Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset - THE PULSE: Real Talk, Rebuilds, and the Relentless Drive Behind the Brand

Episode Date: July 18, 2025

This isn’t just episode one—it’s a full-spectrum behind-the-scenes dive into what’s really happening at The Determined Society. In this premiere of The Pulse, TDS co-founders Shawn French and Pat Sitkins break format and pull back the curtain—unfiltered, unscripted, and unapologetically honest. They dig into: -The origin story of TDS—from Facebook lives to Jay Leno -Motivation vs. Determination (and why most people confuse the two) -How physical health unlocked everything for Shawn -The hard calls, the near-collapse moments, and the full-on brand rebuilds -Building “The Frequency” playlist—how music became a bridge between episodes, guests, and legacy You’ll also hear behind-the-scenes stories from June’s whirlwind including: -Atlanta with Eric Thomas, Brandon Burns, Jeremy Anderson, Inky Johnson & the NLS crew -Hollywood conversations with Jeff Leach, Jamie Kennedy, Robert Schwartzman, and Kate Gersten -The real reason TDS keeps evolving—and why most people quit when it gets hard This is the heartbeat of what drives the show forward. The mission. The mess. The moments no one sees. If you’ve ever felt like quitting, questioned your momentum, or needed a reminder that you're not behind—this one is for you. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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but I'm going to say it. This is what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm not letting up because someone tells me I shouldn't do this. For people to see the finished product of the Jay Leno episodes and all the fun in LA and things like that or not fun.

There's a lot that goes into that. I just wanted to hit on that because we talk a lot about motivation versus determination. The finished product of the Jay Leno episodes, the Jamie Kennedys and all those cool things that we're doing, that's the fun part. All the work in between

It is a freaking grind. It is a fight day to day. That's what makes me a good interviewer is those moments I am just engrossed on growing as a host. That shit hasn't been easy for me, dude. What's up everybody? Welcome back. Got something completely new for you guys today. I got my business partner and one of my best friends, Patrick Sickens here,

bestselling author, marketing extraordinaire. I call him The Wizard. So without further ado, man, let's get into it, dude. drop the bestie right away. I like that, man. I was going to save that for at least the second one, but let's go. No, we got to go right there. Right into it. Awesome, man. Well, hey, thanks for having me on. I know we've been talking about this for about a year and a half and I'll only step in front of the camera for a little bit and do, you know, a different sort of episodes. So, you know, the intent of the pulse is to be more than a show. It's really the heartbeat

of what's going on with the show with the business with you and sort of flip the tables a little bit and let you take it easy for a little bit, not have to come up with the questions to just answer them the way you like that. I know. I like that already, buddy. So, hey, I want to start with the pulse and just, you know, there's so much going on at the show.

You know, June was big, big, big. So just from your seat as far as, you know, the whole idea around this brand, around this show around just the heartbeat of the show. Tell me what it means to you. I mean, really, I mean, the show and everything going on that happened in June or even the last year and a half has meant so much to me personally, right? Coming from a background of being an athlete

and, you know, not materializing to the athlete that I thought I was going to be at the Division 1 level, this kind of is my playground. This is my big leagues, right? And it's just been really cool to see this thing grow and get stronger and stronger and become, you know, someone's playlist, to be quite honest, man. Like, hearing what we're giving to the community and people enjoying the show, enjoying the guests, and seeing me in different venues in different states. Dude, it's just, it's been wild, man. It's kind of a whirlwind, to be honest. I don't think I've taken it in yet.

No, we'll get there in a little bit, man. We'll get there as far as pumping the brakes a little bit on everything that's going on. But you started talking about where we've come. And, you know, there's from when I've, you know, come on board and been part of the show, been part of the business, it seemed like, you know, exes, at velocity and rocket speed and all the things we talk about surely is here. But I want to go all the way back because, you know, I know we have a lot of new listeners in the last few months, maybe even this year, that don't know what the determined society is and really what you've had to do to bring us

to where we are, you know, right this second. So we'll talk just a little bit about the origin. So give me the two minutes on what the heck the determined society is and where it actually started. So the determined society, man, you know, the way I like to break it down is a place where you can go and just hear stories of people that want more out of life. They're not here for hype. They're here for real, right? They're here for actual action. And where this thing started, it started as a Facebook group.

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Message privately with everyone. Learn more at WhatsApp.com. And I was doing live videos in a parking lot of the gym at 4.30 in the morning. And, you know, funnily enough, people were actually watching them as they woke up. And it started to be this thing where people were posting inside of the Facebook group. People were engaging with each other and encouraging each other. And I just said, wow. you know, during this climate of COVID and when things are so, you know, divided, these people are, I mean, I'm sure they all have different views on everything.

