Building Discipline and Success: From Humble Beginnings to Entrepreneurial Mastery with Micah McDonald

(upbeat music) - Welcome to the Dennis Postom Show. I'm your host, Dennis Postom, and today I have a very special guest, Micah McDonald. Micah, welcome to the show. - Thank you, Dennis. I appreciate you having me. - Well, hey, I appreciate you taking the time out. I know you're a busy man. So let's go ahead and start. Tell me a short synopsis of what you, what all you do now. - Oh wow. So I've got it dialed in a little bit. For if you'd asked me this question five years ago, I mean, I was in probably 10 different industries, everything from night life to restaurants to medical. I mean, I was kind of had a wide like shotgun approach to the industries that I've been in, but I've learned a lot of lessons in those. So now I've kind of dialed it in. I'm getting a little more laser focus. So predominantly right now, I'm doing a lot of real estate development. - Okay. - Surgery centers, which is kind of an interesting industry to be in, a bit recession proof as well. Got an interesting model that I put together there. I have some of the original businesses, which are kind of in the international trade world. And then I'm taking a, I haven't removed all of the, all the sexy ventures just yet. I've got a tequila, miscal brand that I've been looking on pretty heavily as well. So those are the core ones. I've started a small lending business as well. That's a bit like a hard money lending company, but it's very select at different industries that I'm giving money to. So those are the ones that are pretty dialed in right now. I've moved myself from a lot of the hospitality, entertainment world. Those seem to be like amazing investments in a bit sexy, but I've found that I haven't done as well in those as I do in some other stuff. - It's funny how some of that old school stuff really, really works. I actually just talked to a private family office just about three weeks ago, and they were talking about, you know, we don't even mess with any of that stuff anymore. You know, we do some of that old school stuff, and it's funny how we go back to that. But we definitely need to talk about the hard money stuff too, because I don't own brokerage for that. So we'll talk about that later. - Oh, the way the synergy is here, I like it. - Absolutely, man. We've always figured that out pretty quickly. So let's talk about working 101 right here. - That's right. That's right, we're doing it live here. So let's take it back. Let's start from where you came up from. How did you get to this point and growing up, and how did you get into entrepreneurship? Because that's fascinating to me, being in different industries. I love people who think like that. I love the idea, the way the idea is flowing, how it works. So tell me how, how did you get here? Give us a little background on how you got to where you're at. - Yeah, like a lot of self-made stories, it's humble beginnings, right? You know, I'm one of eight. So seven brothers and sisters grew up in Southwest, Houston in a subdivision called Alief. The folks that are from there, there's a lot of pride for people that kind of grew up in Alief. It wasn't the best area to grow up in, kind of similar stories to a lot of people. So very humble beginnings, but super happy. I mean, it's interesting you have, I mean, it's so little, but you have what you need, and you don't even realize, you know, until I didn't realize until later, like, oh shit, like I don't really have a lot of the stuff that I want. And I think it was that type of thought process that just kind of kept resonating in my mind as I started getting a little bit older. And I think that's what started kicking off kind of the entrepreneurial spirit like inside of me, right? So I'm an interesting case study, like seven brothers and sisters on one of eight. I mean, I'm the only one that has it in me from an entrepreneurial standpoint. I mean, it was just very much, you know, kind of what your taught. Like my dad is amazing father, but he was, I mean, old school. You know, you work hard. You, I mean, he graduated from university when I was six. He was working like four different jobs, you know, putting himself through college. You know, that hard work ethic though was kind of instilled and passed down into me, but it was all about like work hard, get the degree, you know, get that job with corporate America and start that nine to five and work for a company forever until you get retirement and a pension and that type of deal. So things that were being taught to us, like all my brothers and sisters, work hard in school, work hard in life, have a hard work ethic, I'll work everyone no matter what it is that you're doing. You know, get the grades, go to school, get the degree, go work for the, you know, biggest company you can and they'll take care of you. Yeah. Or do that for 40 years and then you might have a retirement. You know, they'll take care of you, you'll have your retirement, you'll have your pension and you know, you can sail off into the sunset, not on a yacht, like on a robot or a dinghy. Right. And again, I mean, that's just, you know, that's, you know, that's the, the time that I guess he grew up in, right? You know, right. The same thing with my grandfather, my grandfather, the food passed away recently, very close to him, had a very similar story just about that hard work, roll up your sleeves and just put that work in. And eventually, you know, eventually it pays off for you, right? And we'll get recognized and you'll move your way up and you'll make the money and things like that. So it didn't take me long to realize, like, hold on, I feel like there's some flaws in this thing. In this theory and just observing, I've always been even young. I just watch and I see life and like, okay, you're getting up at six o'clock in the morning every morning. You're out the door at 6.30, you know, your home at 4.30 and everything was so regulated. But I'm like, it just doesn't seem like it's a very, like, fun, happy existence, you