THE ED MYLETT SHOW - The Business of Changing Lives - w/ Blake Mycoskie

Episode Date: July 15, 2020

86 MILLION shoes given to children in need, from one man's vision!! The Business of Changing Lives - w/ @BlakeMycoskie Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve heard about Toms; the shoes with a cause that took the world by storm. Every time a pair is purchased, another pair is given to a child in need. Reaching over $500 MILLION in sales, this business model is PROOF that capitalism can be GREAT when used for GOOD! I am so honored to have the founder of Toms, Blake Mycoskie, joining me on The Ed Mylett Show! Blake has sent over 86 MILLION pairs of shoes to children around the world AND has provided clean water to over 600k people. He’s doing ALL of this through entrepreneurship driven by his passion to serve others. In this interview, Blake shares his awe-inspiring journey building Toms from the ground up and how he turned his passion into a half-BILLION dollar company while simultaneously making a conscious impact for GOOD around the world. We are expanding the boundaries of what it means to be an entrepreneur and how building a business you are PASSIONATE about will ultimately lead you to exponential success both financially and personally. This is arguably the MOST important business lesson of all time! As you’ve heard me say before, fulfillment does NOT come from external accolades. Blake seemingly had it all… but he soon realized he DIDN’T have it all as he was diagnosed with depression and struggling in an unhappy marriage. We dive deep into his incredible journey, backed by science and research, on what it really takes for people to live their best lives, fueled by purpose and fulfillment. We’re sharing ACTIONABLE STEPS you can start taking TODAY to live and feel better! There is so much value packed into this one episode you will need to watch/listen more than once! If you want to turn your passion into a Million Dollar company, this interview is for you! If you want to use your business as a force for GOOD in the world, this interview is for you! If you want to go from a FIXED mindset to a GROWTH mindset and unlock your ability to EXECUTE and follow through with the commitments you make to yourself, THIS INTERVIEW IS FOR YOU! There is so much value packed into this episode I can hardly do it justice in this caption…

This is the Edmmerlidge Show. Welcome back to Max out everybody. Today's gonna be a special show. You're gonna wanna listen or watch this one I have a feeling multiple times because the man that I'm an interview's a unique person. He's not your everyday entrepreneur. In fact, I think he sort of reluctantly or oddly got into entrepreneurship, which we will definitely talk about today. But my guest is Blake Mikoski, and most of you probably know Blake because he founded Tom Shoes.

Very unique company, but he's done so much after that time too that I want to talk about with him, but just give you guys an idea of what this man's business ended up creating for the world, never mind a significant profit for him at a great product, but 86 million pairs of shoes went to children since 2006. Just get your head around that everybody. This man's business gave 86 million. It's got to blow you away too too, Blake. 86% of the shoes, through the eyewear program they had, another 600,000 people since 2011, clean water to another 600,000 people. And it goes on and on.

He's proof, and this is why it's so important during these times that the capitalism can be a good thing. Of course. And so I'm excited to talk about your journey how you did it What it means the post sale all of that stuff so Blake, thank you for being here today brother Yeah, thank you so much. I've been looking forward to this for a while. Yeah, same here man And I I kind of consider myself. I've always tried to find the term for it I don't know that I would say it right, but I'm almost like a I

Think of a progressive capitalist Hmm. I like that. You know, I would say it right, but I'm almost like a, I think I'm a progressive capitalist. I like that. I've always thought that business can be a force for good in every way, and maybe not every single day, are we seeing that in the world today? No, I mean, unfortunately, I think a lot of times we're not seeing that. I call myself actually a reluctant capitalist. So, you know, because I know when it's done right in a highly conscious form, then it can have a huge impact on people and make a huge difference in the world.

But unfortunately, most of capitalism is characterized by a lot of greed, a lot of short-term thinking, and a lot of exploitation of our planet and people. So I'm very reluctant, but at the same time, I've seen great benefits through the businesses I've started and other people who I admire. Yeah, me too.

And I, as far as if you're listening today, and maybe you've got a friend who's sort of on the fence does this sort of way of living work anymore. Perhaps just give some hope between the two of us today, especially in your case. And also, for those of you that are entrepreneurs or thinking about becoming entrepreneurs, I think sometimes people think like the business, I made my real first success in was the financial services business. I had no desire whatsoever ever to go into that business. It was more of a, it had to be kind of a cause play for Maine.

It turned into a profit and just talk for a second because I think the way you started Tom Shoes could open up and liberate the minds of people right now that go, I don't know if I'm an entrepreneur or maybe they're in a business right now but it's not a passion play for them. It's a profit play. Sure.

And you didn't even really start out thinking it was going to be a business, did you? No, actually we didn't have a bank account. We were, we called it a project originally. And we thought it would just be some little small thing that we would do to help children in Argentina. And for me, frankly, I mean, one of the cornerstones I think of any businesses, it's got to be fun. And I was having a ton of fun in Argentine. I mean, I was 29 years old, dating beautiful Argentine women, going back and forth, playing some polo. Like, I mean, to me, when I started Tom's, which I think so many people miss out on, is I did it because I had this deep desire to help people. I always have had that. It was instilled

in me as a young child. If we've been given something, we were responsible to give back. But I also did it because Argentina was so much fun. And so this little project was really simple. We had this idea where we would sell shoes, and every time we sold a pair, we would give a pair. And we would be able to come back to Argentina because that would be required to give away the shoes a couple of times a year.

So I would get to bake in these really fun trips to Argentina and it started real small, selling them out of my apartment, selling them out of an air stream van. I had no idea that we'd build it to a half billion dollar business. A lot of guys right now, a lot of people rather, are in this really small business space right now.

I don't even feel like enough, because they are working out of their garage or they've got a full-time job and they, you know, in their bedroom at their house, they've got a desk where they're starting something. I can't really feel real, right? And it is real, if it's a passion play for years, was there a point, and then I want to go back to who you were before this, but was there a point because it was tomorrow's shoes or something?