But the one thing that they had in common is that they wanted to get better. They were looking for any edge to get better in life, whether it was physically, emotionally, in the relationship or professionally. You know, let's be honest, not everybody's an entrepreneur. or not everybody, you know, owns their own, you know, company or has their own podcast. They're salespeople, their teachers, their, you know, truck drivers. They're looking for ways to get through their day in a way that gratitude takes over and they're able to work on those actionable items. So one day I'm driving down the road and all of a sudden, my just head just explodes.

It was that moment where I'm like, good God, man, like this, this is not a Facebook page. This is a podcast. And I didn't know how to start one. So I just Googled it. And I ended up on Anchor app and started recording a show out of my car with like a zero plan. And here we are. And here we are. Yeah.

And there's a little bit in the middle there of here we are. But, you know, just taking it from the car, then we got it out. Well, then you went into the, you know, the guest room in your house. And then we got you out. And all the things you said, man, just the things that we've been able to do, the experiences we've had. It's been incredible. But for me, this show, and I know we've talked about the title a lot early on. Is this the right name for this show?

Is it really the determined society? Should we change it? And every time, it was a pretty quick discussion because it is. And that's exactly. So you're about to make a trade based on a friend's text. But which you do you listen to? Is it, we could buy a house in Tulum? Get optioning those options.

We could lose everything. Or let's do a little research. Get your head in the trade and make the investment decision that's right for you. Learn more at finra.org slash trade smart. Exactly what this show broadcast promotes, puts out there on a weekly basis, multiple times per week. So talk to me a little bit about determination because there is so much going on behind the scenes, man. And I think for our listeners to understand just some of, you know, the trials that we've had

because it's not, you know, we just keep bolting on new people and new things and this thing just keeps skyrocketing. There's a whole lot of determination in that recipe. Yeah, I mean, for me, determination is simply put, it's doing the things that you don't want to do, man. Like, everybody can, you know, get into a room at a conference or listen to a song or you know, read a book and be motivated in that moment. But true determination is following through with what you said you're going to do long after the, long after the emotion wears off, right?

And what I've found is every single day there's a challenge, whether it's personally, you know, relationship-wise, or even in the show that like there's multiple times during the day where I can just say, all right, screw this. I'm going to go in the pool. I'm going to hang out with my kids. And I'm going to just screw this for right now. I'm not going to do it.

And let's be real. We all have those moments. But then I think of like, okay, is that going to get the boat to go faster? Is that going to move us along? And so, you know, quite honestly, it's just about staying true to what you know is going to work. You know, if you're trying to hit, you know, 350 in the big leagues, well, you're going to hit every single day. You're going to go through your process. And that's what I do.

That's what you do. That's what our partners do. That's what my wife does in the show. Like, we're all playing our part and staying. within our guard whales, but also collaborating to a point of agnosium, right? Because this is not easy. This shit is hard. And for the people that are watching this episode and listening to it, like, I know it looks cool. But dude, it's been the exact opposite of that at times. It has been painful. This thing has brought me to tears. This thing almost brought me to losing everything.

But I gained everything at the same time because I was super stubborn or you can say determined to know that, hey, I feel this in my soul. This is what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm not letting up because someone tells me I shouldn't do this. And there was times, I'm sure, my wife was like, dude, you're crazy. You're crazy. What are you doing? But I felt it. And I wasn't wrong. No, she definitely said you're crazy. I know for a fact, she said you're crazy multiple times. So don't say she might have. She did. She still thinks were crazy. It was in Spanish. It was in Spanish, so I don't know. I don't know. I can't translate that. Yeah. No, but you're right. I mean, it's, look, I absolutely love every moment that I'm here. But, you know, I hate the old saying of find what you love and you'll never work a day in your life. This is work every single day. And, you know, for people to see the finished product of, you know, the Jay Leno episodes and all the fun in LA and things like that or not fun, you know, it's, there's a lot that goes into that. And I just, I just wanted to hit on that because, you know, you talk a lot about motivation versus determination.

And you and Joe Weatherford had a good conversation in her episode about that. But you know, you're talking about just kind of kicking off for the day or for the moment and going in the pool. But there's a lot more to that, man. Like there's been days where it's not just for right now for this second for this hour. It's been, what are we doing? Why are we doing it? So I would tell you talk to me a little bit, you know, the difference between motivation versus determination. Because a lot of people say you just got to get motivated.

