrees and I thought I was going to die. Oh, yeah, I bet. I mean, dude. You know, it's, man.

Like right before the snowstorm, it was 60 degrees. It was 60 degrees Monday and Tuesday. and then on Tuesday it started dropping and then the rain and stuff came and started raining all day and then it turned over to freezing rain and it's sleet and now snow so yeah it's just Midwest is weird yeah fuck that dude I don't know how you all do it I mean like I said it drops down below like 65 here and everybody thinks the world's into it but but I mean you know southwest Florida all year around You know, I'm down by Naples. It, it's awesome, man.

It's awesome. Like, it's literally hot all year around, except for winter will come and visit us like two weeks out of the year. But otherwise, dude, it's, it's a pressure cooker here. It's actually kind of nice. You know, I love it. So, dude, so let's get into it. By the way, guys, if you're watching on the Spotify feed, you'll be able to see this, this amazing, this amazing shirt that he has on.

He actually has a determined society show. I feel like an OG now. I feel like a old. Dude, you are an OG. So story behind that, guys, what was it like seven months ago? Yeah, that sounds right. Seven months ago, I, you know, I was talking to DJ over DM and I had picked up my shirts from Renegades here in Fort Myers.

And I wanted to send him, Andy, Sal, and then Jim, and he's, Andy and he's, Andy and he's, Andy and Sal's dad shirts. And so DJ was kind enough to give you the information to send it there. And, you know, it's funny. I was, I was thinking about this episode today after we agreed to do it like on a fly. And I was like, man, that'd be really cool if he wore his fucking shirt. No way. And I was like, man, I don't even know if he's got that thing anymore.

But hey, you know, it'd be cool if you did. And, and like, it's my show and you're wearing a shirt. I'm wearing a shirt. It makes me look jacked. So, I mean, I put it on. It's not my first time, by the way. What's that? I said, it's not my first time, by the way.

No shit. I promise you. I've worn it a few times before. That's really cool, man. That's really cool. I'm going to have to get freaking, I got video proof of it now. Yeah. That's awesome, man.

No, it's really cool, man. You know, so, yeah, DJ's wearing the shit. If you're listening to this on Apple Podcast, then you don't think to see it flip over to Spotify so you can because it's sexy. Sexy as fun. So, dude, talk to me, man. Like, what is one thing that people don't know about you? Something funny. Oh, man.

Some funny. See, it's weird, man. So, right? So, like, you know, when people see me and Andy, people forget, like, I manage Andy's personal security. Right? Like, that's how we came together. And so it's like, for me, it's a little weird because I was, I've always, like, been the guy behind the stage, right? never in the spotlight. I didn't have a follow. I didn't have any of that shit. And so it was

weird. So, I mean, there's probably a lot that people don't know about me. Man, let me see. I speak multiple. I can speak a few languages. No shit. Where do you speak? I could speak French. I can speak Italian. I speak Arabic and a little bit of Spanish, a little bit of Bosnian. So I'm multilingual. Yeah. I went to a, uh, my, my high school. school was probably one of the most like legitimately diverse high schools, I guess, in the St. Louis area. It was actually an international studies high school. And so I had all different types of friends there. And yeah, picked it up really, really easy. And yeah, so I speak a few different languages.

Bosnia, Arabic. Arabic, it cannot be an easy, easy language. Arabic was by far the hard. Arabic. Arabic was by far the hardest language I've ever had to pick up. But the good thing is because I had like one of my good friends, he was Muslim in my high school. And so having somebody to talk to was great. I can't read it or write it for shit, right? Okay. I could like if you drop me off in Iraq or Afghanistan, wherever,

I'll be able to make it through, you know. That's fucking dumb, dude. Yeah, it's cool. It's cool because it's, I mean, it's cool. my wife's from Ecuador okay and you would think I'd be able to speak

more Spanish than I do I can't fuck man but dude like it's funny our three year old she doesn't speak it but like

if my wife starts yelling at her in Spanish she knows exactly what the fuck she's yeah and she stops doing a big push man because like you know I got a 15 month old

and that's something I really want want her to kind of like pick up. And so I've been thinking about it. The problem is like I'd be the only one in the house speaking it. So it's like you need more than one person. You know what I'm saying? Because she has to hear conversations of people talking about it.

Yeah. Yeah. You got to teach Alex. Yeah. Right. Exactly. That's going to be a little bit taller. No, it's hard.

Like, think about that. The foreign languages is harder to pick up when you're older. Right? Oh, 100%. Like, I mean. I mean, I can get by in a conversation, I can get by in a small conversation, like little things. But then like during Christmas, when we go to Tallahassee Florida, her mom starts talking to me. Yeah.

Nope. And I'm just like, what mom? Like, what the fuck? Like, I don't, I can't do it. And come to find out, like, I said, I said to her, I go, Magdalena, why are you always talking to me in Spanish? You know, I only know a little bit. Oh, because Jacqueline told me you only talk to you in Spanish so you learn. I'm all right.

That's a pretty good tool. I'm not mad at that. Yeah, no, man. So that story I do want to get into because I think it's really cool because it all began with trust, right? But like one thing that I thought was really interesting about you that I saw was like, dude, you can play the piano. Yeah, yeah.