Yeah. Yeah. Originally it was called shoes for tomorrow. And then we called them tomorrow's shoes because the idea was if you bought a pair today, we would give away a pair tomorrow. And then when we were originally designing the shoe, we realized that tomorrow's wouldn't actually fit on the tag. So in a very like, I probably thought about it for 10 second type decision. I said, well, why don't we just call them Tom's? That's kind of close enough to tomorrow's. And next thing I know everyone and the world thought my name was Tom. And I still answer

to the airport all the time. Like, I was the airport of your days. Hey, Tom, come here. And I, you know, I mean, three years, to be honest with you. So I really think deep about, you know, we got, you know, most of you know, years, to be honest with you, it's what I really went deep about. You know, we got, you know, most, you know, nosebleed, and I have a bunch of mutual friends. And I'm like, wait, this Tuesday's is blazing. How the hell? Exactly. Wait, there's a lot of people.

I'm found as an entrepreneur, you know, people we've had on the show and in my own case too, there's this point in most businesses, not always, where there's like this 90 day explosion window. And sometimes it's your second 90 days and sometimes that 90 days doesn't hit till the seventh year. Yeah. But there's just like this moment where you go, oh my god, this is different than it was

before. Sure. There are 30, 90 day window like that that happened to Tom Shoes and if so, what was the catalyst? Yeah. So it was really interesting. We got the shoes in this one store in Los Angeles called American Rag. And I would say that was like in the first month or two

of being in business. We had a little website where we were selling, you know, friends, fraternity brothers, parents, things like that. And the leading writer for the LA Times, a woman named Booth Moore, saw the shoes in the store and got my number because she was really curious because she had never heard of a company that was giving something away every time they sold it. And so she called me and she said, I'm going to do a little piece in the LA Times. I was like, great. And so that little piece was a tiny little article, but it was on the cover of the calendar section on a on a Sunday and

That one article that day we had 2200 orders on our website and I only had What's that what we doing before that before the oh we're maybe selling like three or four pairs a day Wow, and so 2200 orders and one day and the kicker of it was I only had 150 pairs in my apartment. So I was like, you know, total panic. I put a bunch of ads on Craig's list to get some interns to call these people and tell them this is going to be a while. I went back to Argentina, started making the shoes. We're really making them out of people's garages back then. And then I came back, and then right when I came back,

so this is all within that 90-day window, I got a call from, it's hard to believe, but Anna went to her office at Vogue Magazine because Anna had read the LA Times article. And so she wanted me to come to New York, I came to New York, and I was right around the time that the movie The Devil or his product came out. So I was like horrified of this woman.

Turns out she'd be coming to my great friends. And then the Vogue article came out. And then that just took it to a whole not the level. I mean, all of a sudden, you know, every major department store went our shoes all over the world. And that's when the beginning of the rocket ship. And that period lasted from about then last, for about six years. And we had 300% growth. We went from zero to half a billion lasted for about six years. And we had 300% growth. We went from zero to half a billion in sales in six years

with no investors. Like, gosh, that's pretty crazy. That's the wonderful. Crazy toe. I want all the entrepreneurs. I'm saying not everybody that listens is one, but listen, there can be a moment where that window hits. Yeah.

There's got to be ready for it. I find that it's very rarely just this as an entrepreneur, you know, there's that. I've been ready for it. I find that it's very rarely just this as an entrepreneur, you know, I've been listening to this. It's not some just glided path. There's up and down, up and down. And then there is a bang, hopefully.

Yeah. It's some point. But the other thing too, I want to say to everybody, listening to because Blake is the ultimate example of this, is that, you know, listen, capitalism and entrepreneurship should do these things. Now, not all of you are going to put 86 million pairs of shoes on people's feet. That's just a mind-blowing statistic.

But at the same time, everybody, I find, you know, to distinguish yourself as a business in this day and age, depending on the industry you're in, people are constantly trying to do the same, make their product 10% better than the other one, or they price it different. And there's this huge lane that's open that almost nobody explores, which is do good with your business. Have a cause link to it. So, forgetting the fact that you should do it because it's what a human being should do, just from a business perspective, you are out of your mind not to be looked at as a cause business to get rating fans who root for your company.

Absolutely. No, I mean, I think the thing is, it's actually two important distinctions there. It's not just doing good as a business, but actually transferring the power to your customers to get to do good. Because the customer really wants to do good, but oftentimes they're financially constrained, they're time constrained. So if you make it easy for them to experience

the oxytocin hive doing good in the world through a purchase of your product, they'll be loyal fans forever. You know, one of my most favorite experiences in the 13-year Tom's journey, cappened about six months in. It was right after I think the Boog article came out. I was in New York trying to sell shoes, not doing a very good job of it, mind you. And I went to fly back to L.A. a little bit with my, you know, tail between my legs. And I just gone for a run in Central Park and I was rushing to the airport and I did not

have Tom's on, which is very unique because I always wear Tom's, especially in the early days. And I get to the American Airlines check-in counter and I'm getting ready to do the electronic kiosk to get my boarding pass. And I look over and there's a girl like mid-30s standing there wearing a red pair of tongs. Now, this is super exciting because this is the very first time I saw a stranger wearing our shoes.

It wasn't an intern, it wasn't my parents, it wasn't my neighbor, it was a stranger, you know, 4,000 miles from my home. So I had to ask her about them, but I didn't want to let her know who I was. So I just said, I said, Cashew, I said, hey, excuse me, I couldn't help but noticing these red shoes you're wearing. You know, they're so cool. What are they? And she looked at me and her eyes kind of whiten and she said, Tom, they're Tom shoes.

And I'm playing it cool, right? So I keep doing the kiosk and she wants more of my attention. So she literally, it's the stranger now in airport, puts her hand on my shoulder, kind of pulls me away from the key obstacles. No, you don't understand. This is the most amazing company in the world. When I bought this pair of shoes, they gave a pair to a child in Argentina.

And this guy who started, I think he lives on a boat in Los Angeles. And I mean, she started telling my life story, word for word, with like more passion than my mom tells it And so at that point I was like all I have to tell her who I am, right? So she's like just going on and on like a crowd gathering and so I say Excuse me actually. I need to confess something I'm actually Blake. I started Tom's and she looks at me like deer in the headlights, right?