You got to get hard. You got to get tough. You got to do all the things. find your process and it'll just work out. But you don't show up every day just wanting to do every single thing. There are days where you just want to kick off and go hang out in the pool and just not deal with all the things you've got to deal with. Yeah, dude, I mean, motivation is a spark. I think it needs to be there. I think that, you know, for a lot of people, motivation comes extrinsically. Like you look at somebody else and you admire that person, the results, maybe what they look

like, how they speak, and everything they have going on. But then somewhere along the lines, you have to decide what you're willing to give to get there. So to your point on the finished product of the Jay Leno episodes, the Jamie Kennedys and all those cool things that we're doing, that's the macro result. That's not the, that's the fun part, right? And all the work in between all the paint, that is, those are the micro, those are the micro results, right? The reps day in and day out. And those are the ones that are important, man, because that's what makes everything look pretty. That's what makes everything look polished. That's what makes me a good interviewer. Those moments were behind the scenes, I am just engrossed on growing as a host.

And as a CEO, let's be honest. Like, that shit hasn't been easy for me, dude. Like, that hasn't been easy for me at all to remove feelings at times to say, okay, what's the best for the show? Like, those are big boy and big girl moments. And as a salesperson or a corporate professional, like, you don't have that, right? But there's times where I have to make very unpopular decisions, decisions that I know that, you know, none of my partners in this thing probably agree with at the time. but like I have to make them right and and for me man like it's just to your point about the the finished product that's like an eighth of it it's not even so when people are listening to this and seeing what's going on in the growth like that's like someone throwing the game winning

touchdown in the Super Bowl that wasn't that wasn't the moment the moment started in June when they were in OTAs and then mini camps. Like that's when it started or even drafted or whatever. Right? I mean, it's a lifetime of preparation. So you're talking about the finished product. And for us, I mean, how many iterations of you as a host, the style, the format of the show, the brand, the website?

I mean, everything has been built and burned and built and burned again and again and again. And I think it's that determination because there's been plenty of times where we didn't want to revamp X, Y, and Z. We didn't want to have to go through another painful process. We didn't have to have a hard conversation. And so a lot of times there's not motivation in that. No, there's not, dude.

Just you can break it down to the little things. Waking up, like the last two nights, I've had six hours of sleep total. Do I wake up at 4 a.m. and do what I said I was going to do? Yeah, I have to. Because if I don't, then I'm not sharp. Then I retreat from what I'm actually speaking about on my show. So I have to be the person that execute these, that execute these habits, right?

But like those are the moments, dude. Like, it's not, it's not always what it looks like. It is a freaking grind. It is a fight day to day. And that's what we've built here, man. Like, truly, like, those moments of having to burn it all down again. That means, I mean, did we've done it three times in a year? And the fun part, the fun part is,

when someone says like, dude, I love that new logo. I love that new podcast cover. I'm like, oh my God, thank you. We're wearing retro gear here. The shirt's like three months ago. That's retro. That's right. That's old school.

But like, exactly, but vintage TDS. But those are the things, dude, like that, the behind the scenes. And that's what I want everybody to truly hang on to because they see the logo. They see the guests. but I want to give them the peek behind because that is where they can learn something. That is where they can take that

and apply it to what they're looking to do, what they want to grow in their life. Absolutely. I mean, that's the whole reason we wanted to do the pulse in the first place, you know, is to tell the stories that don't make it on the air and, you know, whether that's directly related to the episode because there are.

I mean, there's plenty of things that happen behind the scenes, conversations that happen before recording and things like that where I think it's important for everyone who follows this show to understand everything that's going on because it is great, the end product, but there's a lot of trials,

tribulations, heartache, all the things that you've talked about multiple times on the show. And so I think that's what, at least to me, that's what drew me to this in the first place was the authenticity, right? We talk about it a lot with you.

People meet you and they go, oh, you're the same guy. I mean, that's just what it is. And I know that's not typical. but it's what we are. And so to give people, you know, the look at you not only of what's going on, but to sit on whatever side of the microphone or whatever side of the interview you want, you're going to be the same guy.

So, um, all right. So I, so let's talk a little bit about behind the scenes because I do want to ask a question. Yeah, we went, you went to, uh, Atlanta in June with next level speakers. And there goes my thumbs up. Glad that happened. Yep. Dude, do you got to do that. That's just crazy.

If Google's listening, please turn off my notes. notifications. I'm sure they can do that. Thanks. Okay. Anyway, you went to Atlanta with next level speakers, E.T., Brandon Burns, Jeremy, Rachel was there. Then we went to LA, then back in Atlanta. So of everything that's happened, of the guests that you've talked to, whether we've released them or not, what was the biggest surprise for you in June? Rinse takes your laundry and hand delivers it to your door, expertly cleaned and folded. So you could take the time once spent folding and sorting and waiting to finally pursue a whole new version of you. Like tea time you.