I've been, so I've been playing the piano. Oh, man. 10 years down? No, I've been playing, it's been almost going on 15 years. But I'm not like classically trained. I didn't like take, I'm self-taught completely. I can't even retreat music. No shit.

Yeah, that started off in high school, my freshman or sophomore year, I was freshman year of high school. And I played the saxophone, right? I was one of those like high school football players, because I play football too, but like, you know, during the home football game, right, during a half time, I'd go grab my fucking saxophone and play with the marching band at halftime, right? Like, that was me.

No shit. But it was just my freshman year, right? And then after my freshman year, I got really serious about football and stopped all the music stuff. But I played saxophone. I was really musically inclined growing up. And so I played saxophone and I told my band teacher, I'm like, hey, I want to play piano. Like, I want to learn how to play piano. And she's like, okay, yeah, of course, no problem.

I can teach you some stuff, right? And so she set me down and she gave me some sheet music, expecting that it was going to be a crossover there. But piano sheet music is a little bit different than normal sheet music. And I'm like, I can't read that. And she's like, well, if you can't read this, you'll never be able to play piano. And I just took that as like, okay, challenge, accept it, motherfucker. Yeah.

I'm going to show you. What's the fuck. And so we had one of the little soundproof rooms in the band studio. And so I would go in there. I picked up some that scotch painters tape, the blue stuff. And I put scotch tape on each key of the whole. whole piano and wrote down the letter of that key. And from there, I started building my core progressions.

And okay, these are major cards, minor cards. And I just had, always had a really good ear for music. And so it just got stuck with it, man. Dude, so that's interesting. Like, did you go to a high school that was more of like a center for the arts? Because the reason I asked that is because you have, you're able to speak so many fucking languages, right? and you have musical inclination.

So I'm just wondering. Yeah, yeah, no. So my high school wasn't, but so I'm a product of public schools here in St. Louis, St. Louis City, the same of public schools district. And, you know, it's, it used to be a massive school district here in St. Louis, but over time, enrollment changed. But elementary school, middle school, those were actual visual and performing arts schools, right?

And so like, I mean, dude, I've, I've, you're going to hear some first stuff here. You're heard of, you're heard of first here, guys. But like growing up in elementary school, middle school, I was a dancer. So I, I, that would have been the thing that I said. Yeah, that would be interesting. So I still got to hold off on some of my secrets, man. No, but I love this shit. So we have a, you ever heard of the muni?

Of the what? The muni. No. So the mutiny is, we have it here. St. Louis, it's like a, it's like, it's like a performance center for the arts, right? It's like an outdoor amphitheater where they put on plays, right? It's like R. St. Louisville, it's a Broadway, right? And so, you know, growing up, I was a muni team, Muni kid, right? I performed in the Wizard of Eyes there. I mean, it's a massive thing here

in St. Louis, the Muni, I mean, it's a pretty historical thing, too. But, you know, I've done, did multiple shows growing up. I was a huge dancer, really into, you know, the I was classically trained in ballet. I was really, really good as a dancer, right? And so that was middle school, elementary school and then when I was in middle school, it was like,

it was like seventh grade, I believe. We were going to perform a show. We were doing some novellum. And these are not like, you know, little small plays. Like these are massive productions, okay? And I will never forget. So I was always a big kid, right?

I was a heavier dancer, but I mean, dude, I was pretty decent, right? And one of the producers for the Muni, her name is Nancy. I'll never forget it. And I remember I was in seventh grade and she came to me and she was like, you know, you'll never, you're never going to be like a big time dancer because you're fat, you're overweight. You'll never be able to be a good dancer like that. like, you know, I was a young kid and dance was like, dude, I, like my older brother was

playing football and stuff growing up as a kid. I didn't do any of that. I was not athletic. I didn't, I wanted to dance. Like, believe it or not. And, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, like, I had, and St. Louis had a scholarship there, and, um, so, like, that happened. And then literally, in, uh, in, and, uh, they messed up my, I had, I, I had, the next day, Coco had messed up my dance class and assigned me to this like tap dance one-on-one. And I went in there, it was like a bunch of like, well, three-year-olds learning tap dance. And so everything just happened.

I'm like, you know what, fuck this. I'm not, I'm not doing it. And so I quit. I quit. That passion that I had, I stopped. And, you know, and then got to high school. I'm like, okay, well, maybe I'll just play some music, get the saxophone thing, like I said. And then that didn't work out because I just kept being told what I couldn't do, right?

And one day I was walking down the hallway and my, the head football coach shot me walking by. He was like, hey, man, you need to come out on the football field. And I'm like, I've never played. He was like, we'll figure it out, you know. And I started playing football in my sophomore year of high school, sophomore junior, senior year, and I ended up getting a D2 scholarship to play football in college. And so playing three years of high school football got pretty good. I mean, listen, dude, I'm going to tell you this.