And then she goes, why did you cut your hair? Because she had watched all these YouTube videos of me giving out the shoes in Argentina. I had this long, crazy, curly hair, but that summer I had cut it and that was her one question. But I learned we're in the most important business lessons of my life and then exchange. And that is, if you do good, if you really empower your customers to feel like they're part of something, they will do the marketing for you and that's way more cost effective than any paid advertising you can do. And I think that's why

Tom's grew so fast and we made so much money. Brother, amen. And what a great story. And you know, by the way, all the surveys also say you want to pronounce out there, you're real, she just be turning. How can I begin to make my business be more like this? The all surveys say if you're gonna hire someone under 30 years old, they all want to work for a cosyrian and organization more than they want to craft a rean in one. We have a person that does have work for us on one of our dogs and one of the reasons that she grooms our dogs is that she used to make these potions for her mother who had Alzheimer's And when she would bathe their mother she would Use it she made these shampoo that smells so beautiful for her mom and her mom was being based

She said that might be the hour a week. I get my old mom back where she would remember me Oh, and then she started to do that for her own dogs And so when she started to pitch us on her dog grooming business, if you will, it was like, I don't care what the price was. She said, I made these don in my mom, 20% of my profits go to women's Alzheimer's. I'm like, in done. In done. Yeah.

So I'm totally with you on that. You mentioned your mom and I mentioned this earlier too. I'd like to just a little indulgence for myself. Who were you before all this? Before Tom Cruise, Who were you before all this? Before Tom? Who's who were you? I was a very driven competitive tennis player growing up. I started playing at age 10. By age 15, I was one of the best players in the state and country. I lived at a tennis academy. I moved away from my family to train. So I would only go to school for part-time during the day. I went to college on tennis scholarship and then my sophomore year I had a really bad injury to my

Qelis tendon and I was in crutches in a full leg cast and that is when I actually had my first entrepreneurial idea. The funny thing is I didn't even know what the word entrepreneur meant. My dad was a doctor, my grandfather's a doctor, there were no entrepreneurs, you know, at that time really in my family, but I couldn't carry my laundry down to the facility because of the crutches. And so I looked in the yellow pages, which some listeners won't know what that is, but I looked in the yellow pages, the early Google, and there was no one that would pick up and deliver my laundry. And so my roommate, was an entrepreneur and we were telling him about this problem. He said, you guys should start a laundry business. And so next thing you know, we bought like an old FedEx truck for 1,500 bucks,

set up shop, started doing people's laundry. I never went back to playing tennis and I dropped out of college and that was the beginning of my entrepreneur path. But so much of what I think has made me a successful entrepreneur is that self-reliance because tennis is an individual sport. You don't have a team to count on. The self-discipline that I had to be training so hard at such a young age. The sacrifices I made, you know, I wasn't out drinking beer with people on Friday night because I had matches Saturday morning. So I really, I love to hire athletes for that reason, you know. I love to hire athletes and I love to hire military. Me too. Because they're unbelievable in terms of their discipline and their focus. And that was

who I was before becoming an entrepreneur. It's fast forward. So you're going to get to sell those things at Bane Capital. Bane Capital, yep. So you get a pretty good chunk of change. You get a nine figure exit, multiple nine figure exit. This is a dude who, I take it if you're starting the business out of an apartment. There wasn't a whole bunch of abundance in your life. So you went from nod that to the big time. What's the daylight?

Just sell the dream to the entrepreneur, the initial dream. Then we'll get to the not so dreamy stuff post But yeah, I'm curious Take us through what that feels like that day where you you know You must have checked an account to go is this real of that? Yeah, tell me that they're like holy this stuff It really is it's you know, it's interesting because I obviously never started Tom's for the money I've made a little bit of money

on my other businesses before Tom's. But, you know, when you get higher, $350 million, you know, you like, I mean, it's just a, I mean, it's a speechless moment. But it also comes with a lot of responsibility. The next day, I gave half of it away. So I wanted to help other social entrepreneurs have the same journey I did. So I created the social entrepreneur fund and put it into a fund to do that. So that was one of the ways that I responded because it was so overwhelming. And then I went on a surf trip, my buddies

and just laughed my ass off that somehow this business that helped people created so much wealth for myself. And in the next year to two years after that, we hired a CEO, I stepped down for the day-to-day operations. I got to explore a lot of hobbies and things that I'd always wanted to do, but never had the time for. And so that was a really, really unique time in my life. You gave away half the money. I did not know that.

Yeah. You're a unique man, brother. I'm like, I already liked you through our friends, but I admire you. Thank you. Or I'm hearing your story. Obviously, you're also gifted with an incredible ability to communicate.

I assume that's something you had with you the entire time. Obviously. You know, I'm glad you brought that up because I think this is important for people who are entrepreneurs, just business people in general. I've never really considered myself a very good public speaker until Tom's. And what happened was I realized that the only way

we were selling these shoes, and at first people didn't like the shoes. They said they looked like karate slippers. They weren't that comfortable. People made fun of them. I mean, this was not like an instant fashion hit, but people loved the story. I mean, they loved the story.

Just lit people up almost in a religious way. And so I realized the only way this was gonna work was if I got on the road and told the story. And so I got an air stream trailer and for 78 days I traveled from LA to New York and back, and I would stop and speak it anywhere that people would listen. A lot of churches were the first places, because this was a great example of, you know, servant leadership and really, you know, giving and using your gifts to serve a bigger cause.

So I got to speak a lot of churches. I spoke at a lot of universities. I spoke at some of our department stores. And so, you know, Malcolm Gladwell talks about 10,000 hours to mastery. I mean, I became an incredible public speaker because I did it every day for years. I mean, one year is pretty fascinating. So I did that. And then the second thing was interesting is it got around that I was a pretty good speaker and especially universities which are always looking for speakers and they have budgets. And so I got a speaking agent and so it was crazy.

I would get paid like five or $10,000 to give this talk. And then I'd sell like $30,000 worth of shoes. So this is the greatest use of my time possible. So one year I did 200 in like 20 events. I mean, I was like a rock star on tour in a sense. I never came home. It was actually a really dark kind of year for me because I got so sick of hearing me speak

that I almost got presented in my own story by the end of it. But I just trained that muscle so well. And so now I do maybe eight or 10 engagements a year. I give all the money to charity. I really do it to inspire people. But yeah, I really learned that craft. But I bring that up and I use this some time to share it that because a lot of people are afraid of public speaking and a lot of people think you either have

it or you don't. But I'm a great example of it is a learned skill for sure. Same with me and I'm really glad that you said that because I use the word gift but I really think it's more of a skill. No, it's built and learn skill. Yeah, mine was the same way. You know, I want to touch on one of the thing that Blake said there and then we're going to talk about the post sale, which by the way, this story gets to me fascinating, even more fascinating guys. That's possible coming up next. But I read a great book a million years ago called Selling the Dream by Guy Kawasaki. I love Guy Kawasaki. It's so nice. And one of the things he says in that book is that he called jobs an evangelical leader of the country. You really, and you use the word religious following.

