Action Academy Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: Action Academy | Millionaire Mentorship For Your Life & Business
Host: Brian Luebben
Episode: Use This Mental Model To Eliminate 92% Of Your Stress TODAY
Release Date: July 14, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Brian Luebben dives into a powerful mental model taught by his multimillionaire mentors that has dramatically reduced stress in his business and investing life. Brian shares candid personal experiences from his real estate and entrepreneurial journey to illustrate how shifting your perception of problems—and leveraging the knowledge of those who've already solved them—can make most business stress disappear. He reveals a dead-simple framework for evaluating challenges and explains how joining the right community can expedite your path to success.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Source of Most of Our Stress

• Perception > Problem itself: The real driver of stress isn't the challenge at hand, but how you perceive it.
• Quote:

  "The only thing that was the difference was how I perceived the problem, not the problem itself."
  — Brian Luebben [06:20]

2. Real-Life Examples: Overcoming Initial Hurdles

• First House Hack (2019):
  • Took Brian an entire year, plagued by self-doubt and "analysis paralysis."
  • Faced seemingly catastrophic problems: late tenants, flooded basement, evictions—a source of major stress at the time.
  • Years later, Brian laughs at how small those problems really were.
  • Quote:

    "Those issues that were so monumental to me, these mountains were actually always molehills."
    — Brian Luebben [09:00]

• Entrepreneurship Journey:
  • Early days of Action Academy fraught with stress over growth and operational hurdles.
  • Nine months later, what once felt insurmountable now looks trivial.
  • Quote:

    "The problems I was dealing with that felt so huge to me once again, were inconsequential and rounding errors a mere nine months later."
    — Brian Luebben [10:19]

3. The Mental Model: "Will I Laugh at This in Three Years?"

• Framework:
  • When faced with a stressful issue, ask:
    1. Will I laugh about this problem three years from now?
    2. Has this problem been solved before?
  • If others have solved it, it’s "figureoutable." Seek out those people.
• Rarely Unique Problems:
  • Most challenges in real estate, business, or investing already have established solutions.
  • Don’t waste time inventing the wheel.
  • Quote:

    "There is seldom an original thought... People have already, most of the time, done the thing that you're doing or that you're attempting to do."
    — Brian Luebben [12:20]

• Danger of Unprecedented Projects:
  • Avoid tackling truly original problems (e.g., “the next Facebook”) until you have serious financial success.

4. The Power of Community & Shortcutting Stress

• Why Communities Exist:
  • Communities, masterminds, and mentorships aren’t about “secret sauces” but about accessing people who’ve solved your current problem.
  • Quote:

    "Literally the only thing that you're doing is just expediting access. That's it. So community is just time."
    — Brian Luebben [17:08]

• Simple Scales, Fancy Fails:
  • Most solutions aren’t complex; it’s usually about doing more of what already works.
  • Quote:

    "Simple scales. Fancy fails."
    — Brian Luebben [18:38]

  • Often the answer is just to increase effort and action (e.g., send more mailers, talk to more brokers).
  • Quote:

    "Most of the time the answer is just do more, do better. Like, that's it."
    — Brian Luebben [18:50]

5. Practical Application: Stop Overcomplicating

• Action steps:
  • Zoom out from your current struggle.
  • Ask if the problem is truly unique—if not, find who’s solved it and reach out.
  • Use community and network resources to accelerate solutions.
  • Don’t get seduced by complexity when the answer is volume and persistence.

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On being paid to solve problems:

  "You are paid, my friend, to deal directly with problems. If there are no problems, there is no profit."
  — Brian Luebben [05:10]

• On the illusion of overwhelming problems:

  "These mountains were actually always molehills."
  — Brian Luebben [09:00]

• On shortcutting the process:

  "Instead of you, like, floundering around and going and finding the people, we just have them like, here, here they are. Here is the room. Open the door, walk through the room, here's everything, and we'll feed it to you on a fricking silver platter."
  — Brian Luebben [17:50]

• Calling out complexity bias:

  "I can guarantee you like 90% of the time, the answer is so much more simple than you anticipate that you can't even fathom that that's the answer."
  — Brian Luebben [18:37]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00] – Introduction and overview of episode theme
• [01:40] – The year-long journey to first house hack; stress and learning
• [05:10] – "You are paid... to deal directly with problems"
• [09:00] – Looking back: How small problems really were
• [10:19] – Early Action Academy growing pains vs. today
• [12:20] – Realization: Most problems are not unique; don’t reinvent the wheel
• [15:30] – The real value of community and mentorship (expediting access)
• [17:08] – There’s no secret sauce—just faster access to solutions
• [18:38] – “Simple scales, fancy fails”—stop overcomplicating your problem
• [19:00] – Actionable advice: Do more of what works, keep it simple

Bottom Line / Takeaway

Stress in business and investing comes not from problems themselves, but from how you view them. Most challenges are not unique—they’ve been solved before. The fastest path to resolution is to find those who've overcome your obstacle and learn from them, often through communities and masterminds. When pondering your next “impossible” problem, ask yourself: “Will I laugh about this three years from now?” Odds are, you will—and the solution is simpler than you think.