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Nate Green
My goal is to impact millions of people. Well, the only way to do that in my lifetime is to make stupid big steps. And so it's like, okay, great, let's get uncomfortable.
Luis
Have you always been a self motivated person? Have you deal with people that maybe struggle to, you know, have that long term vision?
Nate Green
And once you connect to somebody's purpose, then hope naturally comes. Why? Because in your darkest of times, you still can look up and see this hope of the purpose of why you're here. And man, everything else connects.
Fonzie
What are some things that people can start identifying? Be like, these are my first, like margins, my first containers. And then I'm going to go execute, you know, in the next couple of weeks, like very intentionally so.
Nate Green
It's the 8020 impact rule. What is that top 20% that impacts my momentum the fastest. But then the problem is, is right under that, you have the next 20%. I call that the danger zone.
Fonzie
What inspired you to create at this level? Right, because you have your book and you have a platform that you're developing.
Nate Green
So how deep are you want to go here? Because I love this conversation. And, and so let's go a little deep here. I'm gonna, I'm gonna get a little bit more open. Okay, let's go. So.
Luis
Welcome back to another episode of Content is Profit. Today we had Nate Green here on the show, author of Suck Less, Do Better. And he also recently exited his company for eight figures.
Fonzie
Baby.
Luis
But he actually with a few golden boulders. One of my favorite personally, how to prioritize focus over feelings.
Fonzie
Oh, baby. He also talks about the three pieces to how to stay motivated. And I really liked his take on morning routine and how he's been tackling that aspect of his life.
Luis
Yeah. Are you a fan of morning routine?
Nate Green
Yes.
Luis
No. Let us know. I know that's been of debate in social media recently.
Fonzie
I know. And towards the end of the episode, we're actually asking him specifically, specifically about his content strategy on this new phase of the new company that he's building. So super exciting stuff. Nate, thank you so much for coming and enjoy.
Luis
See ya, Nate.
Fonzie
Welcome to Content is Profit. Man. I'm stoked we connected last week and you're a powerhouse, man. And you know, we connected with a previous friend, or still friend, I guess. He's been on the show, he's been a customer we've known since the fitness industry. And he's like, you need to know this guy. And you know, we got to talk. And you are not only a creator, but also you just exit at Your. Your company for multiple, multiple dollars and many, many, many dollars. And you're like, $10 just, you know, pocket change. And you're doing some cool stuff, man. So I'm excited to. To have you here on the show, and welcome to Continuous profit. Let's go, man.
Nate Green
I. I appreciate it, guys. I get to be with two of the best, so it's incredible.
Luis
Just one. Just one of the best. We'll let the crowd decide which one it is.
Nate Green
Yes. 1.5.
Luis
I like it.
Fonzie
Yeah. So, I mean, let's start here, right? Like, what's different from, you know, you just exited your company for eight figures and more, and now you're on this path of helping people. Right? A lot of people and a lot of creators that listen to the show, they're in that path of, hey, let's provide these solutions. Let's go create something that matters. And spoiler alert, we have a little bit of a book here. Very excited. Stuck. Let's do better for those listening. And what inspired you to create at this level? Right, because you have your book and you have a platform that you're developing.
Nate Green
Yeah. Right now we're running a mastermind. We got some programs. We got that book. And another spoiler alert. Actually, I'm meeting with my publisher today to sign the contract for the next book. Yeah. So she wants a total of four more, so I'm excited about that. It just kind of took me a little bit to figure out, like, which one to go next. And so now I've locked that in, and so I'm super stoked because we're going to push hard into it. So my entire goal has been, if God's going to bless me with this exit, then now I feel this massive obligation to have an impact. I feel like it's my job to take every ounce of who I am and have a massive impact in this next leg of my journey.
Fonzie
Yeah. So cool, man. What inspired you? Right? Like, we had this conversation. Fonzie has no idea. Right. And a lot of people get into this online world when they start creating and they think, hey, I'm gonna start selling something small and I'm gonna start creating this content here. You went straight from, like, long form, which is your book and your master classes and your community. You, like, dove right in, and you're doing some pretty cool stuff. Right? Like, what was that jump? Like, what went through your head to, like, okay, I think I can do this. Right? And I think I can do it to a point where people are having massive wins.
Nate Green
Yeah. So with any business I've ever created and succeeded doing it, it's always been start with the end in mind, what is the goal? What is the long term vision? And then for me, it's starting to build backwards from that. Because the problem is a lot of times people so often they start a business and they think so small. They think like, oh, I'm just going to offer this service or I'm just going to do this. And next thing you know, they're kind of like taking a bunch of micro steps, but why not take leaps? And then as you're taking leaps and making massive steps, then you can backtrack and say, okay, if this is where I'm going, then what do I need to do? My goal is to impact millions of people. Well, the only way to do that in my lifetime is to make stupid big steps. And so it's like, okay, great, let's get uncomfortable, let's get vulnerable. Let's be, let's be real, let's be, you know, talk about struggles and difficulties, let's talk about it all. So, you know, why not start with a book? Start with a book. Great loss leader, whatever you want to call it, it's a great marketing tool. So when you're talking about that piece, it also helps get your name out there in a lot of different ways. Get your books literally in hands of people and see what kind of impact it can have. And then people naturally are going to need more resources, More resources. And then you work on those things, you can start backfilling all the different resources and have just an entire way to move people through all these different areas that they need help in.
Luis
Yeah, I have a lot of questions. But you know, honestly, like, I have a lot of questions though, about your background. I think it's super interesting, the fact that you're a police officer before doing this. Right. So we can dive into that a little bit later. But you know, when you talk about big goals, right. The. I think Jim Collins in Good to Great, he calls, he calls it the, the big hairy, audacious goal, something like that, right? There's like an acronym for it. I in a way believe that. Right. I believe start with the end in mind 100% and then kind of like backtrack. But at the same time, I've personally have felt, you know, that maybe I've been chasing for like a huge goal for too long sometimes. And I've, you know, kind of like experienced the opposite effect.
Nate Green
Right.