Yeah. And I think all entrepreneurs need to begin to look at themselves, whether it's the written word, how they use their social media, their print messaging, their advertising, their public speaking, you're an evangelist for the cause that is your company. And to the extent that you begin to be conscious of building those skills about the cause and the mission of your business, of being able to message that and make it infectious, that is a common thread between most successful entrepreneurs as they find some skill set to become evangelists for their businesses. So, all right, here we go. You sell it, 350, whatever the heck you got left after you gave the money away.

You then got married. You've had a life not just about making money. You've had a life of contribution. Given away millions of pairs of shoes, you've given away $100 million plus. You've made a difference in the world. You were young. You're good looking, right? You would look at you and think, now that's what you want.

You got the cash, you had the cause, you created something, you served mankind, you've got a marriage at that time, you must be one happy dude. Right? Yeah. I want everyone to hear this, you can have it all and not have it all, right? Yeah, I want everyone to hear that you can have it all and not have it all right?

Totally. Well, I actually think it's one of the great blessings you know and I and I wish that everyone could have that experience because I think from a spiritual perspective, you almost have to achieve everything you've ever said out to achieve to recognize the very discouraging but ultimately beautiful truth that your inner peace and your wellness and your joy cannot come from external things. And that hit me like a ton of bricks in 2017. I got diagnosed with mild depression. I didn't want to get out of bed. I didn't feel like I had purpose. I had very little energy levels. And I didn't know if my days ahead of me would be better than the days of the past. And that was a very scary place. What made it even worse, and you gave a great prelude to this, is I started to feel a ton of shame because I'm like, I have it all.

I mean, I have everything that everyone wants, and I'm sitting here feeling sorry for myself or feeling depressed, so then the shame on top of the depression was a really, really scary cocktail to be taking every day. So, the good news is, is that I've always been incredibly proactive and I've always been solution oriented. And so after a few months of really dealing with this and a dark way and you know and having you know my wife and many people kind of they're supporting me, I recognize that I needed to learn why

things weren't clicking. I needed to understand like the people who did have it all or had nothing, even more importantly, people who had very little material success, who had very mundane jobs, but were experiencing high levels of well-being and flourishing and thriving. What were they doing that I wasn't doing? What did I miss in all this? That was the question I asked. And at the time, I met a good friend now, a gentleman named Pat Dossett, who was a Navy CEO for nine years, and we connected over surfing. But during our surfing sessions,

I found out that he had a incredible fascination with helping people live their best lives, really getting to the state of flourishing. And when I talked to him about my story, what he came back with is he said, my guess is, in a sense, is that in all this work and all this building that you did, you probably neglected some of the basic fundamentals of mental and physical health that are part of the reason why you have this shaky foundation. And he said, you know, I would love to help you and to work with you, but I think what we need to do is really go to science because there's too many fads out there, there's too many, you know, self-help, this, that, whatever.

So what about, like, let's go, you know, really meet with some scientists that have studied it from a neuroscience perspective of what causes people to really live their best lives. And I said, great, I'll fund the research and let's start with, you know, neuroscience because that seemed to be a really great place to understand. And we met this scientist named Andrew Huberman who runs a lab at Stanford. And Andrew was totally up for this challenge. He was very excited to get some of the findings in his lab, outside of the lab,

and into my life initially, and into the general public. And so we set out on this incredible journey that was really for me just trying to get me to feel better initially, but the more that I started finding these practices and habits, we're basic fundamental practices like being properly hydrated or optimizing the perfect night's sleep or understanding the power of gratitude. I mean, really simple practices, but seeing the science, it was undeniable how it could

affect your life and me implementing them and starting to see me feel so much better My natural inclination is we have to share this with the world So Pat and Andrew and I and about eight other scientists for about two years Worked on developing a program that people could do within their own homes It would have to go to a expensive retreat center or some, you know, other big in commitment They could do it in their homes. And one month at a time, we would teach them basically 10 practices that would totally transform their life

and really insulate them from all these challenges of modern living that are causing so many people to have mental and physical challenges. And that's what we've been working on for the past two years. Okay, so guys, this is a business also. Again, born out of a cause, to be able to like, it's called made for. We're gonna talk about that in a minute,

but I wanna talk about some of those key habits that changed. You said something there that I relate to, which is a little bit of the shame for the depression you feel. And when I was prepping for this interview, I'd be honest with you, I got a little emotional reading about it with you Yeah, how much I relate to it and how much I

You and I both know the majority of the people we know that most people look at that have achieved some sort of financial status or status in general some of this to some extent and And it's because we've been told our lives that if we accomplish these external things, that's the key to happiness. And, and that is unfortunately a lie that you're, you're only going to experience the joy and happiness when you are able to do it from the inside out. Agreed. One thing I want to say, this is going to sound like I'm swimming upstream just for a second because we're really going to dive into this because it's important to me. One of the things I, when any time I go down this road, because what I love about you, you're

like me, I like tactics and strategies. Yes. Actionable things to do, which is why I love made for. Yeah. We'll talk about that in a second, but I want to say one thing everybody, before we go down this road, external things and achievements will not make you happy. Even the contributions you make will not necessarily make you happy. Having said that, sometimes people who have not yet got to their optimal level of performance can use a conversation like we're about to have to check out from the pursuit of their

ultimate potential. And I want to know, you want to have another formula for a life that feels unfulfilled. It's not striving towards your ultimate potential. It's not assuming the better versions of yourself. Absolutely. Looking very clear, we want you to achieve and contribute at the optimal level you can, well moving from gratitude to wellness to whatever you'll term it, Blake. So I just want to make sure I've said that before we go there. No, I think it's not an and, I mean, it's not an or it's an and, you know, it's really this idea that, you know, connecting to your purpose and your ambition

and creating something is incredibly powerful. And during that time, I was the happiest I've ever been. But when you get to that destination, if you think that that destination is the end all, you're going to have a very rude awakening. But in some ways, that's a beautiful thing. Every spiritual text I've ever read, it always talks about how suffering is the path to God. Suffering is a way for really inner growth. You've got to hit that roadblock so that you have to turn internal. When you do, that roadblock so that you have to turn internal. And when you do, then it opens up a whole new level of joy and contentment that, frankly, it's hard to imagine until you're there.