know, and then you do this forever and then what? So this was young. So I think entrepreneurial spirit was just kind of inside me. Right. Just things that I kept, you know, thinking about and resonating. And I was like, and I wanted stuff when I was younger. It's very just logical in my mind. Like, I mean, it's sort of visualizing it or how did it come about? It did. Like I would have friends that would have, I remember little micro machine cars. It was kind of like hot cars, but I remember a friend of mine had like a little Ferrari or red one. Yeah. At the time, I just wanted the micro machine version of it, right? As I got older, the, you know, I was manifesting the real version. But it was like, damn, like, all right, how am I going to give this? Like, I want, how much does it cost? You know, and kind of backed into it. How do I, how do I make money? And this is young. I mean, I'm thinking of this was seven, eight, nine years old. Because whenever this type of stuff is going through my mind, so it's like, okay, how do I, you know, how do I, how do I see the things that I want? And then how do I back into getting those things? And I'm learning with the end in mind, even at that age, that's amazing. That age, it was just something that was inside of me. And I think a lot of, it's like I, you know, I kind of now looking back on it, I kind of think about the mindset of my friends, brothers and sisters. And, you know, you have those things that you want, but then it kind of ends there. Yeah. Oh, I want that. So whether it's the little car when I'm seven years old, whether it's the super car right now, right people like, oh, I want that. And it ends like, oh, so what, you know, there's no immediate action. Yeah, there's, there's, there's a, there's a disconnect in what everyone wants, which is similar, very similar. Yeah. And everyone has that desire and then there's the people that execute and get it. Yeah. And like, and I kind of think now again, you know, as I talk through stuff like this, I just had a young age, it was that, that logical, I want this, what I got to do to get it. I, I'm resonating 100% with what you're saying. I mean, I remember that from Jordan's from when, you know, when people start getting new Jordan's, you're a shoe guy too, man. I know. I see your kicks on Instagram. So, you know, have those because I remember like whenever Jordan's was everything and I had like, and my friends would have them and like, so we grew up in Aley, but my parents did a really good job of trying to get us out into other areas and interact with other friend groups and things like that. So like, I remember I had like what I call my rich friends, right? Yeah. At the time, it's probably middle class to be honest, but they would have Jordan's, right? They'd have, and I had these like literally the fake Jordan's that you get like it, whatever you get the pay less or what, and they were from a distance like it'd be like, oh, he's got the JSON and then you get close and they're like, no, no brand. And I was like, again, it was the same process. These things cost, you know, the time I think what, $130, $140, you know, and I would back into it. I'm like, alright, what can I do? I'm, I'm 12, 13 years. You know, a long, long, I mean, it was back and into just basic stuff. It's like, I have to mow my yard. I don't want to. I'm being forced to do it. I do it because it's my chores and I have to. My neighbor probably doesn't want to do it either. My neighbor's neighbor doesn't want to do it. So it's like, okay, how do I back into the amount of money to charge? So five yards to me equal to pair of Jordans. And I remember the first pair I got with my own money. And I was doing this stuff kind of, you know, 'cause to, again, my parents were very straightforward to it. That was the stupidest thing you could ever spend money on. Like you're crazy. Who would $140 for issues? These are eight dollars. I get these for eight, you know, so it was crazy. The crazy concepts, you know, $140 is probably what they were spending on food for all 10 of us for the whole month, right? Yeah. Remember, I remember mowing yards, having enough money, getting a friend of mine to give me on his handlebars on the bike to go to them all. First pair of Jordans I got and bringing them home. And little, I mean, it was like, it was like just that shining light. Like, yeah, from the heavens coming down. And I remember just like looking at, I just had him, like, I would just stare at him at night. Like, I'm wearing him out, had him hit, I'd go into my room and just look at him. Make sure he didn't scuff him. Yeah, make sure I didn't scuff him, all that stuff. And then I remember my brother came in a song, a song one night and was like, I know it, and ran off and told my parents found out about it. And I got like that two hour lecture of the value of the dollar of hard work. And I'm like, I know how hard it was. I'm the one that worked for this. And first, they thought I'd stole them. They thought I'd stole them from a friend or, 'cause how are you gonna get 150 bucks? What are you doing? Right. So it's just those things and connecting the dots of what I wanted and how am I gonna get to what are the steps that I have to take in order to give what I want. And that was just in me. That entrepreneurial spirit or whatever you wanna call it. It was just, I mean, it was part of my DNA. Tell me about, like, I love that because, you know, I have a similar, you know, when I was growing up, we did a lot of bail and hay, pitch and manure, things like that, working, you know, we didn't get an allowance. We had to earn our money. So. - A far more. - Yeah, exactly. So very similar as far as that goes, it's higher earning the money to get whatever you wanted. But tell me about how utilizing both sides of that brain almost, like using the work ethic, because you have that work ethic in still. And I think a lot of people just stick with it and they have work ethic and they just do, you know, whatever the job may be. But if you have the work ethic and then you have the