Luis
Rather than being motivating, maybe I feel like I'm Just chasing, right? I'm just chasing something that I don't know, you know, like there's a lot of doubt at moments and it's like, am I really going to be able to, you know, catch to that goal? And it has the opposite effect. Rather than being motivating sometimes maybe is even a little bit, you know, kind of like pushes you down a little bit. Yeah, demotivating, right. So I'm curious, you know, do you, do you ever felt that? Have you ever felt that? Have you always been a self motivated person? Have you deal with people that, you know, maybe struggle to, you know, have that long term vision and you know, keep it alive for long or maybe they do better with, you know, short goals? One step at a time. I'm curious, right? Have you, have you dealt with that stuff?
Nate Green
So, so I love it and I love the question because that analytical side, because we deal with all those different pieces and that's really where, when you're dealing with humans, we always have these strengths, we have these capabilities, but we also have these doubts, these fears, these insecurities, and I call those cracked lenses. You know, we talk about that in the book and that's really where we have these things. Whether it's difficulties that we face or whether that's childhood issues or all these relationship issues or past or mistakes, we got these things that derail our progress or our mental processing. So to go specifically down to your question, you really have to have three pieces together that all work together to keep you motivated and moving. You have to have the core of who you are 100% dialed in. You have to know what you're built for and then understand how you can become the best version of you. Then you have to have what I call your fuel. This is all the driving force is like, why are you moving? Why are you not being complacent? Why are you driven? Why are you hungry? Why do you want a better life? You have to have that locked in and channeled. And then the third piece is the lighthouse. That is what we're talking about here. That long tour, long term, stupid goal. That's that third piece. If you have any of three of those missing, you'll never succeed. Why? Because there's days that the goals looks too far out, so stupid that you're like, why am I chasing this? But if you have your Y locked in, you have your fuel locked in, then you're sitting there. When you feel like you're drowning, you can look up at the goal and realize, that is what I'm chasing after. This is why I'm chasing it. And this is what I'm built for. Those three pieces locked in. I call that your outcome equation. When you have those three pieces, then the multiplier is focused action. That's day to day going after your future one step at a time, setting smaller term goals down that pathway.
Luis
Can you give me an example of your life? Right, like, how did those look like when maybe you started your, your own company? Right. And also I'm curious, have you ever, you know, have you always been disciplined? Because obviously when I imagine, I imagine a, a police officer, imagine somebody that is very diff, you know, very disciplined. You know, they, they get up early, you know, maybe they go work out. You know, they have to follow, you know, the law and all that stuff. Everybody has to follow the law. Just saying I'm not to follow the law.
Nate Green
Full disclaimer. We are not telling you not to.
Luis
Yeah, yeah, exactly. But you know, I'm curious, right? How did that kind of like framework that you just shared looked for you when you were building your company?
Nate Green
Yeah, so I, I have been extremely structured. I've always been rather disciplined. But I'll tell you, the one thing is being disciplined and structured does not mean success because there's a lot of things that you could be structured and go in the entire wrong direction. So I want to make sure we touch on that. But my life as cop, there's a lot of fears, insecurities, past of going that route was very safe. And I know that you guys are thinking like, wait a second, you're getting shot at. That's not safe. But it was safe in a career choice because it had pensions, it had retirements, it had had financial security. So it was a process that the final output was more defined. You work for 25 years, you get this at the end of the rainbow, very clear. And so when, when I started being a cop, I realized that I was a little unsettled, you know, by about two and a half years deep, it was like, okay, very structured, very disciplined. There was a path I could see, but I was like, I was like, there's got to be more, there's got to be more. I'm built for more than this. I, I, I'm built to be better than this. Like, there's something else. And so I started doing personality testing, career testing, cognitive testing, to figure out what I call focus. My greatest asset. Who am I? What am I built for? That first piece, remember the core, like, what is it that I could become? And then it was like, okay, great, yeah, I'm good at being a cop. I love smashing the crap out of people and taking them to jail. Amazing. Obviously, my use of force was always appropriate, but. But, like, that side of the coin was like, man, like, once I started realizing who I was, I created what I now call the display. You know, like a trophy case. All the lights that shine on that trophy.
Luis
Yeah.
Nate Green
The display of who I was able to become. And so I started realizing that, man, I was. I was capable of taking on so much more than what my childhood told me I was capable of taking on.
Fonzie
Yeah.
Nate Green
I was so much more able to achieve things that the people around me told me I couldn't. And so once you start unlocking this capabilities, you start looking at it from a different perspective. And that was a massive growth time in my life where my disciplines started to change. It started to be a little uncomfortable. It started to be a little bit of fear. Fear demolishing. It's like, wait a second, we're going to go do something different.
Luis
Yeah. That's interesting that this is very transparent here. Very. I don't know, it's odd. I've never shared this on the podcast, but as you were sharing that, the thought that popped into my head, right. You said in the past, you know, maybe some people that were telling you, you cannot do this X, Y and Z. I feel like the total opposite in a way. You know, I feel like I was dreaming so big when I was a kid, you know, and I had a lot of people be like, you can do, you know, whatever you want. I honestly had a lot of people be like, you're so good at this. You're so good at that. Right. And I feel like as I'm getting older, my confidence on, you know, maybe achieving that, like, maybe watching that trophy, that display that you're talking about has, like, diminished a little bit, in a sense, Right. In some cases. So, you know, I'm curious, right? What is your point of view? I'm just curious about your thoughts, right? When you. When you see a person like that, when you meet a person like that.
Nate Green
So there. There's two pieces there. There's what I call the noise. That's what's happening to you. There's all this noise as a childhood, oh, my gosh, you should go play soccer. You should be incredible at this. You should go be a chef. You should be this. Oh, my gosh, you're incredible at. And wait, wait. People are taking maybe just because we like something and running it 10 steps down the pathway and being like, oh, my gosh, you should do this. No, that's all noise. That's all like, all this stuff that jumbles up and cracks our lenses, that's like, man, wait a second. These expectations are crushing. So whether you have people that have limiting expectations and beliefs for you or about you, or whether it's, oh, my gosh, you're great at everything, you're going to be incredible expectations, it's noise, it's distractions, it's derailment that is based upon what they think about you, not based upon what you think about you or what you feel about you or what you, most importantly, know about you. So whether it is comparisons, competitions, all this stuff, distractions, these are noises or cracked lenses, it's all in the same bucket. It just affects or comes at us from two different perspectives, and that's a problem. It doesn't matter which side it comes from. It's all destructive.