And I mean this. You're probably the most well-rounded dude I've had or anybody that I've spoken to. And the one thing that I'm sitting here listening to right now is we're all the same. We all hear shit in our childhood that beats us over the fucking head. I was told my whole life by my PE teacher because I couldn't do a sit-up. I couldn't fucking, I couldn't do a pull up

and I couldn't run a mile in a certain amount of time or the super lap, right? And Mr. Dorn, that, fuck,

I hope he's listening. But this is going to call my parents and say, your son is so athletic, he will never amount to anything athletically. And I'm like, motherfucker, wait until baseball unit comes around.

I'm going to blow your fucking doors, dude. Because I'm a fucking dude. Yeah. And I would think that, right? It's just, you know, six, seventh grade, I'm already dealing with, you know, you're fat, you're chubby, you have big ears, you know, all this shit, right, that, you know, comes, it starts coming into our subconscious and then we're fighting that the rest of our lives.

And then, you know, but that, you know, no matter how good I got at baseball, I mean, I played at LSU, dude you know i you know i got to go play i got to be you know go to a college world series and skit burtman coached me you know but like you never stop hearing those voices yeah and at some point in time when we grow up we have to sit there and say like you know that's not who the fuck i am when was that point for you man um you know i think i think that point kind of came I had to grow up pretty early. You know, my, my, my childhood was not the, you know, it was not the childhood my daughter's going to have.

I'll just say that. You know, I mean, it wasn't, you know, there was no silver spoons, right? It was fucking plastic sporks, you know what I'm saying? Like, it was not, you know, I love my mom. It was a single parent household. I love my mother to death, you know, and she did everything that she could, but it wasn't, it just wasn't a typical. upbringing. You know, I lived

the area that I grew up in, it was shit. I mean, I saw my first dead body at the age of nine in my back alley taking the trash out. You know, the where I live, the neighborhood that I live, it was gang infested, drug infested. There's a documentary

called Ganglands. Yeah. Yeah, they did an episode on my block. You know, like it was it was not good. And so I think growing up I kind of had to grow up really, really, really quickly. You know, my older brother, he was in and out of dumb shit. And so I kind of had to be the old, the big brother slash father slash, you know,

I started working when I was 16 years old, had my first department at 17, right? Like that's a grow up pretty quick. I don't know if I can look back and say there was like, you know, this particular situation that kind of made me grow up. That's a hard. I never really thought about it like that or like or thinking back to a time where it was like, pay yet this was this was that pivotal moment i mean i feel like it could kind of just all grade in together you know what i will say though is you know this is one thing that bothers me you know where we are

in society right now is like you know the victim culture shit right like nobody cares you know what you don't get a trophy for that shit man well i mean what what i mean is like i mean like like like my story right like yeah you i if i put i could put that shit in a book and probably make a billion dollars, right? Like, but, but, but ultimately your, your struggles, nobody really gives a shit. Nobody does. And, and I think what I had to learn, and maybe this is like the self-realization for it is like, you know, I had to learn that like, hey, guess what?

Like, yeah, DJ, you had it pretty fucking hard, you know, but guess what? No matter how fucking hard you have it, no matter how bad you think your struggles are, no matter how much bullshit you went through, no matter how much negativity you've had in your life or how many people told you, whatever, no matter how hard you think you have it or had it, there's always going to be somebody that had it worse, right? And I think for me, you know, understanding that, you know, and realizing like, okay, well, yeah, like, you know, yeah, this is pretty bad, but it could be worse. You know what I'm saying? Like, like, I've always had that kind of mentality, you know, like, you know, I remember, um, I was in, like, you know,

I think I was probably in like fifth grade in elementary school. And it was, it was like almost dead winter. I mean, just, just, it was like probably like October, right? It's cold outside. And our, and our electricity was turned off, right? My mom couldn't pay the bill. And, you know, so we're using candles and, you know, we had a gas stove that we would, you know, turn the oven on to heat the house, right? Like, I mean, but you're getting dressed in the dark. And I remember one morning I was getting ready for school. And I went in, you know, to my closet to grab my shoes and got my shoes on and leaving out the house. You know, for some of us, I'm sure you can probably relate, you know, but my mom was a type of mom.

You know, you get yourself ready for school. You get out the house and go because she's sleep. Don't wake her up. And you better not miss the bus because she ain't, you know, like one of those type of moms, right? Okay. You know, but I was, I got dressed in the dark. I got ready, got my stuff on. And, you know, ran outside to get to the bus.

and got got to the bus and I was literally walking up to the bus stop, you know, the street lamps over top and I looked down, and I have two different pairs of shoes on, right? Because I'm getting dressed in the fucking dark, right? And so immediately I'm like, well, it could be worse. I could have no shoes on, you know, and so I get to school. Luckily, I was, you know, a semi-popular guy. I was able to make a joke out of it and came a fucking school trend, right?

The next day, you know, five kids come in school with two different pairs of shoes on, right? But my point was it doesn't matter. Like nobody cares. The world does not care how bad you had it. It just doesn't because there's always going to be somebody that had it works, right? And I just had that mentality, you know? No, man, that's awesome that you're able to have it at such a young age, too, because most of the time, that's a generalization.