entrepreneur side and you merge those together, which is what you're talking about, how did that value of the dollar and that hard work, how did that merge together and do you feel, can you tell how valuable that was to learn the hard work, but then also use it towards entrepreneurship? - But now you touch on something so important there, because they're different, they're so different. And in fact, the more money I make now, the less I'm working for it, so to speak, like those hard work, hard work, 20 hours a day, dial in, dial in, no. So the stuff I'm doing now is so targeted and so strategic. It's maybe two hours a day, but the number, but it's, so it's connecting those two, because you can be the worker. - Yeah. - And I love those people. I love those people that just wanna, you know, work hard and they give you 110%, and they're gonna do everything for you, they're gonna be loyal, they're gonna be, and because that takes up so much time, effort and energy, those people aren't the ones making most of the money, that I've seen, right? - Right. - Now it's not to say that's not part of the stepping stone and you have to put that work in and get the experience in the education, which is, and then they merge to me. And that's what it was for me, it's like, okay, like I'm working extremely hard, I'm putting in all these hours, how much money am I making? It's taking up all my time. Is this gonna be able to grow in scale? You know, always kind of looking at and say, okay, is this the best use of my time? You know, things like that and having to realize, you know, when to merge that kind of entrepreneurial side, but that all just goes to me, I think, through time, wisdom, talking to the right people. But there's so much talk about, I'll just get a network of rich friends, you know, find the guy that has a Lambo and just follow him around and like, boss, Moses, all the sudden, like you're gonna have a Lambo, whatever. You know, there's some truth and value to that in a sense that you need to get around people that have done some of these things. - Right. - In kind of guide and mentor and talk you through some of these things, 'cause I didn't know any of the stuff. I mean, I, it was all trial and error for me. But if I'm sitting here, you know, mowing yards every day and every yard on most 20 bucks, you know, at the time, and it takes me an hour to do it, I'm gonna cap out of the certain amount. - Right. - Out of what? There's a certain amount of money I'm gonna make. And those are the hard workers most of the time. Like you're on a salary or hourly wages. You work so much and you occupy that time that you don't have the time, effort and energy to really think about scaling it, making more money. How do I grow this? Is this the best use of my time? And I think all of that just comes through kind of like those hard knocks as wisdom, it's time, it's being around people who've started businesses, who've figured out how to scale it, who's taking the lumps, taking the Ls, and people to marry it. And you gotta realize for a lot of people, like there's some people that are such good entrepreneurs and they visionaries. Work ethics terrible, right? So let's say you get to the people that are those hard workers and connect it, invite them. So if I'm the hard worker but I don't have the vision, you know, I've gotta get, you know, I've gotta somehow figure out how to, I'm married those up together. The airfew that have both, those are the dangerous ones though. That's exactly right. That's where I'm getting to have both that are dialed in on both and realize where to put that hard work, effort and energy, consistency, discipline, in the best way possible and scale it and give the most value. Those are the really, really dangerous ones that are out here changing really the world. I agree 100% on that. And tell me a little bit about how you came to get so focused with what you're doing now and how that brought into, you know, like dialing in with what you're doing and you know, how do you get away from the distractions and like being just coming in and now you've got all these businesses that you're in and now dialing into being focused. How do you, how did you get to that? - A lot of trial and error. - There's so many chapters that you have that I've gone through. I look at it, I almost feel like I've had like six distinctly different lives. - Yeah. - Different human being. - Yeah. - It's that interesting part when you make a little bit of money and you're like, hey, look at me, you know, you think you've got a lot, you know, all of a sudden you get that first super car, you know, you start getting the recognition from having money, things like that and that's whenever like the distractions like, yeah, blood in. And that's, I think that happens a lot, especially now, there's so many ways to make money and you make it so young. - Yeah. - I have a lot of the core values and discipline and things like that and still in you yet. So it's so easy to just, you know, veer off. And unless you have, you've set up a money machine that sets there and keep throws and throwing income at you, you're gonna burn through it, right? You see a lot of athletes do it again, a lot of YouTubers. I mean, just, you make so much money young and that's what those, all those people have in common. You make a ton of money young and you don't have like, the set of core values around it to say, okay, I'm gonna keep, you know, making this money and I'm gonna learn how to preserve it and move forward. - Yeah. - I think there's a lot more work to do. - It's hard to keep it, right? - It's harder to keep it for me. So like, there's nothing, and there's nothing but distraction once you get it. 