Luis
Yeah, that's interesting. It's a nice therapy session. I appreciate it.
Nate Green
I'm here for you. We can go off. Off camera here in a little bit and, you know, spend a few hours together.
Luis
Yeah, no, no worries. I appreciate. I mean, I'll take you up on that offer, you know, but at the same time, I think there's value on, you know, sharing some of this stuff because I know, you know, especially in the. In the content world, it can be very easy for, you know, not letting noise in, you know, and derail people from their objectives. I am, I'm guilty of, you know, comparing myself whether I want to or not. You know, kind of like I just look at stuff and like that first thought that pops up, you know, might be a little bit of. Of comparison, you know, between other creators that I see other people that might be in some water, were in similar situations. So I know, I know somebody that is listening. They might be like, you know, I used to dream big too, and I'm having these challenges, so I think these are some good frameworks where they can. Okay, well, let me sort out the noise, right? Let me create my display, right? Let me find my lighthouse. I think those are some good steps, but I don't want to deviate too much from the content conversation as well.
Fonzie
I think this applies, right, because a lot of people that come to the show or the studio, they're also entrepreneurs and they're facing all this at different levels at the end of the day. And when people are trying to create content to put their message out there and whether that's like, to Advertise or promote whatever they're doing to help others. All these things creep into our minds, right? Like us also being guilty of it. And sometimes our mind will put these. The friction points or walls that for some are very real. I remember a couple of people that come in here ready to rock and roll with their podcast, and as soon as the camera turns, you know, red, that's it. They froze completely. And there's like, this syndrome, you know, creeped in and they were not able to perform in front of a camera, for example, right? Or whenever we're ready to, you know, make an offer, for example, it could creep in, you know, and we're like, oh, you know, we don't. Maybe we don't deserve this and this thing. So, like, what, Like, I'm interested to know, like, that first, like, two, three steps of like, okay, this might be happening, or we might encounter in this friction, but we don't really recognize it, maybe because we're so in it, right? Maybe somebody from the outside can and their pinpoint be like, okay, this is exactly what we need to work on, for example. But when we're in this lonely world sometimes as creators, right? Because maybe our environment doesn't recognize, you know, what we're doing on. Or the loved ones are like, you're crazy. Like, what. What are you doing talking to the camera? Like, you're being, you know, this job 24 7, and now you trying to do this, and people don't really understand until, like, you make it happen, right? It could be a lonely road. What are the first, like, two steps or maybe, like, contingencies that we can put in place as a creator and as an entrepreneur to continue to move forward regardless of that noise that comes, you know, on the outside.
Nate Green
See, the first thing that, in my opinion, you really got to have locked in is a greater purpose. Because if you're. If your purpose is just to turn on a camera and get some likes, okay, why? Like, the. The pain of. Of doing the activity of putting yourself out there is greater than the pain or being inside this comfort. So the. The greater pain wins, and so the greater pain, you're going to give way to that. And so when you think about the purpose, when you identify the purpose behind it all and you really lock in that greater purpose, then it's like, wait a second, here is what I'm chasing after. Here's the impact I'm trying to have, or whatever you're trying to do. And for a lot of people, it might be, hey, my, my, I need to Pay the bills this next month. I need to make sure that my kids are taken care of. Sometimes that is the greater purpose that drives you. And so you got to make sure that you're always framing on the purpose rather than maybe the pain, the pain of that moment, the pain of the discomfort. That's challenging. But once you lock in which pain is greater, the. The. The pain of getting a little bit uncomfortable or the pain of failing on your purpose, the greater pain will always be the one that you give way to. And so what you need to do is lock in and really connect to the greater pain. If you take the easy roads versus taking the proper action, what was your.
Luis
Greater pain when, you know you decided to take on this life.
Fonzie
So.
Nate Green
So back when I was 23, I had heart failure. I had to retire from being a cop. And I was told on a Wednesday that I was done. And I had no monies in savings because gone through all kinds of medical stuff between being paralyzed from the waist down for months and then the heart problem, you know, heart failure. Right after I'd spent, you know, all my vacation days were burned out. All my money and reserves were burned out. And so I had to figure out how to survive. And so I went through a season. Luckily, I'd gone through that exercise we were talking about earlier about trying to figure out who I was. And so I had a great plan. I had already started going to school for business. I'd already started working down that. That pathway. But my plan was 20 years down the road, not today. And so once I started my business and I realized how tough it was at that point in that transition, I'd gotten married. And so then I had adopted my. My then wife's daughter. And I realized that it was trial by fire. There was no option. And then, unfortunately, with my heart problem, they told me I had 10 years to live.
Luis
Oh, man.
Nate Green
So when you're told you've got 10 years to live, there's something that clicks inside your brain. And even though six months later they told me it was a mistake and it was a wrong misdiagnosis, you can't un. Unknow that. You can't unwind that. And by the way, guys, don't worry. I didn't die. In case you guys were wondering, I am still here. We're good. But there's something that clicked in my brain about providing for my family, making sure that everybody was okay if something happened to me and locking in like crazy, and. And even though there is that mission that I had for a Season of my life. It was great. But then, unfortunately, I had some people I knew that, that killed themselves throughout some of those years. And so now, on the other side of this transition, where I have what other people would call ultimate financial freedom, man, I'm locked in more than ever. Like, my purpose is to help people find hope by connecting to their purpose. And I will do. I'll spend every last day of my life really diving deep and helping people understand that they're here for a purpose. They just need to find it, lock into it, and then take action to achieve the greatest version of it that they possibly can. And once you connect to somebody's purpose, then hope naturally comes. Why? Because in your darkest of times, you still can look up and see this hope of the purpose of why you're here. And, man, everything else connects in those moments.
Luis
Now, I love the kind of like seeing the progression or hearing the progression of the goal, right. At first, obviously, when faced with mortality and you hear people talking about that a lot, right? How when faced with the thought of mortality and, you know, just getting lost in your thoughts, there is a lot probably that people, you know, gain. But at the same time, it kind of like it looks like you had one big goal, which at that time, it was probably huge, right? And then after you accomplish that, the new progression is the mission that you just pretty much share with everybody. So I think that's super, super interesting. I don't know if you. If you got anything to add in here. I'm just curious On. On the. On the path, right? My mind is like, what was the business, right? What is the business that you created out of that, that incred in.