In my experience, it took me a long time to get that one. It took me a long time. I don't know why. You know what I mean? I'm not sure why, but, you know, I always had the poor me that, you know, my dad was hard on me, you know, and he called me fat said I wouldn't, you know, be anything if I didn't play in the major leagues. That shit bothered me. That was a big deal. But like, you know, we had power, right?

Now, again, it's, he was my, my, my biological father, I don't know. right. Left when I was two, like I saw him like three times my whole life, whatever. But, you know, it is what it is. Right.

But, but my, my father, my dad, my stepdad, right, the guy that raised me, like,

dude, I got to give him credit for all good shit too. Right. Yeah, I mean, like, listen,

I cannot give him all the bad credit, none of the good credit, because I'm going to tell you something. He taught me how to work, right? Any, any, And he helped me so much and got me all the help that he needed to become a really good baseball player.

And it's just funny because, you know, I could sit here all day. And, you know, that's part of my story, you know, and it's the shit that I got to get through. Right. And I, and then I have to work backwards and say, okay, my three children, I won't speak to them like, way. Right. You know, when I go and watch them play baseball, whatever it is, like, hey, do you have friends? You know, like, hey, enjoy watching you. you know they want to get better out of sport and they want to be a badass well okay let's go to work

right but i'm not i'm not gonna hammer on that kid i'm gonna teach him how to be a winner right but i'm gonna do it i'm gonna do it the right way yeah but it's one of the funniest things about your story and when you started talking about the um the fucking shoes i did that shit yeah i did that shit in the fourth grade man and i don't know why but i literally it was the opposite because i wasn't the cool kid i wasn't a semi popular kid you know i didn't gain popularity until i got to high school and people saw me throw a baseball right right that's when i got that's when i got the respect right but dude that fourth grade man like and i had a i had a pro wing remember pro wings they're all shit shoes.

The Jordan, no, I don't know. No, they weren't fucking Jordans. They were like pay less shoe source stuff, right? And. I had shacks. Okay. Those are cool.

Those are cool. But I had a pair, they were both white shoes. One was a Reebok and one was a freaking pro wing. And, uh, man, I got, I got some shit at school that day. Because I wasn't. I was able to play it off. So it kind of worked out. I'm like, shit.

Can't do that no more. Fuck, man. Like, it's like, whatever. But, you know, I couldn't agree with you more on, on no one cares, right? No one cares. You know, the victim mentality, you know, the, the, the poor me, that's going to get you a lot of likes on social media, but it's not going to get you to respect. Well, I mean, not only that, but like none of the like doesn't change your circumstances, right?

Like, if you're going through some shit, right? Like, and that's what I hate the most because we all see these posts, right, where these people get on there these posts and, you know, they make the IG posts and they're just, you know, know, whoa, it's me, they're complaining like, okay, you get the likes. Cool. So what, now what? Like, like, those likes, not going to change your fucking situation. Not going to change.

I'm going to fill your fucking cop up. No, you know what I'm saying? So it's like, like, dude, I just, I got really, like, that stuff, like, it's just so pointless to me because, like, that's just like, it's one thing to have a fucking story or to have a struggle, right? It's one thing to have really went through some, some shit, right? and then you you turn that adversity and you put that into a positive and you go build some shit you make yourself a name right like like you you become successful whatever it is right like

that's one thing you know but but on the other hand just sitting there complaining about the fucking struggle that's not that's not like that won't get you anything it's not going to change anything it won't change anything that what happened now what could if okay yeah i went through x but i learned this and this and this and now i'm going going this way you know what i'm saying I'm like, that's what, I'm cool with that all day long. You know, but the victim stuff, like, dude, the world does not give a shit. It doesn't care how hard. Like, it doesn't care how hard you fucking have it.

It doesn't care. It doesn't care. No, I mean, it's, it's always inspiring to see someone share their story on social media, whether it's Instagram, Facebook, I don't give a shit when it's Twitter, of the, and you see the evolution, right? You see the, here's where I was at, here's what I did, here's what I'm doing. Now, here's where I'm at. that's some cool shit.

Yeah. Right. But I think the other, the other, right, of just the woe was me, those likes just give power to your struggle and make you think that people are like, oh, no, it's okay to feel that way. Right. Right. Our job as human beings is to make a choice every fucking day of how we're going to attack life. Right.

And one of the things that, you and Andy always talk about that I have 100% subscribe to is you versus you. every single day. Like, I don't give a shit what the neighbor's doing on his podcast right now. I've got fucking DJ on mine.

I don't give a shit, right? Like, handle your side of the street, right? And that person in the mirror, that's your competition every single day,

right? So, yeah, go ahead. No, so you're going to say something? I want to hear it. Okay,

so let's talk about that. Right, because I mentioned to you before we got on on the air here about a post that you published mid-March. I mean, of 2021, right? I think probably right before the world caught on fire, right? Right around there, right? And you had mentioned like how much your life has changed in the last year. and if if someone would have told you, and you were walking up to a private jet, right?