'Cause those are the things you're looking for. Like, I mean, as a young man, I'm like, I want the cars, I want the money, I want the clothes, I want the girls, you know, it's all these things. And once you start getting access to those things and getting them, it's hard not to just go completely into the deep end. - Yeah. - And then, and very quickly, I don't care how much money is in that bank account, that money's gonna be gone, right? - You will learn, yes. - Learn, so I think it's so valuable that to, and it's hard to do, but if you can try to remove all of those things that are distractions and by removing those, then you're forced to do things that I think will help build discipline and consistency. So when it does come, then you are better, kind of tooled up on how to maneuver through it. It's so difficult, but you've got to remove all the nonsense because it'll engulf you and take over. - How did you do that and stay? So like, I understand the phase you're talking about, 100% with that would be a great course. Like, how to go through that first jump up well, (laughs) I mean, I was the poor, quiet, I mean, I, it was, so I mean, childhood wasn't like bad, but it wasn't like, I wasn't, I didn't have any of that swag, anything like that. Like, I was just a, you know, just a poor kid that loves sports, really. - Yeah. - That's how I connected with friends was just through sports. I mean, I didn't have any girlfriends. I wasn't like, I mean, I wasn't, I mean, I didn't have any of that stuff, right? I didn't have any of the tools to even getting that. It just was good at sports, and that's how I connected, that's how I made friends. Go ahead. - Was there anything that was there anything that like happened when you get, when you went, when you started rising so quickly, was there anything that happened to bring you back down the humble you to get you back into the place to where you started focusing on discipline being a like consistent again, was there anything that happened in particular? Did it just like was it just like growing up type thing? I think a lot of it was growing up. I remember I remember like a few stories like so in in in in Houston. I that's where I grew up. So and I went through school and did all of those things. And and when I was in my early 20s, like when most of most, you know, friends and everything, they're out there, you know, in the clubs, they're drinking doing all this stuff. I didn't do any of that. I mean, I was still I didn't know how I was going to, you know, make money or whatever. But I remember friends asking me to like, hey, let's go out and see this. I'm like, well, I don't have any money for that. You know, I don't have money for drinks. My girls drinks, you know, I'm not going to let you buy me a drink like, you know, until I can support myself. I'm not going to do those things, right? And then when I start getting a little bit older and started making a little bit of money, I'm like, all right, cool. I can kind of go out and this is this like 26 27 28 like a bloomer type stuff. So I remember going to the clubs and trying to get in. I just stood in line. My friends would be inside. I'd be waiting. I wouldn't get in like I this happened for months. And then you know, the business started keeping doing well. So I had some more, you know, expendable income. I could buy some drinks. I would just stand outside. I'd just get rejected, right? You know, I didn't even know how that world worked. Right. For a, I remember I had, I had made a decent amount of money at this point. I guess I was a millionaire at this point, right? In 20, what 28 29 in a friend of mine who was kind of a similar business partner was going to buy for Ari. And I was just just finished playing basketball at the gym. He's like, go check this for Ari out for me. And I remember I went to the for our dealership and I'm like, Hey, I want to look at this car. Maybe test drive it. They laughed at me. They're like, we don't, you don't test drive for Ari. So I'm like, how do I know if I want it? Yeah, exactly. But they treated me like shit. And I remember having enough. I knew exactly how much money I had in the bank. And I remembered like seeing how much this one brand new for Ari on the showroom cost. And I remember the manager literally just ignored treating me like shit, treating me like I was a bum that like shouldn't even be in the store. And there was a new guy that had just got a job sales job there. He came out, came around the corner and he was eager and he's like, Hey, can I help you? And I'm like, yeah, I'll take that one right there. And there's a brand new for Ari California. It was when the California's had come out brand. It had teriyaki interior like why it was gorgeous. And I wrote down the number of my banker. I had a banker now. And I was like, call her. She'll why are you the money is done. And the manager came back out a few minutes later and was like, Oh, so I'm sorry, sir. What was your name? I was like, I was like, Mike, he's like, Oh, can I get you in anything? And I looked over at Randy. He was the sales guy. And I was like, yeah, me a Randy were thirsty. We need water. So I told the manager, you know, go get water. So that's how I got that's how I got my first at the time I was driving a Ford truck, I think, maybe. Yeah, went from Ford truck to Ferrari. It's a good job. Branded and then a tell me why I pulled up to the club the very next time. And it's like the, it's like the, the, the seas parted. I mean, I felt like I was Moses walking the lights through the sea, right? And I was like, and I remember that, that rush of adrenaline I got whenever that happened. Because I've never had that in my whole life. And now all of a sudden, I've got looks. I've got recognition, you know, girls trying to talk to all this stuff that just came literally just because I pulled up in a brand new. Ferrari was wild. So like that. And then before you know what I had a little launch rush, you know, that was them with me. You know, I was getting tables. I was doing all this stuff. I was, you know, a lot of that went on for a while. I spent a lot of money doing that. Yeah. And that happens. Yeah. Yeah. You get memories. But I remember looking up and I'm trying to think back to your original question about, was there a moment that kind of dialed me back? It was a lot of learning and seeing these people. I was again, very observant. I've always been so. So I look at how people