Nate Green
So I. I chased down the financial markets, and so I. I built a accounting and tax practice, a wealth management firm, a lending firm, like a mortgage firm, and then also a consulting firm where I did business consulting. So the main one that I started back in 2008, the one that almost made me go bankrupt in the first year, I mean, what a tough first year. Insane, man. Actually, I lost my house during that season. Oh, wow. And it was. It was tough grinding through that and making the choice to stick with it. When everybody around me and everything said, you should go get a job, man, I stuck with it. And in the end, there was the accounting and tax practice, which I built up. I built to be a machine built up to be almost 50 employees, and then sold it to private equity.
Luis
Nice. That's amazing. So good.
Fonzie
You want to go in financial industry.
Luis
I don't think that's My forte, for sure.
Fonzie
I'm here thinking, right, like, your story is pretty insane and incredible. You know, we've seen that chapter kind of develop, right? And you're obviously now sitting in a position where you can help a ton of people through those stories, right? But I also see people that. They're like, man, like, I didn't have a heart failure. Like, my doctor didn't tell me I had 10 years to live, right? Like, do I need. Like, do I actually need that moment of realization to actually, you know, take action, right, like, or, you know, my personal moment realization happened almost 15 years ago, right, where I made the decision to come here to the States. And sometimes I see. I feel like that could be fading almost, right? Like, some. So. So many things kind of stacking up on top of that, you know, and life happening, you know, these things happening. And it's almost like, oh, you know, that made me move mountains to be in the position. I mean, now what now, right? It's like, oh, man. And we go back to, okay, how do we explore that purpose, right? And, you know, yesterday, for example, for me, it was a very hard day, like, personally, right? It was like. It was tough to, like, sit down in front of the computer and do the thing that I needed to do, right? And it happens from time to time. So it's like, okay, what's a technique? What's the thing that we can do to go back to that spot and be like, okay, I need to move forward, right? Is it family? Is it your kids? Is it, like a movement in your body? Is it, go, drop down and do 10, push? Like, what do you do to get to that point to do the thing that we don't want to do towards, you know, our main goals?
Nate Green
So there's a few different things, and it's never the same for everyone in. In my life. Like, a part of the mastermind that I have is we actually teach people how to lock in and identify their fuel. So people's fuel come from different places. And so that's one of those three things we talked about earlier. The fuel can come from challenges. It can come from adversities. It can come from, actually, inspirations such as, hey, listen, I saw my dad go through X, Y, and Z, and I saw him struggle to provide this opportunity for me. And that's where, see, I'm saying, like, that could be a fuel source. But a lot of times the. The best fuel sources come from deeper. They come from what I call your basement. They come from. They come from trauma. They come from hardships. They come from these pivotal moments in your life. They come from something deeper. And so a lot of times people come to me, they're like, hey, Nate, listen, I. I can't lock in, man. I can't stay motivated. I said, you're not going deep enough. And then we work them deeper and deeper and deeper, and we uncover stuff from their past that a lot of times they put in their basement. They've locked the doors, and they've never wanted to see again. And so for me, that's where we go. We go deep and we go. We go find it. We go realize it, and then we help people lock in because of it. And so a lot of times what has happened is in that process, when people understand really who they are, and then they lock into that fuel source. Next thing you know, it requires life changes. Because sometimes if the mission that you're on, the journey that you're on isn't fulfilling what you're really built for, and it's not really locking you into that fuel source. Yeah, it's time to change directions. And so sometimes there's different aspects. You can't manufacture a hunger. You can't manufacture it. Like, it doesn't matter. You can be like, oh, yeah, I want to go make a trillion dollars. I don't care. Like, I. I could say that all day long, and it just has no emotional connection. There's a coach I know, and he uses this. This term, we're coming for everything. And I'm like, I'm not coming for everything. I don't want everything. Like, you can go come for everything. I don't want to, but it's because I can't connect to it.
Fonzie
Yeah.
Nate Green
And so. So we all need to connect deeper to whatever that thing is. And so then that way, when. When you're having those hard times, those hard days, you got to be able to lock in. Also. What I do is this is a notebook that I have, and I. I read this every single day. And if you can't tell my bad handwriting, it's today I will show up. And. And in here, this locks down all kinds of stuff of how I'm going to lock in. The first words. Right here are my words. You can't. You guys can't even see it. The words of the year, which is silence, significance, and the stretch. So I'm going to silence the noise. Remember, we're talking about the noise, the distractions. I'm going to silence the noise. I want every single thing I do to have significance. And the stretch means I'm required to be uncomfortable. I need to go where maybe I don't want to go. But this is something that I literally tell myself every day. Today I am present, focused, persistent, relentless, resilient, and hungry. And then over here, it talks about how I will show up. And this is all the things of how I'm going to show up today. This is my bible for how I'm going to show up. Not the legitimate Bible, which is over there, which I read every day, but this is my bible for how I will show up today. And if I don't, then I need to suck less and do better today. Boom. Boom.
Luis
Yeah, I like that. You know, it's kind of sounds like a compass, like a personal compass on where do you want to go? I do have something similar in, you know, in my computer and alarms and pop and, you know, they have reminders and stuff like that. But, you know, I will say I am guilty of sometimes just being like, I know, another time, you know, and I click. I just. I'll just keep it, you know. And at the end of the day, it just comes down to it being a choice, right? It's a choice of, well, maybe you feel down, but, you know, you gotta make a choice of whether you want to check your compass and see is what you're doing actually aligned with what you. What you want to go. How do you deal with maybe the days that you don't feel like, you know, checking your compass or being like, oh, you know, or are you always 100%? I doubt you're always 100%. You know, nobody is.