And if someone would have told you that you would be there at that moment, you would have laughed at him. Yeah. Now, walk me through that, because I know the story, some of it. I know what's been published, which you guys have talked about,

but I don't think all my listeners will know, and I want to hear it too. Yeah, man, so, you know, I had got with let me see I was with Andy it's actually a little bit over two years now

and so that post I'm just double checking when that post was made that was March 16th 2021 yeah so dude like

so like before I got with Andy man like you know I wasn't I don't want to say I was in a tough spot, you know, but I just left the public sector, right, of law enforcement. I was happily with my soon-to-be fiance at the time, fiance now. And, you know, this is before we found out we were pregnant and all of that. And I was just, you know, I kind of just floating, man. Like, does that, like, does that make sense? Like, I was just going with emotion, right? Going Yeah. Yeah. It makes a lot of sense. Yeah. Yeah, you know, all right, yeah, all right, cool.

It's Wednesday, all right. Yeah, cool. I got food on table. I got a job, fuck it, cool. You know what I'm saying? I was just, I was really going through the motions, man, and, you know, I had, I was just kind of in, like, in a, you know, in a, in a low, like, it wasn't bad. You know, I wasn't, you know, I wasn't, you know, I wasn't worried about having to get

dressed in the dark, you know what I'm saying? Right. You know, but I haven't, I didn't, you know, it was, it was, right? Okay. And so the CEO, the guy that owns the private security firm that I work for, his name is coincidentally Andy as well. But I've been knowing him for like six years, right, prior to this. Worked with him a few times in the past.

He also came from law enforcement and seen him off and on and we somehow connected. And so one day I'm just sitting in my truck and I'm going through my contacts, right? And I see his contact. I'm like, man, I should reach out to him and just. see what he has going on. This is like November of 2019. And so we connect. We do a couple of small things here and there, you know, but it was nothing consistent, you know, and, you know, luckily I had saved up a little bit. So like, I mean, but I was not working, quote unquote, full time for anybody. I was kind of just a floater, right? And, and so I had worked with the CEO of my firm

a couple of times. And, you know, finally I'm like, hey, do listen, I need something. You know what I'm saying? Like those savings of dwindling, right? Like, I need, I need a little bit more consistency. He's like, well, it's funny you say that. And so now we're looking at like December of 2019. He's like, I think I might have something for you. But the guy is a little particular, right? He does not get along with everybody. And so, you know, I don't know if I can't, I can't promise you that he's going to like, you know, stick with you, but I can try to, you know, push it forward and see what happens, right? So I'm like, okay, cool. And I'm like, let's do it.

I guarantee you, wherever the fuck it is, I love me, right? Yeah. And so, you know, in our business, like, I don't get no, like, I don't, I don't get really any information on the client literally into the day of or the day before, right? And so that's to keep down on the body season and all that shit. I just get a folder and like, this is who you got. This is your guy. And I had no idea what first form was because I was not in that space, right? I wasn't even the personal development space.

I didn't know anything about Andy, first form, nothing, right? And so I get this guy, I'm like, well, first thought, I'm like, well, damn, this dude's pretty Jack. What the fuck does he need me for? No shit, man. And I'm going through the file, reading the back date and, you know, while the contractor started. I'm like, okay, cool. And so I meet Andy, you know, it was like 9 a.m. I had to meet him at the old first form headquarters.

And so I remember pulling up to the back pocket. I'm like, all right, let's go in. Let's meet the boss, right? By going through this back door. And as I'm about to open this door, Andy is coming out and he fucking hits me with the fucking door. Right? And at first, my knee jerk reaction was like, what the fuck?

You know what I'm saying? And he's like, what the fuck? And I'm like, Andy? He's like, are you DJ? I'm like, yeah. He's like, oh, shit. I'm sorry, man. Like, come on.

And do, we hit it off. We hit it off. And so, you know, at that time, the new first form headquarters was being built. And so me and Andy would go down there literally three or four times a week and just walk through the building. Right. And, you know, at that time, it was a concrete slab. You know, it was concrete slab. They had the four walls.

They had, you know, the metal studs and stuff were up. But there's no real, like, I, you, if I, me looking at it, I just saw fucking concrete slab, you know. And we're walking through. And as we're walking through first floor, the new HQ while I was being, you know, built. And he's going through and like, I see him like, he's, he's visualizing everything. And he's like, well, this is where, you know, this is going to be. This is the auditor.

And this is the barbershop. And this is the barbershop. And my office is here. And like, I'm looking at my bro, what the fuck are you talking about? Like, fucking barbershop? Like, why? Right. But I'm like, I'm like, I don't see what he's seen.

Right? And I'm like, I'm like, damn, this dude's got some like serious, like a vision or he memorized those blueprints by heart, right? Yeah, right, right, right. So then like another week, another couple of weeks goes by and we're walking through. I mean, we were down at the new issue every literally three or four times a week and he was just walking through, wanted to see the progress, wanted to see where it was. And, you know, we would obviously, we would talk, you know.

And my business is kind of weird because, like, you know, I'm typically supposed to be just that fly on the wall that doesn't say shit, right? That kind of, you know, just like that me, mugs everybody, right? Yeah. You know, but it just felt different with him, right? Like I've done this line of work plenty of times before, but it just felt different. And so, you know, but we have conversations. We're talking about stuff.