I agree. I couldn't agree to more than join us so much, just, you know, because I just know the value everybody's getting and it makes me happy just to know. Let's talk about a few of these steps. I don't want to get away all of May for because I'm not people who participate in a business, but one type of just a couple key items here.

Yeah. The word neuroplasticity is sort of this new vote word that everybody uses. It's probably been used by 11 guests on my show at the last 25. And guys, basically that just means is your brain can change. Yeah.

And, but I know that's one of the keys to sort of some of the fundamental things here. Give us a key to helping change our brain. A key to neuroplasticity if you would. Just one of yours. Sure. Well, I'll say that you know that after doing all this research, there were a couple things that were just undeniable that really formed the creation of the program, which in some ways is quite radical compared to many things out there. The first was, is that you really can't learn a new keystone habit or practice simultaneously with learning other things.

So, your brain has to go into this state of deep learning, almost a session, and it needs to do it for 30 days. 21 to 30 days. 21 to 30 days is kind of the right. So the problem is sometimes, some of you might listen to this podcast and we'll talk about several things, it's really hard to take all that and implement it,

or they read a great book or whatnot. The key we found was that we've moved away as a society to this philosophy of deep learning. And so one of the keystone practices I've made for is we only teach you one basic thing at a time for 30 days. I mean, in some ways, it almost would be one it to feel monotonous because that's how the circuitry in your brain is creating new pathways. Like for all those people who've seen the movie karate kid, I always use this analogy when you know

Mr. Miyagi makes them wash the cars right and so he's waxing and waxing and waxing and he's like Why the fuck am I doing all this waxing and he's getting frustrated? But he keeps doing it because he believes in Mr. Miyagi. Then next thing you know he's got the perfect karate chop That is a little bit of what's happening with made for We sequentially take you through challenges month by month for 10 months that are very simple. We want to give you the minimum effective effort to get the maximum result. But ultimately what it does is it allows you to learn, put the sustain and integrate this new habit.

Everyone knows most of the things that we're going to teach you, or they've at least heard of them, but very few people have been able to have them stick. So that's one of the things that we're going to teach you, or they've at least heard of them, but very few people have been able to have them stick. So that's one of the main things. And then the second thing, and this is the probably more radical one in this day and age, what we learned was the program had to be completely analog. There's no digital app. There's no tracking device. There's nothing digital is.

And literally, we send you a kit in the mail into your house once a month and everything you need for that month is in that kit and it's a 100% analog. And because the problem with today is we get so digitally distracted. And if we're having to look at a smart watch or this or that to let us know how we should be feeling or how we're doing,

we're not internalizing this in a way that can be sustainable. And so in order to go from this fixed mindset, which is when we think that our brain is just always going to be the way that it is, to a growth mindset where the neuropath ways can change, we have to really commit to this practice of one thing a month for 30 days and doing it in an environment where we will not be distracted. All of you that can't afford to do this

should participate and go to mate for it. You just should, and we're gonna talk about how to do that in a second. Those of you that can't, I'm gonna give them some help here too. And so, we have to talk about, I wanna go to a couple things really quick. People talk about a lot,

but I wanna go a little deeper because you've gone deeper. So hydration. Yes. It's one of the key platforms in the plan. And I want you to talk about what that looks like, why it's so important, and basically what someone would need to do to achieve it. And I want to go back to one thing, like said, guys, complexity is the enemy of execution. And if you can be a total total immersion in something human beings can make

Quantum changes with total immersion. I have a friend of mine who just learned to speak Spanish at 50 years old I said how they can you kind of look at me like I was crazy I just immersed myself in it for 60 days, bro like you can do it too 1100 other things I decided to learn Spanish for 60 days and he got it. So emergence important, talk about hydration from your perspective though. Sure. Yeah, so hydration is one of these amazing things that I think we all think we drink enough water, but we really don't understand like what is the right amount of water for us.

And there's a lot of myths out there that we have to debunk and we spend a lot of time during this month talking about those. But really, 70% of our body is water, which I think is also a beautiful connection that 70% of our planet is water. There's no coincidence there. And really, what people have always been worried about or try to prevent this word dehydration. But the problem is is by the time that you're dehydrated, you're really kind of fucked. Like, I mean, people worry about this

like massive loss in water, but even a 1%, the science shows a 1% decline in your optimal hydration will affect your mood, it'll affect your energy level, it'll affect how your internal organs are working and definitely it'll affect your sleep. So hydration is like the most important fundamental thing for you to have the best opportunity to physically feel your best every day. Now not everyone should drink the same amount of water and this is where we get into

trouble because we've heard eight glasses of water or this amount of water, but it's really, and this is what we help you with made for, find out the exact recipe for you. And that is based on, you know, your body weight, based on what climate you live in, based on how much physical activity, even your diet. So if you're on a mainly plant-based diet,

you're getting so much water that's stored in those plants. Versus if you're on a more meat diet, there's not as much water to it. So we help you figure out exactly how much water, with made for every month, what you get is you get the science. It's like kind of, you know, kind of compile down to like a 20-minute read. So think of it like a long magazine article that really makes the scientists come to life and an entertaining digestible way. But then you also get a tool that's gonna help you learn

the new habit. And so with hydration, we designed a special water bottle that keeps track of how much water you're drinking and kind of gives you a dopamine hit. Every time you get to move a little bead, once you finish one of the bottles. And so that really helps you fine tune with how you're feeling based on how much water you're drinking. But the everything that's interesting, and we try to do this in every month, and even if you don't do made for,

I think this is a great thing to do, is when you commit to something like, I'm going to drink this amount of water every day for 30 days and document how I feel, this goes back to the neuroplasticity thing. What you're also doing is you're proving to yourself that you can stick to something, just as simple as water. So then the next challenge comes as easier because I did that for 30 days.