Nate Green
It's physically impossible. You always are going to have the days, and that's really where you really have to do the work. Down into those three pillars, really, the core, the fuel, and the lighthouse. Because you have to do something. I call it focus over feelings. You have to create your focus. And whatever your focus is now, you have actions assigned to that focus. And there's days that your feelings are futile. They're going to fail you over and over again. And even on those days, you have to know you're having a bad feelings day. You're like, I have feelings. Like, I don't want to do it. That's the only feelings I got. And so you're walking through this and struggling through those emotions. And so the one thing I do is, today's not a day I make decisions. That's the first thing I do. I eliminate decision making because it's like, oh, why am I doing this? Blah, blah, Blah. Nobody's gonna care. Why am I going on another podcast? Why am I doing this? Like, what impact am I really having? The crack lenses, the noise gets the best of you, man. I've just failed. And blah, blah, blah, Bl. You know, those days are going to happen. And so you need to know it's one of those days. You eliminate decision making. You just. I focus on what is required of you that day. And then the other thing I do is self development is I pour into myself. On those days. It's time to read more books. It's time to learn more, listen more. It's time to be fed. It's not a day I need to pour out, because there's days that you could pour out over and over and over again, but then there's days that you need to be fed in those days that you got those feelings. That's a feeding day. That's the day it's time to eat something.
Luis
Yeah, yeah, I like it. I've been. Yeah, I relate to that.
Fonzie
And.
Luis
Sorry, I feel like I'm hugging the mic here today, but I definitely relate to that. I have some of, you know, those low days, and I can see the difference. Whenever I don't pour into myself or maybe I just focus too much on, you know, I got things to do. And then I like the idea of just focus on, like, just do the necessary, you know, to kind of like get those responsibilities done and then pour into yourself some. Some wisdom, you know, a little pick me up or whatnot. But I felt stuck some days where I'm just like, oh, I gotta do this and that. And, you know, you pretty much burdened yourself with a whole bunch of decisions. And at the end of the day, you feel even worse because, you know, you didn't have the energy to. To do what was necessary or the main responsibility, you know, and then you put all this extra load on yourself. At the end of the day, you're just like shaming yourself, like, oh, man, I didn't do anything. I had a bad day. That's the recipe to start another bad day on the next one, right?
Nate Green
100%. And that's really where my morning routine is locked in. And that's where I really feel like everybody should have a morning routine. And even if it's not the best routine, just have a routine. But you really got to dial in as, like, how do you connect to your day? And so my morning routine is literally as soon as I get out of bed, as I'm brushing my teeth, my ear pods, Go in. Or my. My beats go in. And I'm listening to audiobooks. I'm feeding myself from the start. Why I am handling the dogs, doing everything else. And then from there, I go to the next phase of feeding myself, which might be reading a book. After that, then it's, hey, listen, I got some time in prayer. I read the Bible. Why? Because I feel like it's really important. Important to have my heart and my spirit in line. Then from there, I can start giving out, I can start putting out, but not until I've. I've been fed and in there. Yes. Espresso and a nice protein bar every morning like clockwork. But. But you don't see what I'm saying. Like, you got to feed. You got to give yourself that routine of it's okay to make sure and take care of yourself first. Because how can you support other people when you haven't supported yourself first? Very important to lock in a morning routine and be consistent with it. And then if somebody starts falling off the. Look back. How's your morning routine? Oh, I fell off the wagon.
Fonzie
Okay.
Nate Green
That's why.
Fonzie
Yeah, I'm. I'm looking at this, and I'm also thinking, environment, right? Like, how do we build an environment where, like, these things happen? Right? Like, sometimes I also feel like at home it could be chaos, right? Like with two small children, right? Get home, you know, it's. It's a mess. The toys are everywhere, soccer balls are everywhere. And. And we're building habits and all those things, but the same thing. Like, how do we. How do we pour also into family, into those things? Or is that the environment that we've created? And I'm a believer that we have control over all of that, right? So sometimes maybe we beat ourselves up because we're like. Because we know that we have control over that. We let that go, and then we're like, oh, man, that's my fault. Right? And then we go sometimes deeper into that. So it's like, okay, what are your thoughts on environment? Right? Like, what are your thoughts on resetting some of that environment, on expectations with your loved ones, Right? Like, you're my wife, for example, or my kids. And, you know, there's a lot of pressure, I think, into. Into that, too. It's like, I want to be an inspiration for them type, deal, right? But sometimes we're exhausted and, you know, we don't want to go for that walk, for example.
Nate Green
So how deep you guys want to go here? Because I love this conversation. And let's go a Little deep here. I'm gonna, I'm gonna get a little bit more open. Okay, let's go. So first thing is control your controllables. That's it. Control your controllables. You can't control people, you can only control you. So that's, that's the first main focus. The second thing is I went through a very tough 10 year marriage which in the middle of it had an affair. Not me. She did. And then ended up with a massive disaster at the end. Child abuse situation, complete disaster. The 10 years was a difficult marriage. She wasn't the easiest person. My greatest growth years were those same years I controlled my controllables, I developed me, I poured into me. I tried my best in that relationship to make the best of that relationship. And I always compartmentalized the time properly, meaning, here's business time, here's family time. I wasn't a guy that was out late. I was always home every night with maybe an occasional business meeting after, after hours for like some kind of get together. But it was like 99.9 of the time I was home with my family, dedicating my time with my kids. The weekend were family times. I would get up at 4:30 still and compartmentalize that early morning on the weekends for my growth, my development, my business. Until somebody else woke up. As soon as somebody else woke up, business all shut down. Now it's family time. Now I'm a dad. So I compartmentalize my times properly to make sure that I had all these pieces. So when you're talking about that side, very easy to do. And my theory is if I couldn't get business and business growth done properly within my compartmentalized time, then I shouldn't be doing it. I'm not working hard enough, I'm not working efficiently enough. I'm not delegating enough, not building a team enough. This, it's my issue. It's, it's a me thing, not a we thing. It doesn't that the family shouldn't suffer because every single night I can't do my work fast enough and well enough and I'm working till 9 o'clock and I see my kids for four or five days. That's not fair. No. I need to learn how to be more dedicated during my times and get better at being me and chasing down my dreams properly within my compartmentalized time. You're going to find a lot of people that argue with that. There's plenty of authors that go the opposite. And I completely disagree with him. And, and that's it. If you want to. If you want to basically find all the ultimate success in the world and you want to burn the bridge on your family, that is your problem, not mine. I don't. I don't believe in balance. I would not never claim to be a true balanced person. I am properly imbalanced, but I have everything compartmentalized. I take time for my health, I take time for my family, I take time for my religion, my mental health, my business, my finances. It's all compartmentalized, but it is definitely not balanced.