We're going back and forth on things, right? And one day, you know, I forget what I had said something to him. And while we were walking, he just stops. And he turns around and looks at me. And he says, I don't know what you're here for, but we're going to figure out your purpose. And like he said that to me. and dude it was weird because it's like in that moment everything started just flashing back right

like my fucking the dance teachers at coca the band teacher right that producer at the muni like all that shit started flashing back and I'm like okay well here I am and this man just told me that he believes in my potential that I'm not even seeing yet right but there was a level of like reassurance right because like this is the same man that's able to walk through a building with nothing in there

and tell me exactly where things are going to be in this layout and his vision. And so in my mind, I'm just like, I believe you. You know what I'm saying? Like I believe you. Now, I don't know what the fuck that means, right? But I believe you.

You know, and so like that really, that changed a lot for me, right? Like that one single hand conversation changed a whole fucking lot for me. And, you know, then fast forward a little bit. We found out my fiance and I found out that we did it. expecting our first child. And that was a huge deal for me.

You know, like I said, I grew up in a single friend, house home. You know, and so my outlook on life has always been, it's kind of like a trademark of mine, but I just say think of the opposite. And so what I mean about that is, you know, I don't know, I never, I don't know what a good father looks like, but I know what a bad one does. Don't be that.

right. I don't know what a good husband looks like. I know my mom, dad, we're not married. I don't know what a good husband looks like, but I know what a bad one looks like, right? And so I've always taken the opposite on that route. You know, but so we were finding out, you know, we found out that we reached back on my first child. That was a big deal for me. And so, you know, we're staying in a loft downtown in St. Louis at this time, which is not a place to raise the family. It's not a place to have a child down there.

Like, I mean, safer than where I grew up at, but it's getting a little bit. rough down there too, right? And so I remember telling Andy, you know, I had a conversation with him once we find out, you know, he congratulated me. It was awesome, cool. And I told him, I'm like, dude, I got a goal. I said, I, so I never lived in a house, right? I never had a house. It's always been an apartment and, you know, two family flats and, you know, complexes and shit. Like, I never had an actual house. And so I remember I was talking about, I was talking about. I was talking about. I was talking about. Andy, I think we're working out and getting a lift in. And I said, Andy, like, no, dude, I think, I think I'm, I have, I have a goal that I want to accomplish. And I'm like, all right, what's what, what you got? And I said, by the time my daughter learns how to walk, I want to be in a house. I want my daughter to learn how to walk in a house, right?

And for me, that it just, it just, it just hit different. I don't want her to worry how to walk in a loft or a fucking apartment. I want her to learn how to walk in a house. right and so I told him that and he's like well by the time she'd only had a walk how old would she be by then I'm like you know a year you know 12 months or so you know 13 months like that it gives me about two years he's like we'll be in the house before that and I looked at I'm like okay you know what I'm saying like bro you're like bank account set up that credit score and hey you're like bro I'm like I'm like fucking

late 20s early 30s I still ain't been in house you can tell this can happen for two fucking years. I ain't happened. But again, right? Like, I go back to, you know, when he was walking through that building with absolutely nothing in it. And so I'm like, I just knew that he, he can see something. I just can't see.

And I, like, for the longest, I thought the man was a fucking alien or something. But, and so I'm like, okay. And he's like, he's like, DJ. And then this is probably the most powerful thing that he just told me that really set a trajectory for my life. But he said, DJ, listen, whatever your goals are. Scratch them and make big ones. Whatever they are.

I don't, I don't, you say you want to make a million dollars, scratch it. Make a hundred million dollars. If you want to, you know, like whatever you're, oh, you want to be the mayor of your city, no, be the fucking governor of the state. Be the president of the fucking country, right? Like, whatever your goals are, scratch them and make big ones. You know, and so then he got me onto the visualization shit, right? And that's when I'm like, all right, fuck.

Like learning some shit and got to, I mean, I've seen that literally work firsthand. Like it's powerful stuff. And, you know, long story short, you know, through the visualization, through trusting the process, putting my fucking head down, just working, right? We closed and moved in our house three weeks before my daughter was even born. Right? A year, a year, it's like 15 months before you thought you were going to do it. Man, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, I mean, we're here.

You know what I'm saying? And then this, it wasn't, it's not like, you know, oh, this is your nice girl first time. Like, we got a fucking, like, we got a house. Like, dude, I know. I see it. I fucking love your house. Like, you always post you about your house. Like, you fucking, and you can actually, you do good lines to fucking lawn.

I know that's your thing. I know that's your thing. But no, it was, I just, I didn't see that. You know, I'm like, okay, how, but like, how did this happen? Right? Like, like, how did this happen? And, like, no, I think about, like, obviously, like, I, I, I think about, like, I, I, I, I, I, I, a lot of the credit has to go to Andy, right?

Like, I mean, like, it's not, it's not like he's handing out fucking freebies. Like, it's literally just like how he changes your thought process. And, you know, you're looking at something like this. And he says a simple fucking sentence that I swear if I would have said it, it would have meant nothing. But like, just the way he says is somehow, like, it just changes you, man. And so, you know, using that visualization, you know, walking around. with him every day. Like I tell him all the time, dude. I'm like, I'm like, you know, he's paying me to be his security, right? But I feel like I'm paying paying him. You know what I'm saying?