So now I can do this for 30 days. And so that is a big part of it. If your friend is a Spanish, I'm sure he's going on to learn new things now, because he proved to himself that if he focused on something, he could really achieve it. And so that is something that is kind of baked into the whole philosophy. But hydration is, I mean, I can never, you know, got enough. I mean, one thing I used to have to do,

it's interesting, is in the afternoon, I'd get tired if I was working a lot, right? And I would have a espresso shot. That was my way of kind of going from three o'clock to seven or eight o'clock, with high productivity. Now, I just chug, you know, a half a liter of water, and within 10, 20 minutes, I have energy. It's amazing.

Yes. Guys, I want to, one thing I want to add to that what Blake's saying is, you know, this dehydration concept, you've got to be really be careful. Your blood gets thicker. There's all these really negative elements to it. We're talking about proper hydration here. But what I love about the program is I've said for years

that I think self-confidence comes from keeping small promises that you make to yourself. I love that. Yeah, that's beautiful. And what's baked into this program, guys, is simple promises. You're going to keep to yourself. So not only are you getting these tactics and tools to improve your life, but you're also kind of in an environment where you're not forced to, but if you do, you've kept these promises you made to yourself, you'll transform your identity, you'll transform

yourself confidence. So, connecting to water is also sleep. Yes. Yeah. And I have other faith. I'm fasting, because I want to learn more. I've had some sleep experts on, but what is proper sleep? How do you bake it into the program and other little tricks you do to get better and more

optimal sleep. So, it's interesting because I say this was people always ask like what when you were doing the research before you even had the idea for the business but you were just trying to get to feel better and you're meeting with the scientists and you're learning these things. What was the thing that had the biggest impact on you the fastest and that was when I optimized my sleep? And really optimizing your sleep is not just about what you do before you go to sleep, but also the proper way to wake up.

And that was really fascinating to me too. Because of what happens is, and I'll back into it in a second, but the number one enemy of really getting great sleep and waking up properly is using your phone as an alarm clock. That is absolutely enemy number one because people, even if they say, oh, I don't check my text messages and emails in bed or I don't watch a YouTube video, they do.

It always happens. You know, they have an idea or effort, they go to bed, they go, oh, shut you to order that on Amazon. Then they go to Amazon and they order it and then they see a text message notification is from their boss their boss is pissed And now they have all this stress and they're not gonna sleep well The everything that happens is is if you use your alarm clock Your your phone is the first thing you do when you wake up is you go to turn your alarm off and you see a text pop in And now your cortisol level spike and that is the worst way to start your day. So I'll go through my whole

protocol but just if there's one thing that you listen to right now, go buy an alarm clock, cost you like $7, $10 on Amazon and never ever bring your phone into your bedroom again. Like do not have a charging, I have a charging station in my bathroom, and I put my phone there every night, and I never, ever let it go into my bedroom. So that is one of the hats. And so with Madeful, we designed a very beautiful special alarm clock

that everyone wants to have sitting on their bedstands, made of bamboo, it's beautiful. And so that's one of the tools that you get in the sleep month. But the other thing is it's about preparing for sleep. So we probably have heard that it's not great to be getting a midding blue light into our eyes before sleep. So that's binge-watching Netflix, that checking your email. You know, I think the science says between one to two hours is optimal

to try to have no more screen time. And what I found, the beautiful thing of that is when you commit to that and you read more. And when you read more, you're once again building yourself confidence, you're building your knowledge, you're building all the things that go into a growth mindset. So number one is try to get off those screens within two hours and going to sleep. Another thing is room temperature. Room temperature is really important. Even if you're someone that gets cold easy, just get more blankets. Because that creates that cocoon feeling, that wound feeling that we had before we were incarnated. And so the thing is, as you've got to have room temperature, 67 to 68 degrees is pretty much

with a science degrees on right now. But changing that for me made a huge difference And so that was that's one other way the another way to prepare for sleep is you've got to be Absolutely pitch black so you cannot have any lights blinking you cannot have any sunlight coming in I mean I live in Jackson hole it doesn't get dark to 10 o'clock and I go bed at 8.30 or 9 most nights because I have young kids and they go to bed early and I gotta get up early. So what we do, one of the things also we send you with made for is we design a beautiful silk eye mask. And so if you can't actually change your shades because it's cost prohibitive in your

room to have blackouts or whatever, then you can always put an eye mask on which completely blacks it out. to have blackouts or whatever, then you can always put an eye mask on, which is completely black set out, and that's a really, really big thing to do in preparation for sleep. And then it's all about the waking up. And so I have, and this is something that, you know, I really believe strongly about of having some form of a morning routine that you do consistently every day to get your day going right. If you're a parent or you're really busy, you don't have a lot of time to yourself during the day. So this is often the only time you have yourself

for any type of contemplation, any type of meditation, any type of journaling, any type of prayer life. So what I really like to do, and this goes back to the alarm clock, if I'm not using my phone for my alarm clock My alarm clock can go off and then I know that however long 20 minutes 30 minutes an hour I have to do my morning practice time. I morning practice is three cups of tea and silence Meditations and pranayama breathing and then I'm ready to go and so by the time I've done that and I finally pick up my damn phone,

I can deal with anything. No matter how stressful it is, I am in a calm state. And so that is also gonna help you in terms of how you translate the great night's sleep into a great day. And we've kinda taken you through that in a more nuanced and more scientific way in made for.

But it's another example of like, don't be intimidated that there's going to be crazy biohacking things we're asking you to do. These are really basic fundamental principles that have been proven in science to have huge impacts. You guys, I love that. And I'm going to ask you a question about the cold in a second. But everybody, if you can afford this,

wouldn't it be great just to immerse yourself in one of these skills that's deeply scientifically based every single month? This you really want to make a change make a change this will help you make changes. It's once a month correctly Yeah, so we send you you focus on one new thing a month it lasts for 10 months and And what we really believe is this idea of a minimum viable effort You know, we know how busy lives people have and we don't want the made for intervention to feel like a huge time commitment.

So typically, once you get the kit, it takes about 30 to 40 minutes to understand the whole month protocol, and then it's less than 10 minutes a day of putting your attention on something during the month. So it's not like a huge time commitment, but it is a big mental commitment. And that's part of it,

is that we want you to be making that commitment, because that's showing that you are someone who's not settling just for a mediocre life. How do you do about chili packs? You know, I worked with the chili pad and the bedjet for cool. I personally like the bedjet better. So for those of you who are listening,

or not don't know about these, if you're married or have a partner and you have different philosophies about how cold it should be in the room, which with my ex-wife, that was a huge issue. She wanted it warm, I knew I needed cold. The chili pad or the bedjet can be a great way to regulate your temperature on your side of the bed.