are acting, how they're treating me. You know, you start realize, okay, all the love you're getting is fake love. You know, it's like kind of the roots and like the morals and core values that were instilled in me growing up started like peeking out. I'm like, this person is in a round you for the right reasons. Or this person is not around you for the right reasons. I'm going to start dial that back. Yeah. A lot of, I mean, a lot of stuff happened. And as it continued to happen at one point in time, you know, fast forward. I had to, I literally cut off every friend I had for. I was like, this is, I've accumulated so many people. It's a weird feeling like you just accumulate so many people and so many things and so much energy. You're like, oh, what is going on? Yeah. And the only way for me to combat that was literally just a clean cut. That's one of the toughest things to do. And I think for people as they're rising and those people latch on. Do you have any advice to how, how people should start looking at that? Obviously, it's the five people that you allow to influence you, whether it be a digital market or a digital mentor, that you allow to influence you and you watch or somebody on a podcast or whatever it may be. How did you get rid of those people and then how, how are you able to keep your integrity and keep honest and lead by example. Through all that to get to and then when I want to talk about like having the proper network after that. How did you get through that? And it's a battle because with all of that. It starts to be kind of how you identify yourself and how you and how you receive validation from others. So like I became that guy, right? So especially like coming from like most of my friends kind of came up in similar situations as me and work hard. But not a lot of money. Right. So then I became like the, you know, the one with money or whatever. And a lot of those people didn't know me prior to that or anything. So, but you just start to that's how you kind of identify yourself like growing up and playing sports. So, you know, through college, I was the athlete. Yep. When my neighborhood, I was the wide dude that could who, you know, you, there's certain things that like you start, which was wasn't bad being the athlete, not a bad, you know, not a bad thing to be. Right. Having that kind of like adoration from people watching you play sports and things and then that went away. And then I think I kind of, you know, really kind of shrunk, honestly, and just like one in my now, I'm just the guy that goes to work. You know, I'm I did the corporate job. I was working the corporate job. I was, you know, working out maybe once a week, like, you know, your little nonsense workout really just in their text and like, I mean, I was coming that guy, right? Because I just didn't have. And then, and then, and then getting out of that and then becoming the guy with money. You know, it's that's how you get all your validation. That's who you are. So it's all off all of a sudden. You're like, okay, wait. Now, you know, what what am I exactly? Like what am I up? You know, starting over, right? I started literally starting over what's important. And what, what, you know, what do I want to, again, I think you can be anything that you want. I mean, to me, it was this process of starting at the bottom. A lot of things had happened during the same time. You know, I kind of, you get, you get your heart broken by a girl. I mean, I think a lot of it's through this like at the time seems like the worst strategies, right? Yep. You only knew what you knew now, right? And then you're just like, you know what? You start picking yourself up, get a good foundation and start putting those pieces back on top. But it was just, it was a lot of, I mean, it's a lot of hard work. It's continued hard work. It's right now. I mean, it just continues to always go to try to grow. It's okay. What am I want to build, you know, who I, I want to lead with integrity. I want to be a man of my word. I want to have, you know, have honor. And these are all things you have to like, you know, at least for me work at. Yeah. But we said, in the only way to do that was really to wipe out everything and everybody which hurt at the time. And you lose your identity at the time because, you know, that's who you are. But then you start to dig deeper and be like, okay, what do I really want to be known for? Like what kind of person do I really want to be? You know, how do I really want to lead? Do I want to, am I just leading with money and stuff? And, you know, and girls and cars or do I really want to be a good person? You know, who am I as a man? And that's how I need to lead. And there's no way to do that other than to almost lock your ass up in a room. Yeah. And for sure, yourself to have no distractions, no phones, no anything. And just have nothing but you and your brain trying to figure stuff out. And that's all removing all the distractions. There's too much. If I want to binge Netflix. If I want to get on my phone and scroll social media, I had to cut all that stuff out to get to the core of, okay, who am I? What do I want to be about? Well, I want to talk about the discipline that that takes. But first I want to talk about how did you rebuild? Because you're partners, you have partners and partners are hard, right? Finding the right partners and getting things like, how did you rebuild to get, how do, how important are key relationships? And how did that flow into, you know, choosing the right partners? And how did you rebuild that network of people that you trusted after that? And I've had, I've had some ups and downs with partners. I mean, I understand. You know, close friends. From people you thought you could rely on and trust. I mean, I've been all over the spectrum as far as that goes, right? So you think you're, it's so easy again to just partner with, you know, a friend. Especially once you start doing well, it's like there's so many people that want to partner with you, right? That everyone's got a business idea. You