Fonzie
Yeah, it's funny, like, on the content conversation, we always talk about the publishing pyramid and those resources entrepreneurs or companies have to assign for those teams, and it's very similar, right? What are the resources that we have here? Is it the time? Is it the money? Is it the team? And we're very specific with that. And how do you, in general, right, like, in your life, how do you start identifying those areas and you start being like, okay, these are my top, like, four that I need to handle first, right? Because, you know, when you and me spoke before the podcast, we both realized that we think very similarly in many ways, right? And I'm like, if that's the path I'm on, perfect, I can take it. That's awesome. But, you know, how do you start, you know, identifying those things, right? As you were describing this, you know, I think personally I've seen situation where it's like, very similar to that. It's like, hey, you know, from here to here, building my margins type deal. It's like. And that helps me, too. It puts a little bit of pressure on that deadline of like, I got to finish it. I got to complete the task that I'm. That I'm doing well. How can people do that? Because we see a lot of cases also, not only ourselves, but with people that come to sue, that might have businesses, and we see that that's affecting the content creation aspect to it. That for them is very important as well because it drives the business, right? So we're like, okay, how can we support them a little bit more? How can we help them a little bit more on this, where we have the content, you know, margins very defined, but because everything else around it is a little bit of a mess, then we cannot be effective with the content side, right? Which is going back to the business side. So what are some things that people can start identifying? Be like, these are my first, like, margins, my first containers. And then I'm going to go execute, you know, in the next couple of weeks, like very intentionally.
Nate Green
Yeah. So this goes back to that understanding the core who you are. Because then once you figure out the core who you are, then you have to define what I call as your edge. The edge is like that top 20% of your capable activities that moves the needle the furthest, the fastest in your. In your life, in your career, in your process. Like, what are those tasks, those capabilities, those skill sets that when, when you put time in that bucket, man, you're talking about, it's. It's like a race car with some nos in it. It's like it's moving, it's. It's chasing it down. And that's what I'm talking about, you know? Yeah. And then you have the rest, that 80%. So it's the 80, 20 impact rule. What is that top 20% that impacts my momentum the fastest. But then the problem is, is right under that, you have the next 20%. I call that the danger zone. The danger zone are things that I'm capable of, the things that, yeah, I can do it, but it doesn't have as much momentum building as that top 20%. That edge.
Fonzie
Yeah.
Nate Green
And so, so then you start identifying it, those two pieces, then the rest, 60%. That's basically stuff I just suck at. Like that. That's like, it's easy to give away. What you find out is, is you're really living more in that danger zone than you're living in your edge. Because the danger zone is really the suck. That, that is what just takes up so much time. But what you got to find is you find the person where your danger zone is, their edge. And you start realizing, wait a second, let's maximize everybody's biggest and greatest potential, their edge. And then once you build teams based upon everybody living inside that arena, not. Not only are you going to find more growth and development and success, you're going to find people are happier. Your team is going to be happy because they're like, they're feeling fulfilled because they're living in their sweet spot. Very important.
Luis
Yeah, I was going to say I have such a challenging time compartmentalizing things, and I feel like I hyper focus on the first thing I do in the day. And if I have to jump from one thing to the other, then I'm just like, it takes me so long to refocus, you know, put my attention kind of like on the things that I. That I need to do is super interesting. I was just, Just a random thought.
Nate Green
Yeah. So on that you need to have a reset process. And so like a two minute. And I do this with a lot of my clients is we create a reset process. That work works for them. My reset process is different. I basically take a break. I do about two minutes. Sometimes it might be some push ups. I do some kind of physical activities, might just be a few squats, whatever the case may be, just kind of move for a second. Then I do some box breathing, which is just 2 seconds in or 4 seconds in, 4 seconds out, etc. Etc. 4 seconds on all sides. So you do a quick box breathing and then you kind of breathe and then you go back at it. Simple. And so then I can change gears a lot faster, which over the years used to take me longer to transition. Now I can literally be done with. As soon as we're off, boom, I'm right back into the next, you know, because I've learned how to trigger my brain with simple process. And a lot of times it's just getting another espresso process, just standing up, going over, going to the machine, breathing for a second, filling up the cup. I'm good to go. Now I sit back down. Let's lock in.
Fonzie
Yeah, yeah.
Luis
It's a skill set skill for sure.
Fonzie
Now I like.
Nate Green
It's a trained skill. You got to train yourself, train your brain to click over.
Luis
Yeah, yeah.
Fonzie
I want to transition towards the end of the episode and talk a little about the content system that you're creating. Right. We talked a little bit about your ecosystem and like what you guys are building, right. You start with a book, which is not normal with most people that started this, right. You obviously have years of experience doing this thing and, and, and your material is like really, really solid. Right. So, but at the same time, I want to paint a picture for somebody listening and be like, oh, maybe that's a path that, that I can take on creating our own programs, right? Our own masterminds or creating the things that, that I want to do to, to help people. So can you walk us a little bit to like a little high level, you know, what are the things that you guys are creating on? What are you expecting to do in the next year or so?
Nate Green
Oh, this next year is going to be exciting. We're actually going to be launching our podcast, which is, which is awesome. And this is something we're going to dive deep into the edge. The edge is going to be one of our major processes that we're going to be pushing into the edge of kind of who you are, when you found the edge of, you know, your purpose and so we're going to dive into that and really interview people based upon, like, that moment that they had, that click, that click of like, oh, my gosh, this is what I'm built for, or, hey, this is my purpose, or this is my fuel, you know, each of these edges that they can find in their life. And we're going to really be diving into that. So I'm excited about that. That's going to be massive for. For us. I really feel like people are going to be excited about it. I do have a killer content strategy that at this point, I can't disclose, but it's wrapped up in this next book that is. I just started writing and I've got an entire. Never been done before with a book. I want to take a book and make it more of an experience. And it when with it, it's going to be kind of like a mashup. Think of it as like, more of like book meets podcast meets. Meets like a small community. And so, like, bringing all three together in one experience and for the price of just a book.
Fonzie
Yeah.
Nate Green
And. And so. So that's a part of it. And a part of that, that process is going to kill is bring so much cool content out of it. And I'm stoked about it.