And they both work great. I just prefer the air versus the coils. Okay, cool. I have a chili pad. I didn't know what a bedjet was. I'm gonna look into that. That's cool. All right, one more little hack guys

and then we're gonna talk about made for and ask Blake a closing question. But I think gratitude is something that everybody talks about, but I like strategies for gratitude. Yeah. Practical, tactical steps to increase gratitude in my life. There's a little piece about handwritten notes

that you also talk about that I think is just beautiful. Can you talk about practicing gratitude? Yeah, I mean, I'm so happy you hit, you know, first hydration, densely, then gratitude. Because of the 10 months, these are three of my absolute favorite and who had some of the biggest impact on me. So, a lot of people are familiar with the gratitude journal. A lot of people are familiar with, you know, writing three things you're grateful in the

day before you go to bed. Those are great. Those are like the baseline, baseline foundational practices. But to really look at tactics and strategies at work, we had to really go into the science and really understand what's happening in your brain when you have more intimate, more vulnerable experiences of gratitude. And this is hard for people. I mean, this is one of the months that some people fly through and there's some people that literally don't complete this month until like a year later, because it's just so nerve wracking

for them. So a couple of the strategies and practices, one of my favorites is, is it, and this goes back to kind of rewiring the brain, is we ask you to think of something in your life that was tragic, something that was a huge setback, something that really derailed you. And then we asked you to think about, because that happened, was there anything good that came out of that six months a year or two years later? I mean, I love Garth Brooks and I love one of his songs.

I thank God for unanswered prayers, you know, because that's kind of what this is about. And so, when someone can recognize, okay, I fired from this job, this woman broke up with me. I got broke my leg, my tennis days. And because of that, I ended up doing this. I met the love of my life. I ended up becoming an entrepreneur. I ended up taking my health more seriously. Well, what's happening is we asked you to do a creative writing exercise, were you right to that experience as if it's a person? And you thank them in great detail for what happened and then what came afterwards. Now, by doing that, what's happening in your brain is your brain's like,

oh, maybe when bad things happen, they're actually good. They're actually going gonna be a silver lining in almost every setback I have. So now next time a setback happens, instead of being so against it, you can be curious earlier on, so you suffer less, and you get quickly or to the positive that can come from it.

So that's like a gratitude practice that doesn't really sit. And so that's one of them and then we have about three or four of the things you do during the month. You know, one of them is, you know, helping you get more comfortable with the vulnerability of gratitude. I think especially men have a problem with this, of really looking someone in the eye and telling them how much they mean to them and why they mean something to them. But that can really transform relationships. And we've seen that with a lot of our members.

Your life has improved other lives, bro. Thank you. Super cool. Thank you. I just, it's worthy of saying out loud, you know, I know you live that every day and people tell you that, but how cool is that? And what's really awesome is, you're a human being, and so is everybody listening to this.

Yeah, well be. When everybody here in their way was born to do something special and great with their life, and you'll eventually find that if it's your intention, make it your intention. And so, made for is awesome. And for those that can afford it, those that don't, you just got some unbelievable keys

and tips, those that can, how do those that don't, you just got some unbelievable keys and tips. Those that can, how do they go there and how do they participate? Sure. So, a couple of things. So, you can sign up for the program at getmadefor.com. That's the only digital experience you'll have to have with us, signing up, g-e-t-m-a-d-e-f-o-r-d-com. And what we do is we take people by, we create monthly classes.

So if you sign up, I don't know what's the date today, today's in the June. So you would be in the July class. And so we like to batch people. And it's right now it's about 500 people per class. And then now we think about it. Probably this will come out in July, you'll be in the August class. Okay, August class. Yeah. And so the nice thing is, is you have some people, strangers initially, but you sometimes

bond with them, that you really have some accountability. We do have a private Facebook group that we don't make people participate in, but we have about 80% of the people participate. So they can share like, oh, I'm struggling with this or that. But the best thing about the classes is that really bond you each month to what you're learning. So you sign up at getmade4.com. And then the thing with, in terms of cost, one of the really important things for me was to think about how we could reach as many people as possible.

So the program's $75 a month, which for a lot of people, especially during this time, is cost prohibitive. But if it's not cost prohibitive, I highly recommend signing up. But we also created a program called Made for Everyone. And this is our scholarship program. It's very robust. So if you go to the website and you're like, I can't afford 75, but I can afford 35,

well, we can meet you there. And so we have a whole scholarship program that is in the top right hand corner of the website. You click on, get the right of a small essay about, you know, why you want to do it and what your financial situation is. But we really pride ourselves in trying to get anyone who has that commitment, who has that intention to be part of the program. Rob, you're so great. That's wonderful. Thank you. I got so much on. I don't want this to end so it's not just yet, okay? So I want like bonus round now, just a little bit. Great.

If someone had the good fortune of getting a one-on-one meeting with you, I'm gonna bring them into this with you. Okay. They ran into you at Starbucks. Yeah. It's okay, man. Can I have 30 minutes? Please.

Five minutes. Yeah. And, you know, I want to change my life. This is a broad question, but I want to change my life. This is a broad question, but I want to change my life. I know where I am right now is not where I want to be or who I want to be five years from now. And I'm not exactly sure where to just literally begin. Yeah.

What would your council be to that person who asked you that question? Sure. So I think I would have a little bit of council different based on age. So let me start with someone who is 35 and younger. I think when the biggest challenges or mistakes that we tell young people in that 35 and younger bracket is that they should have a vocation where they can make as much money as possible and they sacrifice their passion and their wellbeing and their happiness to do so.

What I have found is, and it sounds a little bit like a cliche, but I continue to say it, is if you immerse yourself, especially in your 20s, but even in your 30s, in whatever you find, the most just fascinating and the most passionate, and no matter if you

make barely money and you have to have four roommates and you have to have other jobs, but if you're passionate about something, you'll become great at it. And anyone who becomes great at anything makes money. So I say, like, you know, in your early early years do not take a job because it is revered and applauded and you make a bunch of money unless it is deeply tied to your deepest passion because you might make more money than your friends in your 20 and 30s but I guarantee you won't make more money than your friends in their 40s and 50s if they follow their passion. And the truth is most people make their real money and their 40s, 50s and 60s.