Because I'm going to walk with this man every fucking day and spend hours and hours and hours a day with him, you know, and I'm, I feel like I'm getting so much value, right? Like, like, everything is different. And my whole outlook on life is just different, right? And so like, you know, in that post, if you would have asked me, like, if I thought that I would have been walking onto a fucking private jet, I would have laughed you in their face. I would have laughed you in your face. But now, right now, I can see myself. I can walk through that empty building and I can start.

I know where the layout is now. You know what I'm saying if that makes sense. And so I mean, no, it does make perfect sense, man. I think what, you know, when Andy did for you is he helped unlock something within your mind. It's the universal law, right? If you, and this is something that that I do on a day-to-day basis, man. Like, I visualize this seven fucking months ago. I'm all about manifesting, right?

You got to think of this shit. You reprogram your mind and you feel those feelings like you already have that what it is that you want. You had to put yourself in that house before you had it. And that's the big feeling because, you know, once you feel that you start acting, your actions are that man that already has that house. So all of a sudden your brain doesn't know any different. Your subconscious mind will do what. whatever you tell it to, right? It's like, okay, this is what we're thinking. This is what we're thinking. I'm going to have a house in two months. I'm going to have a house in two months. And then boom,

you're out in the house of two months because that's the shit you started believing about your life. Right. You know, and that's what, and that's what Andy, that's the gift Andy gave you, right? And the coolest thing is you're getting to see that firsthand from probably one of the best at it. I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I'm nowhere. good as good as manifesting and visualizing than he is. Like, I mean, like, he'll say something and like literally five minutes later it's there. Right. Like, it's unreal.

Like, I, I've truly firmly believe in that now, like, that whole process, right? And the crazy thing is, guys, like, if you, you know, you're listening, right? And you're hearing what I'm saying to Sean saying, like, and you don't, if you have not looked into visualization yet, the law of traction, right, manifesting your, your, your dreams and aspirations, if you have not looked into that yet, you are doing yourself, your family, and your kids, your kids, kids, you're doing them a massive disservice. And I will say this to the visualization part, what really made me understand is the fact that, you know, we go, we live our lives, we go day to day, and visualization is happening whether you know it is

or not, right? We just write that shit off as coincidence or happenstance, whatever's what they call it. Like we just write it off. But in reality, when you focus that intently, you'll understand that nothing's by fucking chance. Nothing's by accidents. Nothing is a fucking coincidence. Everything happens for a reason. Everything.

You know, and so, you know, that there was, and to that, you know, the decisions that that you make right now, right, are going to affect who you are, where you will be a year from now, right? Five years from now. There was decisions and choices that I made five years ago that put me right here with you on this fucking podcast. Right. And those little micro decisions that you make that you consciously and intently choose to make every single day, they're going to put you where you want to be and who you want to be. You know, and it may not be tomorrow. Sure.

Right. You know, but if you put that stuff into right now, you'll get there. You're 100%. I'm so fucking. and happy we went down this road. Because like, bro, like, this, this is everything to me, right? I was able to create, you know, I told my wife, we're going to have a house built. She was, dude, we're not ready.

House was built in eight months, right? Is when you focus on things and you feel those feelings of that already being accomplished and you can truly see it, if your mind can conceive it, you can achieve it, fucking period. Powerful, man. I mean, it's so powerful. I mean, I mean, if I find the problem with that, though, is so we think about all the good shit, right, the houses and the cars.

But what people have to understand is those same principles that can manifest stuff in the positive light, those same principles on the flip side, right? If you're a negative fucking person and you're all, whoa, it's me, right? Yeah. Your life is going to continue to be shit. if you're constantly thinking about shit, your life is going to be shit, right? And again,

that's not a happen chance. It's not coincidence. That's the fucking, that's the law. That's your fucking narrative. Like, you're going out there, you're saying that shit,

that's what you're going to bring. It's like, it's so funny because I was working with one of my clients before we hopped on on the podcast. He's like, I'm not being able to control my thoughts. I'm like, you think that this is about?

I was like, dude, you can never control a random thought, but you can control. control the way you think. You know, you're going to have those random thoughts, but what are you doing, you know, on the on the backside, okay, well, fuck, you can't think that. That's not true. So then you cancel it out by positive shit, right? And the other thing about the law of attraction manifestation, you know, you see the movie like the secret is so incomplete. As people think that, you know, you sit there and like rub a lamp and the Lamborghini's going to show up in the fucking driveway.

There's massive action that you have to take. Right. And like, I cannot very, It's just half of it. That's 50%. Yeah. That's it. It's half of it. You have to believe it and you have to put it out there. You have to work.

Yeah. Now, I think it's just like training though, right? Like it's like, okay, you want to gain some muscle, right? Well, you do some dead lifts. You do some bench press, right? The more you practice it, the stronger it will get. Now, I will say this. I don't think it happens like that, but it can get pretty fucking close because I've literally,

I have seen it with my own fucking eyes. and Andy is a fucking master at it. It is so crazy. I remember we got into work one morning and we get in. And we literally like, you know, just get in. We pulled up. We get out of the cars and we start talking. He's like, dude, I think we should get you like a Cadillac escalate.