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I think the biggest surprise for me in June was that, you know, I alluded to it at the beginning of this episode is I haven't taken it in yet. And I want that to be a message because I'm super grateful for where we're at. I'm super grateful for where I'm at as a person. But I don't want to rest on that. And so for me, all the cool things that have happened, like, I haven't gone back and reflected on, you know, sitting down with Jay Leno, Jamie Kennedy. Like, I just, I just haven't, right?

I mean, you know, you even look at, you know, Jeff Leach that, you know, that episode was just published, that was, that was a golden episode. And what an amazing human being that guy is. Funny is shit. But at the core of him, like, he's so real, man. He's just, so I guess to give the audience more context and give you maybe something that you do want to hear is all these people that you look at on TV, on stage for stand-up comedy, the Tonight Show, like with Jay Leno, man, they're all people. and they all have beating hearts. They have blood running through their veins,

and they deal with the same struggles that we deal with. They all have their shit going on in their life, and they're all trying to overcome. So, like, they're not, they're not, like, I guess, absent from some of the things that the listeners listen to right now, depression, undiagnosed bipolar, Jay Leno's wife going through dementia. Like, these are real life things.

and the more amazing people I speak to, you know, public figures and just everyday people, what I realize is that we're all on this journey together and we're all going through something. We all need people. We need people. You need people. You're talking about Jeff Leach. And so here's one of the stories from L.A.

Now, I'm not going to go there. Don't worry. But Jeff Leach. So Sean and I, remember we were watching his comedy special. We watched it before and then we watched again in the morning before. And so I told my kids about Jeff. I say he's really funny. He's a comedian.

And I told I didn't show them. But if you ask Claire now, so she's my youngest daughter. If you ask her, with all this sass in the world, she says, he's doing it. Oh, no. He's doing it. Oh, yeah. Oh, no. You're going to have to ask her.

So, Jeff, you've got a fan and she doesn't even know your routine yet. So anyway. Jeff, John has an amazing, amazing dude, man. He is. everyone we've talked to. So something that we started right before LA is we've added a few new questions. And so I want to talk about the frequency, our playlist, what's going on with that, and just the whole project.

So do you want to go into it? You want me to go into it? So I can speak to the playlist. So, you know, you approached me about the TDS playlist. You've got to build this place. You've been on me about a year to do this, to be fair. And I didn't get it. I'm like, dude, this is why are we doing this?

Right. It's like, exactly. There it is. Branding, branding. But what we've done is, and you can go to Spotify, it's called the frequency, subscribe to it. What we've, well, what Pat has built and I'm executing it after every interview is putting the walk-up songs or the hype songs of every single guest that comes on that, the song that speaks to their soul. And so when I go on now and I'm looking, at, you know, the Rocky theme song. I think of, you know, Jamie Kennedy now. Like, I, I mean, like, when I, when I hear Rick Ross Purple Lamborghini, I think of Elena Cardone. Like, and so, like, every time I'm listening to one of those songs, it brings me to that interview and in that moment. And as we know, music for a lot of people, it recalls moments and memories. And And so for me, as the creator of the show and now, you know, adding to the playlist, it just gives me a different dimension to appreciate where these people come from. Yeah. Well, if you remember, I mean, the whole reason it started is we were talking about music one day and just, you know, how it can fuel different things from your workout to a drive to whatever, you know, can focus you when you're trying to work.

And we started talking about walk-up songs, right? So hype songs when we played in college, you're at LSU. I'm at J-U. So I was like, hey, what's your walkup? What was your walk-up song? And so we started talking about it. And you could tell the energy behind you explaining that song. And I was doing the same thing.

And so it was like, you know, we should put a playlist together that has the one song, the bang or the hype song that no matter where you are, what you're doing, it just amped you up. And so to have that. And so we're putting graphics out. So you can see everything Sean just said as far as Purple Lamborghini, who the song is by and who picked it. And so being able to pull those into some of the bonus content that we have where they're answering the question.

It's great. So yeah, it's out on Spotify, the frequency. And you can find on the website as well. It's right on the homepage. So, yeah, I want people to do that because it's a great playlist already. Every time we're out on the road, we use those songs in our reels. But it gets updated every single week. So it's cool just to have that, you know, kind of living, breathing playlist.