know, everyone's this and everyone's that and you almost feel kind of obligated to do it. And the way that I've had to learn again is through is, is through kind of taking those else. Yeah. From them. The way I approach relationships is A with boundaries. Yeah, matter what it doesn't matter, you know, if that's a friendship, if that's a business partner, if that's a relationship, there's got to be boundaries that you have to live by. I'm okay with this. I'm not okay with this. And it's got to be reciprocal. I mean, the way that we look at it. relationships now, is I kind of have an analogy, not even sure where I picked it up from, but I look at it as deposits in a bank account. For me to have a good relationship with you, I've got to make deposits into that account, but you also have to be making deposits into the account also. If I'm just putting deposits in, and you're just asking for withdraws out, but you haven't put any yourself, I've got to be like, I can't, what? You're asking for things from it, you're asking for withdrawals from this partnership, from this relationship, but you haven't made any deposits into it at all. And if those deposits aren't happening, and there's no value being added to the relationship, it's just not a relationship I can entertain and put anytime to. I mean, through the cutting off process and learning, I mean, the circle of people that are around me is so small, access me is so small, and that's just its quality over quantity. And it's exactly the better adding value. And it's not monetary, like it's not just relationships have so many facets. So it's not just monetary deposits, it's actually much more than that. So it's where is that value at? And I've just started paying attention to like, my body, my mind, my heart. You gravitate towards the things that are good for you usually. Your body knows, like I know what relationships are good, call it energy, call it manifestation, call it destiny. If you're really tuning and pay attention, you know what's good for you and what's bad. You know, you're pretty intuitive and can pay attention to it. So I've just learned to listen to that and be like, this doesn't serve me. This is this relationship's not gonna work. This partnership doesn't work. I mean, I cut things off quickly now instead of giving it time. I know very quickly if things are gonna work. I pay attention to, you know, whatever you want to call it, that energy and intuition. - Yeah. - It's a learned skill over time and you've got to put a lot of energy into it to make sure you find tune it. And even then you might get it wrong. - And I would say listen to us about that too because we've learned this the hard way. So that would be listen to us. If your gut's telling you no, - You're right. There's a lot of stuff you think that you're supposed to be persistent. You know, you see it through, this could work out like, no, it's you'll spend so much time effort and energy on trying to make something work that's not for you that it's better to just cut it and go towards the things that are for you. And to be around, to be in places that, you know, people value you and what you bring to the table. I mean, there was a, there's, you know, a little thing I think it might even have been 50 cent talking about water. And you like you put water, you know, and the grocery store it's a dollar. You know, you have, Jim it's $2 and the airport it's for on a plane it's seven. Same bottle of water. It's just weird valued more in which situations. Do the same for yourself. You know where your value where you're appreciated, where your love gravitate towards those situations and stop trying to make the ones that aren't for you work. You know, that's what I love about our digital age too because like you can, like I have to say just basically without, I might as well just say, game recognized game. So you like with you being able to, you can, you can make friendships and have acquaintances with the world that we live in with traveling and everything. But even Zoom and things like that, you can have conversations with now with people that, you know, you can be like-minded and be able to really just advance your career so much. I mean, the reason we're having this conversation right now, very similar situation. So I think that people need to understand that that's very possible to do. But you mentioned one thing there about cutting off quick. Tell me about taking quick action when it comes to business decisions, money and things like that and partnerships. Tell me about how important that is is I think that's a big key that we want to touch on that nugget. To me, it's everything. I would prefer to move in speed. I know a lot of people that take the slow methodical route. Yeah. Well, name any names, but I mean, even yesterday I had a business meeting with it. It's a collection of like-minded. I call it, it's a biblical term, equally young. So whether that's your relationship with your partner, your business partner is your friends. You've got to be equally young. You've got to be on the same mindset. So get those people together that have the ultimate same mindset, but different approaches to it. Again, very observant. I listen to this slow methodical approach. And I'm like, cool, that might work for you. But now, you know, you're in your 50s or 60s and you're talking about, you know, oh, wanting to get the car I've got. Like, bro, you know what I mean? I'm trying to move fast. I don't want to enjoy these things. My 50s and 60s. I've always been about like, I want to also enjoy the journey and the fruits of my labor now. So I mean, I move quick. And I think to me, it's a skill. Because- Well, to assess things quickly. And this also is where all the distraction gets out of your head. If I'm over here in my phone with 1800 different things going on and this is that, like, I'm not clear-minded. If I was in the club all weekend, I'm not clear-minded. Like, I'm able to move very fast. And I'm on point. And I know that even if I hit a roadblock and I have to go a different way, I'm going to make a quick