Like I think I want to get an escalate for like for my security vehicle, right? It's decked out like a police truck, right? But he wants, like he was like, should I get something a little bit more luxurious for you? You know what I'm saying? Like, shit. Think about getting you a Cadillac, though. Like, we'll get you a fucking nice white Cadillac. And I think that'll be dope.

I'm like, yeah, Cadillac is pretty sweet. Like, that's cool. I can see it. You know what I'm saying? And we literally step inside the first one. And there was a guy there, Jim Edmonds, right? And he's inside getting a workout in. And, you know, so we go over to him.

We speak to him. And he says, Andy, do you want to buy an escalate? Fuck off. I swear to the guy. He's an Andy, do you want to buy an escalate? And Andy looked at me and I looked at him. I said,

bro, what the fuck is happening right now? Yeah. Did you set that up? She's like, it's right outside. I've been thinking about selling it. I just want to get something different.

And then he was like, well, what color is it? It's a white escalate. I say, get the fuck out of here. Yeah. And that's not,

like that's not a one-off story. I got fucking thousands of those. My point is if you practice that stuff, if you practice visualism, intently, right, with the, like, don't be, like, visualizing some bullshit, right? Like, like, real stuff, real practical stuff in your life, it'll get there. It'll happen. That's 50% is visualization.

Now, you were saying, you got to put some fucking work in, right? You can't wish and pray for fucking abs and you sit feet in your face with fucking McDonald's every day. Wouldn't that be fucking dope, though? Bro, I would have been there. You know what I'm saying? Like, if you were going to work like that, I would have been there. Bro, I look like the dude from 300.

Yeah, no shit. This is a McFirry. Give me a fucking McFurray. Some dairy queen dipped in cherry. Fuck, man. That's the thing, man. I'm like, you know, that's the one that I think people, you know, really, I want to, I want them to get out of this. And I had no idea it was going to go down this road.

And I'm glad it did because that is something that, you know, I talk to my people that I work with. I'm big on it in my life, you know, and obviously. obviously, they can always be better, right? It can always get better as we practice it. But dude, I mean, dude, when we hop off here, I'll tell you some of the shit that I have manifested, dude. I can't wait to share it with you because, bro, because when I share it, you know, it, I'm putting it out there even more, right?

And I'm just super, I'm super Jack, brother. We got the opportunity to do this. You know, I got to tell you, dude, like, when I told, I told one of my good friends, I'm like, bro, watch. DJ's going to be on my podcast. You're fucking crazy. There's no way that dudes ever even know you exist. I said, bet, motherfucker.

No, come on, man. You're good, man. No, but that's what I'm saying. But, like, that's the thing, right? Like, you know, I already saw it, right? And then I stuck with it. And it wasn't like I said it once. And then I just let it go.

And then here you want. why you magically appear like when I log on my computer. But the point is, guys, if you truly believe something in your heart, in your gut, every ounce of your being, then go do it. Yeah. Because, because listen, if it is, if you can absolutely see it on the movie screen of your mind and you work every single day to get there, you make even the slightest move, even when you don't want to because you don't feel good.

And that's the most important thing, guys, because we're not going to feel good every single day. Hell, that shit's a farce. I don't care how good a shape you're in. I don't care how much money you think you have. You're going to wake up every single day and it's going to be a different feeling. And what you have to realize is that motivation is bullshit and it's fleeting. Drive is where it's at. You have to be driven to go get your goals.

And so, dude, with that, man, like, give these listeners, man, one piece of advice, one piece of advice that maybe can flip the switch for them to create the lives that they want. Yeah, dude, I think, I think it just goes back to what I said earlier, man. Like, if you feel like you're going through a tough time right now, right? The world is going to shit, right? Like, it's been a crazy two years. We've been locked down. No matter what you're political, what side of the political aisle are you standing, man, if you feel like, you're going through a rough time right now. I just want you to do a flip in your mentality, a flipping your perception real quick

and just remember it. Like, no matter how hard you think you have it right now, there's always going to be somebody who has a harder. There's always going to be somebody that has a worse, right? And just remember that. And keep fucking moving, right? Like, so what, now what? And just keep moving.

You can apply that to anything. Money, right? That's why I always say money should never be a measurement of happiness. Because no matter how much money you make, there will always be somebody that has more. You know, and so it's like you just keep your fucking head down. You roll them sleeves up and you just get to work. And one day you'll look up and hopefully you have a life that you're proud of. And that's what my goal is.

And I'm striving to do that every fucking day. Love it, brother. Love it, man. Listen, guys, again, thank you, DJ for coming on. If you guys got anything out of the show, please show. it, right? Share it out. Tag me on social media. Tag DJ. You know, share this with your friends. Share it with your enemies. I don't give a shit who you share it with, but share it with somebody because Reggie definitely said something that's going to resonate to somebody.

And that's what this goal is about. It's about making the world a better place, one conversation at a time, one day at a time. So hey, man, DJ, hang out for a bit. Man, I want to say something. And guys, we're out.