Fonzie
This is so cool. Walk through me real quick with, you know, obviously, very ambitious, I think, you know, with what we talked about, and I can't wait for people to see and connect with you. Obviously, all the links are going to be right below, so they can be, you know, first in line to, well, first buy your book right now, right here, and then second, to be part of that community that you guys are building and see it live. What are the resources that you're pouring into this? Right. You know, maybe not a budget side, but, like, do you have a team? Like, because what happens is a lot of people, and we were guilty of this. We will set these eyes on very awesome entrepreneurs and people that are doing cool things that we're like, we're going to do it just like them, right? And then we. But we do not understand the amount of resources and time that is pouring to this. Right? And then when we start executing, we start discovering that maybe that's not the case and we cannot fulfill at that point. So we've been, like, really diving into breaking this down for the people that are listening. Right. So, for example, in our podcast, you know, we run most of the process ourselves, and we have a producer that, you know, helps us with some notes and the editing of the podcast. For example. Right. Can you describe a little bit of your ecosystem and, like, how you and your team are doing all these things?
Nate Green
Yeah. So we have a team of three right now because I sold off all my old teams. Like, it was kind of, like, weird is like a. That was the saddest thing. Yeah. Like, where'd you go? You know, and that's. That's the cool part is building with a small team again. And it's been so long since I started from scratch and starting from scratch again, you know, because the exit just happened last year. So it was at the tail end of last year. And. And when I finally worked my last day. And so it was very, very nice to walk through that process. But building back from scratch, like you're talking about, it's like, okay, here's how we have people wearing more hats than maybe they should in the beginning, and it's great. But there's also learning we already have identified. Like, hey, here. Here's next drill, here's next hire, here's next process, here's next this, here's next that. And, you know, the one thing I'll tell you is important thing is as an entrepreneur, keep your personal budget squared away, Keep it tight, because you really need to leave your business growth funds available for business growth. I see so many entrepreneurs, they start making some good money, and next thing you know, they're buying Lamborghinis, they're buying those other kind of stuff. No, no, no. Your spending should always trail way behind your profits because your profits need to be reinvested, reinvest into you. That is your retirement, that is your future. And so when you're talking about that, like, for. For me, it's like, man, I've been blessed over here. So I'm not. I'm not touching any business profits right now. Everything is reinvested into growth development teams where we're going, more books, more ad spend, more everything, more content, you name it. So that's very vital. Second, relationships, man, pour into people. People are vital, man, because sometimes it's more about. I mean, we. We got connected from Heath. Great dude.
Fonzie
Yeah.
Nate Green
I mean, that's awesome. Like, great people. When you pour into great people, they know more great people. And so the relationship effect, so little hint my firms that I sold the major one 100 referral base never spent a dollar in advertising.
Luis
Wow.
Nate Green
So relationships, people pour into people. And man, when you pour into people, it's amazing what you find. And then what happens when you pour into people. Then when you have a need, you're like, you reach out to your people. Hey, guys, listen. Like, I really suck at this area. And they're like, oh, don't worry. I got you. I got you. This guy. I know. Let me connect you. Boom. Done.
Fonzie
Yeah.
Nate Green
Very simple, dude.
Fonzie
So go, Nate. I guess last question before we. We head out. It's on your side, your personal. How much time are you dedicated to creating, to creation? Right. Because, like, you, you seem like a guy that has an awesome routine. You went through already a phase and sold one company. You're now tackling this incredible challenge. Right. And I think for both of us, the creation aspect of putting ourselves out there is very exciting. Right. And what we've also found, people that they feel like is absolutely necessary, and they don't really enjoy the creation process. Right. So obviously you're into podcasting. You have an incredible student. You, you know, you almost like, pan the camera. The other day I was like, oh, look at this stuff that we're building on this side. So obviously for that. So how much time are you dedicating to creating things?
Nate Green
So, first off, I do have a fear of content creation, so massive fear. Podcasts I love because I like relationships, but the fact of being out there is scary. And so, you know, when you're talking about podcasts, you're talking about content creation. It's vital. It's is more important than ever because, you know, people are like, oh, you know, I want my social media to be my business card. Yes, sometimes it can be your business card, but it's also more of, like, if you look up an author and they have, let's say, 100 followers, you're going to be like, that's it, you know, versus it's more of that. That. That content that really says, hey, listen, this person is serious. And so for me, there's been a season that I had to transition some of my audience from where I've been to where I'm going.
Fonzie
Yeah.
Nate Green
And that's been a. That's been a struggle. And even when I'm. I'm pouring into more of the ground, groundworks and foundation of where we're going with. With all these courses and all this other kind of stuff, you still have to make time to throw out content. And so that's really where 2025 is going to be like the year of content. We're going to be putting out all kinds of content. With podcasts and everything else, you got to take the time to pour. You got to do it.
Fonzie
Absolutely. Thank you so much, man. This has been so cool. We're going to leave, obviously, all the links right below. You got to do scroll down and click on all of them.
Luis
Is that how you click with your. You click with your thumb?
Nate Green
Yeah.
Fonzie
Do you guys click with your face like this on your phone? How do you click with it?
Luis
Do you click or you. You tap it?
Fonzie
You tap it. Well, you bam. Guys suck. Let's do better. Amazon or wherever. You know, Nate puts us the links right below. Any last thoughts before we head out?
Luis
I just appreciate the. The therapy session. It was absolutely amazing.
Nate Green
No, I appreciate you guys. This is a blast.
Luis
Yeah, no, a lot of it. Like, I relate to it a lot and is. I just love listening how, you know, people have achieved what they've achieved. Congrats on selling the business. That's absolutely massive. I'm excited to see, man. I love the energy. I love what you're building. I think it's going to be absolutely amazing. A lot of people definitely need it. And, you know, just like you mentioned, we do the podcast mainly for the relationship aspect. That's how it all started. Like, dude, we just want some cool friends. So we appreciate you. You now have two Venezuelan brothers. I think we're not too far, right? You're in Orlando two hours.
Nate Green
I'm gonna come up there and harass you guys soon.
Luis
Heck yeah. Let's go. We're gonna do a live episode. We'll do a live episode on referrals. I think that'll be a fun. But thank you, man. Really appreciate you.
Fonzie
Any. Any last thoughts before we head out?
Nate Green
Man, you just got to make sure and chase down and become the best version of you day after day after day. And if you give up on anything, never give up on you.
Luis
I love it. Finish it. Wrap it up right now. That's good, guys.