decision. I'm going to figure out a solution. I'm going to keep going. It's all about execution. And you have to, I'll take 10 steps while someone still has a tent to take that first step. You know, so- And I guarantee them I'm going to lap them. I mean, I'm going to run circles around them. So they're probably going to hit the same roadblocks that I'm going to hit anyway. But I'm going to hit them so much quicker and be able to move around them so much faster and be able to pivot and be flexible. I'm going to perform every time. Because you're going to hit those 15, 10, 15, you're going to hit those roadblocks course correct. And you're going to be pivoting and still continuing for the same goal. And so you're going to be that much further ahead of them. That's-- I love that. Because I really think inaction is probably one of the biggest killers of any business, any type of-- anything you want to do. I think paralysis analysis and inaction, what's the worst that can happen? You just got to-- I mean, obviously, think about it for a second, but then go. I love that. That's the same way. It's not executing that kills so many ideas, so many-- Yeah. And again, it's no matter how you look at it, if you want to put into a fitness analogy. As a deal is, the more you sit there and negotiate with yourself, the thing is Kobe Bryant said, he never do not give yourself one second to negotiate with yourself. The second I start saying, man, should I hit the gym? Yeah, it's a nice. The pool looks nice. My friends are hitting me up. They're on a root on top, having a cocktail. You give yourself one little millimeter to negotiate. You're going to take the easy path. You can't do yourself room to overthink things. There has to be some execution on the ideas. And again, don't-- that's not to say, I'll just do anything and do everything. There has a little bit of intelligence and strategy around it. But then it's, once you have that, go. Got to execute. You never get yourself a chance to negotiate with yourself because you're going to talk yourself out of it. I love it. I love that you say that because that's literally me. Like people talk about my workout and I say, look, here's the thing. I have either my clothes on or my clothes next to the bed with my shoes right there. It's literally, I don't negotiate with terrorists because if that's what I say, I don't negotiate with terrorists. Because if there's any moment of whatever, I have my gym at my house now. If there's no roadblocks for me to working out in the morning-- So I can give yourself the option. Yeah, we're good about that. I can come up with all sorts of reasons why I shouldn't work out. That's it. I've been self-employed for way too long. You battle those demons all the time. So tell me on that, let's talk about what your daily regimen looks like and how important fitness and working out is to keep a sharp focus on what you're doing in business. But me, it's everything. I plan everything else around the fitness component of it, which is-- and I use it, I think, for a lot of things. I mean, it's my-- I was talking to us on earlier when he came in. We were setting up. Is I use it for-- it's like therapy, it's breast relief. It gets me out of my own head with other stuff. It's a limited amount of time that I can just focus on what I'm doing and knock it out. I'm doing something good for myself, which is going to make me feel good, make me feel confident. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling strong. You never feel bad when you're leaving the gym. There's a reason for it. So to me, it's pinnacle. It's above all else. If I just sat here and be in shape and healthy and broke versus a billionaire, who's the Indian dude that just got married, spent $1 trillion with Justin, I look at this dude. I'm like, you're going to die of a heart attack any second. You look terrible. Who cares what you're able to do with your month? That's just me. You look terrible. So I would never switch. I'm taking me all day. I'm betting on me all day. I'm going to be healthy and in shape. And I'm going to figure out a way to make $1 billion. And I'm going to be able to-- Jake, it's the only-- it's the thing I absolutely will never negotiate with ever. I mean, at this point in time, I'll train six, seven days a week. I know I'm supposed to take a rest day. Maybe it's just not for me. For all you need to wait train three or four times a week, I'm not doing it for that. It's just it's so part of my life. It's the hardest thing you'll ever do to try to stay in shape, to try to stay dialed in. It's a walking, to me, a testament to my discipline, my focus, my consistency. If that's not any room I walk into immediately, if they can't tell that about me, maybe I'm a good businessman. Maybe I'm not. Maybe I'm smart. Maybe I'm an idiot. maybe I'm a liar, maybe I tell the truth. One thing that can't be denied is that I work my ass off in the gym and I take care of myself. That doesn't lie. Proof, the proof is there, right? So it's my walking brand. And it's not about vanity or anything else. It's just, what are the numbers? They pop out the numbers. It's easier to be a millionaire than it is to have abs. People that will be in shape in the next five years are like one in whatever million. I mean, so it's the hardest thing that there is to do basically as you get older. So there's something like three million million, there's three million people that have abs in the United States. I have a six million. And to have them at an older age like, come on. To keep them and to keep your fitness dialed in like that. To me, it's just a walking, a testament to a bunch of core values that if for me, those are the types of people that I would want to be around and do business with, have dinner with, break bed with, talk to, because, and then what do you have if you don't have your health? Yeah. Mounting the money and you die of a heart attack. Mounting the money and you're out of shape or this, you're that. I mean, that all means nothing. The second your body fails on you. Yeah. So to me, it is the