And it's funny because, like, you mentioned something about the reels and, you know, when I do stories, like, guys, everything is intentional now. Everything is intentional. So when you guys hear a song or hear a song and a story, that's from the playlist typically, right? Unless it's a template and, you know, I don't, you know, through an app, like I don't, you can't control that. But like, for the most part, it's very intentional, right? And the other thing that I really like about it, I even think about this aspect of it. And as we're speaking about the playlist is it helps the artist.

No doubt. But Robert Scharman talked about it. If you remember in Hollywood, he was talking about people going to the movies and watching him to help support not just the actors, but every single person I worked on it. It's the same with music. Yep. Yep. I love it.

So that's the playlist, man. I love it. Playlists. Subscribe on Spotify. So my son gets in the car. Listen, dude. My son gets in the car, the truck every single day. Daddy, can we listen to the frequency? Sure.

Call it's about two years away from it. But, you know, a little different. A little different. Yeah. There's a few songs on there we can play, but not all of them. I play them all for him. I don't, I'm a little spicier. Yeah, you're like, I, you're like, I, not saying it's a good decision.

I'm not saying it's not a good decision, but, you know, he's going to listen to it otherwise, so I might as well listen to it in my truck. Yeah, they don't hear that on the ball field or at school or anything, none of those words. Yeah, never, never. Absolutely not. I want to, before we wrap up, I do want to talk about one thing that we've talked about a lot, and we alluded to it a little bit, but I think, you know, from a value piece, just hearing from you, talking about focus.

You know, and when we first jumped into this, we had, you know, I used Apple and the iPhone as the example. You know, we wanted to launch the iPhone, but we had iPhone 16 already in mind. And we were trying to throw a lot of bells and whistles into this thing and just figuring out, you know, what was going to be best, not only for the show, but for the society. You know, what was going to give people the most value, the most connection to the show to each other? And so we tried a lot of things.

And then every time we bring partners in, they have ideas too. And so we keep going back to, and we were talking about this last week, you know, when we finally made the decision of everything else we can't control, we're just going to let it go and focus on the one thing we can, which is the show and the product that we're putting out and everything else will follow. And since we've done that, every time something creeps in, it's like, it's outside. We're laser focused right now. So talk to me a little bit about that because I see you from different angles, right? show host, entrepreneur, former top sales guy, coach, husband, father, blah, blah, blah, blah. So what does that mean to you when you look at it?

You forgot extremely handsome. Well, I forgot extremely. I'm sorry, for those who are not watching the episode and have never watched that episode, extremely handsome. I'm sorry. I'm kidding, guys. There you go, Jeff Leach. There's your soundbite.

There's your spectrum. There's your spectrum, yes. So talk to me about laser focus. not only with what we're doing, but just when you look at everything that you're doing, because you've gone through a big transformation, you know, physically and, and, you know,

you're working on mental health, just everything that's going on with you. Talk to me about focus. You know, I'm going to shout out my boy, Eric Thomas. You know, when I was in Atlanta, he,

you know, this is a next level speaker's conference, right? And everybody there is wanting to become the speaker, right? And, you know, I was there to hang out. out with those guys. And shout out to all of them.

Jeremy Anderson, Brandon Burns, Eric Thomas, Inkey Johnson, Rachel, everybody, just everybody is so amazing. Like, I want to tie in with that community more because it's so soulful, man.

And it's based on the fabric of what I feel everybody should be really, really digging into, which is love. Okay? But he said something there. He said, all of you guys are sitting here wanting to be on the stage, but you're unwilling to go through the stages.

So, man, when you talk about wanting to build iPhone 27, and we're on iPhone 4, like, we were trying to go from 4 to 27, and we were trying to skip stages, not because we were trying to, you know, cheat the process, but, like, we knew the ability of what this could be or what this is going to be, but we were skip, trying to skip level steps, I think, you know, looking back at it. So my thing is, is when you talk about razor focus or laser focus, it's simple.

Focus on where you're at. Dominate that stage where you're at right now. What is the stages or the process? Because everybody loves to win, but no one likes to go through the stages. So what I've learned, and we had a team call on the way here, I'm like, hey, I think we're close to this. and you said, no, we need to do X, Y, Z. So you checked me, right?

You were right. I was like, okay, we got to go through these three stages first. And then we can do that. So, like, laser focus means respecting the stage that you're in, not wanting to go to the top of the mountain right away, but build yourself there because now you're staying power is huge. You build the notoriety. You build that brand.