Fonzie
Thank you so much for tuning to the Contents Profit podcast. Go ahead and follow the show in your favorite podcasting platform and on social media at the Beast Bros. Go.
Luis
That is right. And if we help you move one step closer towards your goal here today, please don't forget to share this episode and of course, don't forget to leave. Give a five star review.
Nate Green
See ya.
Fonzie
Bye, guys.
Content Is Profit: Crush Your Excuses & Path To 8 Figure Exit with Nate Green
Hosted by BIZBROS
In this episode of Content Is Profit, hosts Luis and Fonzie welcome Nate Green, author of Suck Less, Do Better, and a recent entrepreneur who successfully exited his company for eight figures. Nate brings a wealth of experience from building and managing content frameworks with notable companies such as Red Bull, Orangetheory Fitness, and Jacksonville Wealth Builders. The conversation delves deep into Nate's journey, strategies for success, and his new ventures aimed at helping others turn their content into profit.
Nate opens up about his unconventional path from being a police officer to becoming a successful entrepreneur. He shares a pivotal moment in his early 20s when he faced a severe health crisis.
Nate Green [19:50]: "Back when I was 23, I had heart failure. I had to retire from being a cop... and was told I had 10 years to live."
This life-altering diagnosis, later found to be a misdiagnosis, still had a profound impact on Nate's mindset and career trajectory. Determined to create a meaningful impact, Nate transitioned into the financial markets, establishing an array of businesses including an accounting and tax practice, a wealth management firm, and a consulting firm. Despite early struggles, including nearly going bankrupt and losing his house in the first year, Nate's resilience paid off as he built his accounting practice to 50 employees before selling it to private equity.
Nate discusses the importance of having a clear purpose and making bold moves to achieve massive impact. He emphasizes the necessity of stepping out of comfort zones to reach extraordinary goals.
Nate Green [00:00]: "The only way to do that in my lifetime is to make stupid big steps. And so it's like, okay, great, let's get uncomfortable."
He introduces the concept of "cracked lenses," referring to the doubts and insecurities that can derail progress. Nate outlines a three-pillar framework to maintain motivation:
Nate Green [07:47]: "You have to have three pieces together that all work together to keep you motivated and moving."
Nate elaborates on his Outcome Equation, which combines the core, fuel, and lighthouse to drive focused action. He explains how aligning these elements ensures sustained motivation, even during challenging times.
Nate Green [07:47]: "You have to have the core of who you are 100% dialed in... you have to have your fuel locked in... and the lighthouse."
He shares personal anecdotes illustrating how these frameworks helped him navigate his transition from law enforcement to entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of locking into one's purpose to generate hope and maintain momentum.
Nate discusses his strategy of compartmentalizing different aspects of his life to maintain efficiency and fulfillment. Despite the challenges of a demanding career and a difficult marriage, he highlights the importance of dedicating specific times to business and family without overlap.
Nate Green [34:06]: "Control your controllables. You can't control people, you can only control you."
He stresses that balance doesn't mean equal distribution of time but rather effectively managing each domain to prevent one from overshadowing the others. This approach allowed him to grow his business while dedicating meaningful time to his family.
Shifting focus to content creation, Nate outlines his comprehensive strategy for building an ecosystem that supports his mission of helping others find their purpose. He plans to launch a new podcast that delves deep into identifying one's edge—the top 20% of activities that drive the most impact—and integrating this with upcoming books and community initiatives.
Nate Green [44:17]: "This next year is going to be exciting. We're actually going to be launching our podcast... we're going to take a book and make it more of an experience."
Nate’s innovative approach aims to blend traditional publishing with interactive and community-driven elements, creating a multifaceted platform for personal and professional growth.
Nate emphasizes the importance of building a dedicated team and reinvesting profits into business growth rather than personal luxuries. With a small team of three, Nate focuses on efficiency, delegation, and fostering strong relationships within his network.
Nate Green [46:53]: "Keep your personal budget squared away... your profits need to be reinvested into growth development teams."
He highlights how nurturing relationships leads to a robust referral network, eliminating the need for costly advertising and fostering organic business growth.
A key aspect of Nate’s success is his disciplined routine and practical tools for maintaining productivity. He advocates for a personalized morning routine that includes feeding oneself with knowledge and setting intentions for the day.
Nate Green [29:18]: "Today's not a day I make decisions. I eliminate decision making because... I have to support my family."
Nate also shares his reset process for maintaining focus during transitions between tasks, which includes physical movement and box breathing to quickly shift gears and sustain productivity throughout the day.
As the conversation wraps up, Nate offers actionable advice for entrepreneurs and creators facing motivational challenges. He underscores the importance of connecting deeply with one’s purpose and adopting structured routines to navigate difficult days.
Nate Green [52:43]: "Man, you just got to make sure and chase down and become the best version of you day after day after day. And if you give up on anything, never give up on you."
Nate’s parting message is a powerful reminder to stay committed to personal growth and resilience, ensuring that one remains aligned with their core mission despite external and internal obstacles.
Nate Green [00:00]: "The only way to do that in my lifetime is to make stupid big steps. And so it's like, okay, great, let's get uncomfortable."
Nate Green [07:47]: "You have to have three pieces together that all work together to keep you motivated and moving."
Nate Green [34:06]: "Control your controllables. You can't control people, you can only control you."
Nate Green [44:17]: "We're going to take a book and make it more of an experience."
Nate Green [46:53]: "Keep your personal budget squared away... your profits need to be reinvested into growth development teams."
Nate Green [52:43]: "Man, you just got to make sure and chase down and become the best version of you day after day after day. And if you give up on anything, never give up on you."
Nate Green's episode on Content Is Profit is a treasure trove of insights for entrepreneurs and content creators aiming to bridge the gap between their efforts and revenue. From his transformative personal journey to practical frameworks for motivation and productivity, Nate provides valuable strategies to crush excuses and pave the path to substantial success. Whether you're looking to scale your business, refine your content strategy, or simply find deeper motivation, Nate’s experiences and advice offer a roadmap to turn content into profit and achieve significant impact.
Resources Mentioned:
Connect with Nate Green:
Thank you for tuning into the Content Is Profit podcast. Don’t forget to follow us on your favorite podcasting platform and leave a five-star review if you enjoyed this episode!