behind my faith and beliefs and spirituality is the number one priority in all things day to day. And even my day starts at four o'clock in the morning, I'll same thought processes as a kid reverse engineering. How do I get this? If I, if I've got to be on a flight, you know, at the airport at four, I'm getting up at one 30. I don't care if it's 12 when I'm going to sleep. I'm getting up at one 30. I'm going to put in a workout because I know once I get on the plane, 10 meetings, 800 conference calls, you know, might hit a, get a donut at the, at the airport. Yeah. Oh, that travel moving around. You don't want to work out. But I know if I do it first thing, I don't have to worry about it anymore. I already got it. So as long as I work out in, I'm good. And then at the end of the day, if I want to get some cardio in, get it to a day, it's, you know, it's icing on the cake. But, you know, if it means I lose two hours of sleep because I was in the gym, I'm going to do it. I love what you said too about like that's the type of people you do business with. To me, like when I talk about doing business to people, the one thing about talking about somebody fit and this is not a crack on anybody who's not fit, it's just, you know, I know that if, okay, Mike, Mike, a, Mike holds himself to the standard and he doesn't lie to himself and he allows himself, he holds himself accountable. That means if he tells me something, he's probably going to be, hold himself accountable to what he told me as well. So I want to do business with somebody who's, be holding himself accountable. And I think that that's exactly, and the working out is everything to me too because it's, you know, my coping mechanism, it's my idea time, it's when I train, my mind with listening to different podcasts and things like that. I love it. I couldn't agree with you more. - Yeah, no, it's, I mean, again, to me, it's just everything because it embodies all the core values that you need to just be successful in life period. If you're, if you're keep telling yourself, man, I'm going to get in shape this year. I'm going to get in shape this year. And every year you get, you're in a game, what it was, what's the, I think they say every year, you know, an adult male over whatever 30 gains, however many more pounds of body fat. - Yeah. - Every year you're telling yourself that and every year you're looking in the mirror and you're a little bit fatter and your body fat percentage is higher. What are you telling yourself? You're letting yourself down every day of the week. How are you going to be successful in any aspect of life? You can't even, you can't even not let yourself down. You can't even do right by yourself. - Yeah. - You're going to do right by your kids. How are you going to do right by your partner? How are you going to do right by your business partners at your job? You can't even do right for yourself. Now, if some people, if they don't care, hey, that's all for it, but most people I know, most of my friends, and I can, I'm a male, I can only speak for males. Most of them want to be able to shred that shirt off and look good. Most of them want to be fit. So there are a small percentage like I don't care about fitness and that's cool. If you don't give a fuck, that's fine. But for all the other people I know that want to look good, that keep letting themselves down, what are you telling yourself? - Yeah. - Every day, it's a constant reminder that you're not good enough to be disciplined, to be consistent, but yet now you're going to be, you're going to kill it in business, you're going to kill it in your relationship, you're going to kill it as a father. How? You can't even, you can't even do right by yourself. You can't stop up here. How are you going to stop up here? - That's to me, it starts there. A lot of people, that's vain, that's this that, no, like to me, it's just, it's all the core values. And if you don't, again, if you, your focus is different and you could care less about fitness and you're not letting yourself down, and that's cool, that's fine. I'm sure there's something else in life that you're probably letting yourself down on. But you got to start with showing up for yourself first and foremost, because if you don't, how are you going to be successful on anything else? - And even if you, let's say that, like, you know, like getting in that good shape, isn't in priority, your health should be. I mean, if you haven't had a health scare, it's common because there's enough things that are going to get you, even if you work out every day. So, I mean, at least try to cut that off as soon as you can, you know, to where you're doing something about it. I mean, so that I agree with you, 100%. - But instead of reactive to me, everything, and I've recently, I've kind of got it, like a lot of people have got into, you know, the longevity and being a high performer, you know, as you get older and bep ties. I mean, I love the Ben Greenfield, you mentioned podcasts in the gym. That's where I literally just absorb all of that in the gym. - Yep. - Whether it's, you know, Alex, Uberman, David, Sinclair, Ben Greenfield, Big Shot, I told him, they're geniuses, they know everything, like, body in the mind, but I mean, it works. I mean, all that stuff works. I mean, I'm a walking testament to it all. It all works. - If you're willing to be a student, it's amazing how much you can learn now. It's so crazy. - Absolutely. - That's so crazy. Well, that's, we're gonna have to finish it up here. Mike, how do they get a hold of you? Is there anything else you wanna share on this? So right now Instagram is the best way. We're working on other, other modes. So a lot to soon to be some stuff on YouTube as well, but right now Instagram, I am underscore, Micah, M-I-C-A-H is probably the best way to kind of follow along, see what I'm doing. I've got a lot of cool stuff coming. So yeah, stay tuned. It's gonna be fun. - I appreciate you being on the show. Thank you so much. And I appreciate your friendship. - Thank you for having me, Dennis. I appreciate you.