You build everything to show everybody that you, deserve to be there because if you are a flash in the pan, you're going to burn out really quickly too. Yeah. And you look at this and it's a it's a lesson in patience and then there's a lesson in saying no. You know, there's a huge amount of FOMO because there's so many things going on with like, ooh, we could go partners these people. We could go do this. We could, you know, go over here. And it's very easy for us. And you know, you talked about it. This is, you know, being a CEO on top of being the host of the show, you get pulled in a lot of directions. There's a lot of bright, shiny objects, a lot of people coming at you. And so it's really a lesson in saying no. And it

hurts because we know, to your point, from day one, you know, I've talked about this a lot, both publicly and privately, but I didn't believe in the show and I didn't believe in Sean French. Belief is, you know, trusting that something might happen. I just knew what this was. And so I think what we were doing was rushing because, to your point, we saw the potential and knew. And and we were just a little too far ahead. Yeah, I appreciate that, man. Yeah, it was, man, like, that's the thing, dude. It's, you know, I just want to encourage people, man,

because we're talking to a lot of good guests, but I think everybody has what they need within them, right? Because if they hear an Eric Thomas or Brandon Burns or a Rachel Barbeau, like, they're picking up on something that resonates with them because that's truly what they feel about themselves. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to relate. You have to be relatable. So when you go through those moments, like, dude, just stop.

Just stop and be like, hey, this is where I'm at right now. I'm going to be the best I can today. And maybe tomorrow I'm one to two percent better. But staying on that grind daily so you can improve. So you can go to the next stage. It's like a video game, man. We're in a freaking video game. Like, it's just, you know, like, I don't think we've tipped the turtle yet in Super Mario

Brothers, but we're getting damn. close, right? So it's like, you know, just understanding where you're at and it being okay. Because I can look at many different parts. Like we're on our team call today. I'm like, hey, this is where we're at this month. Boom, what's next? Like, but where we're at right now is, is fine. It's good. Right. And let's, let's honor that and then move forward and improve in in such a way that lacks despair that that is all rooted in generation of energy well and you talked about right it's it's being a being comfortable with right now you know because we always want to push you know anyone that's high achieving in anything they want to get to that next level right in the

game but it's really staying in that and going okay we're actually you know if you look at where we are today compared to in this example last year. You know, it's really stopping to celebrate and looking at, you know, we've really come a long way and not just always kind of future trip and going, okay, well, next, next, next. And that's hard. It's hard to stop and celebrate and go, you know what? This is actually pretty cool. And what I did, whatever it is, I did it.

I would also say, man, when in real time I don't ever really take it in because I don't want to get comfortable. I just think comfort is scary to me. I just don't like it. But I'm sitting here having this conversation with you, and this is what I want the audience to really think about as they're listening to, I don't know, close your eyes or think about a moment,

you know, in time where you thought, you know, or even now that you're like, you're not where you're supposed to be. Well, look back where you were two years ago. Have you grown?

Because if you haven't, then you're not doing the work. But if you have grown, you need to acknowledge that growth. Because there's a lot of beauty. in that. Like, I'll go back and watch some of the stuff from even a year and a half ago and go, ooh, right? Like, that moment of like, oh, my God, I said that. Or that's what I looked like. Or, you know, wow, that first, you know, poster behind me in the den, I thought it was cool,

but that shit was ratchet. Right? But, like, at the time, like, that's your stage. That's the stage you're in. Then you go back and look at it and then you can appreciate how far you've come, I just don't believe in excessive celebration. No. No. And I don't see anyone attached to this, anyone we've talked to as someone that's, you know, that way. But it's about really just sitting down and recognizing your accomplishment.

You know, I did, I think I told you this. So I went to chat GPT once. No, I didn't tell you this. So I went to chat and I said, hey, it was around the book. And so in there, both Larry D, they all talk about the likelihood of being an athlete moving to professional, whether that's basketball, baseball, whatever, right? And so I started going through with chat and I said, okay, you know, a Division I 1 baseball player, bestseller, multiple exits, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

And I said, what is the percentage of all these things? And not like, you know, I was born in the USA. I mean, things I've actually accomplished. I've done an Iron Man, blah, blah, blah. And basically when I got down to it, and I just talked about my adult life, he's like, it's the equivalent of being struck twice by lightning, winning the lottery. Like it was a one in, you know, trillions chance of doing what I've done personally. And so try it.

You know, I encourage everyone listening. Like go in and just say, hey, what is the percent chance of anyone in the world accomplishing these things? And it could be holding a job for five years. It could be graduating in college. It could be whatever. But when you see the likelihood of you accomplishing what you actually have, it puts it in perspective. It's not overly celebratory, but you go, damn, it's actually done some pretty cool stuff.

That's a really good point, man. I think everybody listening and watching this show, if they were to do that exercise, they would be happy with what they've accomplished and how they've grown over the years. And that would give them that initial spark, the motivation, to push even further. within the discipline, determination, and the process has to take over. But, dude, that's a pretty cool. That's a, yeah, I'm going to do that. I've never done that. I'm going to go to.