So that would be my advice for someone 135. Great advice. The second piece of advice I would give, and this would be for, on top of that, for people are young, but also people who are older, is it's all about momentum. It really is momentum, you know? And so it's all about these small steps. So Pat, my partner in Made For, incredibly amazing human, Navy SEAL, he says that one of the things that he learns

in the teams was it was this crawl walk run. You've got to learn to crawl first, then you walk, and then you run. And so if someone wants to change their life, unfortunately so many people want to make these massive changes and they never stick. And this is very much in why we created Made For The Way We Created.

So I would say is find the few little things that you think are holding you back and make really small commitments that you can keep. Like you said earlier, these commitments to yourself, and get those going to build momentum. So then you can address the bigger challenges in your life. I was an example and this is a really, really personal. You know, I thankfully have never had a problem with alcohol in the way that friends of mine who become alcoholics and who had to get sober half. But I realized two years ago that I was using,

two beers a night, a glass of wine night, two glass of wine night to numb myself because I had recognized that I was very unhappy in my marriage. I am best friends with my ex-wife now, so I can say this and we did a lot of incredible work, and we're incredible co-parents, and we had this beautiful relationship together,

but I don't think after seven years, neither of us were really thriving. And I knew that, but I was so committed to being a great dad, and I was so committed to the vow that I made on our wedding day, that I was, you know, going to stick with it, no matter what. And so I was finding that I was numbing myself by having those two beers every night or two

glasses of wine. And I don't even know how I decided to do this. I said, you know what, I'm going to try some just like 30 days, 100% sober test, you know, and see how I feel. And in these different experiences, the sobriety where I didn't have that to fall back on. This is a small little thing, giving up two beers a night. It's not that big a deal. But in that, I was able to see that I really was unhappy and that we really need, and she

was unhappy and that we needed to address this. And so through that little commitment of making a change in my life, it actually led to making a huge change in my life, doing this conscious and coupling program, and now having an incredible relationship with my ex-wife. And so that never would have happened. I never would have think of it over the face, the reality of that situation, had I not taken on that little 30-day sober challenge. Really good, brother. God, that's so good.

All right, last question. A lot of noise in the world, I made a post about this today. And by the way, a lot of the noise worthy of our attention and focus. Sure. You know, sometimes we say, well, these things are distractions. Well, a lot of the social and racial justice issues

that are being talked about in the world today are worthy of our attention. Our phone is talking about energy. Maybe even our money if we have some, right? Yeah. We got COVID still here. Yeah. We got the presidential election, Biden, Trump, all that stuff. You got to send it to the House.

Then you got a hundred things in your own family, all of us do. And then anything else, the media can put out there that in addition to the important things that we, and I find that the people that I know to be the most fulfilled and are also achieving at a high level, have an ability to laser-focused in on what matters to them. And I wonder if you have any counsel for people that,

let's just be honest, brother, there's a lot to pull our energy and time and focus the way from what might be most productive for us to be doing. Any thoughts on that, any strategies, techniques, anything like that, this one is a little bit of a curve ball at the end, but it's something that's relevant to right now. And I wish I knew this by heart, but there's, are you familiar with the serenity prayer? Yes, my dad's been sober 30 years, 33 years. So the serenity prayer at the end, it says something of like, and give me the wisdom

to control the things that I am and to let go of the things that I can't. And so I think there are some things that we can control, for instance, you know, with everything going on with Black Lives Matters, if you have the opportunity to use your voice and your money to, you know, help in this way, then that's something you can control. But then there's a lot of parts of this very complex issue that are out of sight of your control. And so I find that in terms of laser focus, it's, let's focus like COVID is another great example, right?

Like I can control how responsible I am in social distancing and the things that I do, but I also can't control if the spikes happen, and it gets more and more scary. And so I'm not gonna let that spin me out of control. And so I really feel that the people who are thriving when there's so much noise are really focusing on the things that they can control

and letting go emotionally of the things that they can't. And then the second thing is there's this great book called Essentialism. And I think the last name is McEwen who wrote it, Greg McEwen. And he talks a lot about really getting disciplined around the things that actually really matter in your life and really trying to clear house and purge the things that don't. Now this could be physical stuff in your space that you don't ever use that camera again and it's just collecting dust and it creates you know kind of an energetic pull from you or it could be work related. How many of the meetings are you

experiencing and stuff you're doing that really don't benefit the bottom line of your company and having the courage to point that out even to your boss. And I found this for sure socially. Like I am extroverted, I love so people, and I used to say yes to so many things socially. But when I really start getting more disciplined than that, then it cuts out some of that noise and it allows me to really give my time to the things I care the most about. And that's how I have found the best way to deal with just the noise. And it's not going to get any less. It's only with technology, any greater and greater.

I call this the challenges of modern living. And I think modern living has a lot of benefits, but it also has a lot of challenges. And that's one of the things with made for that was really a big part of my passion bringing this program to the public was everyone. It doesn't matter where you are in the economic bracket. It doesn't matter if you're a student or if you're a grandfather, you're dealing with challenges of modern living and so we have to give you the tools and the tactics to make that journey a little bit more peaceful.

Outstanding conversation brother. Like, this is a big fun. It flew by, bro. It flew on there. And I want to thank you for it. You guys, make sure you're following Blake on social media. Make sure that you, and we'll put it up on the screen now

for those of you on video, and obviously participate in made for, I love the scholarship program. And everything about you, I'm so impressed with and I enjoy today so much. So thank you so much, much so thank you so much. Thank you so much that was great. And everybody make sure you share in the greatest show in the world with people that you

care about that you believe in and every day on Instagram remember I run the max out two minute drill follow me on Instagram when I make a post 730 Pacific 1030 Eastern first two minutes make a comment you're in a drawing every day to when coaching calls with me my guests max out gear ride on the jet see me speak Whatever you miss the first two minutes just reply to other people's comments or make a comment on every post I make every day we pick winners from all three of those categories So I can be connected with you in collaborating with you God bless y'all and max out This is the end manager.