Yeah, I mean, you know, it's like the high school to college, you know, the percent chance of you moving from a high school athlete to a college. And then, not only college, D1, is the point zero, whatever it is. And then you go to professional. So it's like, all right, well, if that's the starting point is a D1 athlete, what if? And you just start going in the zero, you know, the point zeros just keep trailing off. and then you get into the trillions and trillions, you know, kind of gives you a point to go, okay, maybe I am doing something with this life.

Yeah, I just think that's important for people right now, too, Pat. That's a great point because, you know, everyone's special. Like, let me repeat that. Everyone is special. Like, there's no one, there's no two people alike, and everyone has their own set of skills, and they have all accomplished something or overcome something that somebody else may not have been able to. And so I just think that people need to acknowledge themselves a little bit more for that because that's going to give them the wind in their sail a little bit to move a little bit

further instead of being stuck or giving up. And that's what this show's about, man. That's what the determined society is all about, is how to move forward in the face of adversity when it hurts so damn much. Well, I for one think it's putting your face in that shit. I really do. Like, I was in a personal hell. And I couldn't figure out why the show was stuck. I couldn't figure out why I was stuck personally until I realized how out of shape I was. And then as soon as I started fixing that, that happened in December. Well, if you've been paying attention, what's happened since December? I think that's the separator. I think people overcoming what is hindering them the most, and for me I called it my personal hell.

You know, does this fit? You know, how do I look on camera? Like it was owning me, Pat. And the moment I decided to take care of that, everything else, it was like the Red Seas, dude. It parted. Like it. I mean, let's let's be overly truthful.

Like that was the one thing that you, and I talked about a lot, right? Because I'm dealing with stuff too. Like I'm severely underweight or was. And so we talked a lot about just getting healthy and how that fuels everything else. And I think everyone, if they were truly, truly honest with themselves, they've got the one thing, right? They could say 100 different things are going wrong. But there's one loop that they keep just living in and spinning every single day, groundhog day,

whatever you want to call it. And it could be something as easy as I'm not going to eat sugar today or not going to drink. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to apply to jobs, whatever it is. But everyone's every single person has one thing that is holding them back. And so they'll do all the other things that make them feel good. Oh, I did this. I, you know, I didn't drink caffeine today.

Well, you were supposed to not have sugar. That's not the same. And so they go, well, I did something good. But it's not the one thing. And so you're right, man. And like, I'm not saying that you at that stage, that's what was holding it back. It was the one thing holding you back and the one loop that you had to break out of. And everything popped from there.

You're right. I mean, good God, the first time I saw him in Fort Myers went, where's the rest of you? No, like, the rest of you behind that corner? Like, you know what I mean? And so, yes, you do look good, Sean. There's your validation. Twice in one show. You're right.

No, that's great. I took progress. But no. You should. I did. But that's the thing, though. I mean, this is the essence of everything, though. It's like that one thing that you need to take care of,

and I'm talking to the audience right now, the one thing that you need to take care of that's been to your point, Pat, on that loop, constantly, like you're, I would say 80% of your thoughts, that's the thing to go out and work on and fix and overcome. And then watch out. Watch out because you exude a completely different It doesn't have to be physical.

It doesn't. It could be anything. It can be that thing. Everybody has a thing. And if you take care of it, that is your separator. That is your answer. Everybody wants the cheat code. It's going to be a ton of work.

It's going to be a ton of intention, a ton of work, a ton of data, a ton of, like, inconvenience at times. But there's your silver bullet. I just gave it to you. What you do with it is up to you. What did you tell me in Atlanta? We were talking in the lobby and we were talking about loops and you said, I said, hey, maybe I chose this, right?

And you said, brother, at this point, you are choosing this. Yep. Maybe not back then, but now there's a conscious decision to choose that and have that be a part of the identity. And so, like, those are just hard moments. Those are hard conversations that with you, they're not hard because it's just like, hey, like, I'm just going to speak my truth because you speak it with me about me and I owe that to you.

But like, that's the thing. Like, you may not have chosen your circumstances, y'all. But like, if you're choosing to stay there, well, then there's your choice. And for so long, I continued to choose that identity until it was so sickening for me that I just, I moved out of pain, man. It moved out of so much pain. That's what got me, you're beaming, buddy.

Now you're beaming. I'm having fun. You are. Oh, we're having fun. Is that confirmed? I'm having, I'm having so much fun. That's good.

I'm having so much fun, dude. That's been a question we've asked each other from the very beginning. You haven't fun yet? Yep. At the start, we weren't sure. Yeah, I think this is fun, but, you know, at the root of it, it really wasn't. Everyone should go check out. We do have a little schstick.

that we do when we go travel. So we pretend like we're not having fun. That way, you know, the families and the team don't think we're out there just playing around. We're out there working. So if you want to see us have not fun with a ton of celebrities. We did in Atlanta too. We got the news anchors, got ADP on it.

Yeah. Roman. Roman and Kerry understood the assignment there for sure. They do. They sure as hell do, man. But that's a fun part of doing that stuff, right? And I've gotten messages on it. It's like, dude, this is hilarious.

because they know I'm having a freaking blast. You know, I miss the family, obviously, when I'm gone. But, you know, from the standpoint of being professionally fulfilled

and having great friends to do it with, like, come on. What more can I ask for? We're just getting started. So that was going to be my last question for you before we wrap it up for this first episode of the pulse. What's coming up?

I know we have some big ones that we can't talk about quite yet. But as far as, the ones that we've not put out yet, I know we've got a big one coming, or a few big ones coming up in the next few weeks. So what are you excited about who we have come in and what can everyone be expecting the next few weeks? Yeah, we got some good ones coming up. We got, you know, Robert Schwartzman and Kate Gerston, Hollywood royalty, which is Robert Schwartzman, you know, his mom is Talia Shire, which is Adrian on Rocky, his uncle is Francis Ford Coppola, you know, his cousins Gia Coppola, Nicholas Cage, Kate Gerson.

wrote the last show girl she also wrote the good place um you know we've got elana cardone anthony kennedy schreiber which is a freaking kennedy um his mom was jfk's sister so uh his nephew like really like that that kind of stuff for me is exciting right you're you're talking about talking to people that have like this royalty bloodline whether it's hollywood or politically or even just Elena of what her and Grant have built in their own right is tremendous. So bringing those conversations and the diverse topics to the audience is what I'm really most looking for. You know, what I'd love the audience to do, may I?

Like, I want them to start. I really would like to hear from them. Like, you know, we look at analytics constantly, what types of shows are doing well, what types or not, and then we try to go curate more of those conversations that are doing well, so the audience feeds off of it. But hey, go ahead and send DMs. Like, what topics do you guys want to cover? What are you struggling with? Like, how can we help? How can we serve? Because at the end of the day, this show is not about me. This show is about serving people. And if it was about me, I would have quit a long-ass time ago. I'm going to tell you that right now. This shit's been driving me crazy.

right but like the thing that's always kept me going was like if i don't put out a show is it even going to matter so i tested it once because i needed to take a break and i would get messages all the time when are you dropping your next episode i need it i go go back and binge all the other ones like i I just don't know. And then I realized like, man, I'm making this shit about me. It's time to get back. You know, it's time to get back and go serve. So that's really what I'm most looking forward to, man,

is giving people the message and the information that they are actually seeking to make them better. Husbands, fathers, professionals, you know, like wives, everything. Like, I just want to give that to people. Well, there you go. Yeah, drop DMs to Sean to the show. And we do have the newsletter coming up. So we're going to be launching the newsletter. And so in there, not only, you know, give us suggestions, but we're going to have some AMAs because this is going to be a monthly show to start.

And so, you know, I want to put it out there. So we'll put it on social and we'll put in the newsletter as well. But reach out. If you've got questions for Sean and you want something answered on air, you know, we'll take some AMA time next time. So one more thing. Yeah. I have to be honest about something. And I don't mean this to be an absolute dick, but I'm going to say it.

Go on. Guys, I love you. but just because you send me a DM and ask to be on my show doesn't mean it's going to happen. That's not what we're talking about here. That's not what I'm talking about. I want to be very, very clear. I'm talking about topics. I'm talking about, you know, if there's an expert out there that we need to interview to bring value to everybody, then I'm up for it.

But I just, I felt the need to say that because I am getting buried right now. And it's part of it. I get it. And I'm grateful for it. and I mostly respond, but I can't fulfill every request. But I love you guys. Newsletter coming. We'll have a form.

We'll run it through the team. But yeah, no, we're certainly open to, you know, any kind of feedback and ideas and stuff like that. But yeah, just not the direct request right now. We're a little backed up as it is. We have a process for that. Go to the website. All right. Hey, guess what?

The Pulse, episode one, we did it. I love it, man. Good job. Fun times. All right, guys, until next time. Stay determined. Next up is a little song from CarMax about selling a car your way. You want to sell those wheels. You want to get a CarMax instant offer.

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