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Foreign. Welcome to the Epic Success Podcast. I AM your host, Dr. Shannon Irvin. Today on the podcast, we have the amazing Chad Willerson. He's the founder of Pacific Capital, which is a group that really helps entrepreneurs invest wisely. He's also has a mastermind called Fully Invested, and he just wrote this amazing new book called Fully Invested. This is all around why Work Life Balance Is a Total Lie and the Seven Strategies to Win Big in Business and at Home. I'm super honored and super excited to have him on the podcast. I have been following him for the last couple years and his advice has really helped my family just go to a different level. And so I'm excited to bring him to you today. Let's get into the podcast. Here we go. Chad Willardson. Chad, welcome to the Epic Success Podcast. Super stoked to have you.
B
Thank you. I love the name of the podcast, by the way. That's awesome.
A
Yeah. Thank you. So this piece of gold is what we're talking about today, Fully Invested. I already talked to my listeners about kind of your street creds and all of the things you've done with Pacific Capital, but I love what you're doing in this because it's what any of us that have been listening to for a while, you've really espoused, which is stop trying to balance it all.
B
Yeah, that's a great way to say it.
A
Yeah. And the reality is you are a family man, you have kids. So this isn't one of those things where, you know, we're hearing this from somebody that doesn't have all of those elements going on in their life and they're saying, go all in. Right. Well, that's easier to do when you don't have all that. So I, I would love for you to talk about the cost of going all in. I know you talked about that in the book, but in the entrepreneur space, there's a lot of people who want the seven, eight, nine figure businesses.
B
Yep.
A
But there's a cost of being half in, right?
B
Yeah, I'd love to. Yeah. And I'll share. I'll just share on my. So this is. I have six back to back podcasts. Here's the studio. And before that, before I got here, I had. I dropped my middle son off at high school basketball practice and then I went home and helped make breakfast and took my two youngest to their orthodontist appointment, dropped them off, and they had to wait in the waiting room till my wife got there. And then I rushed here to the studio and I just think Trying to balance it all. First of all, the 21 year old life coaches or people who are 23 years old and have no kids and they're just like, we all have the same 24 hours. And I'm like, no, we don't really, we don't really. Yeah, we don't really have the same 24 hours. But I really think that we kid ourselves and we pretend that we can't be successful at home and work in business. And it's an excuse that's comfortable. And so unfortunately, most people I see that are ultra successful have chosen to just abandon the family. And it breaks my heart, honestly, because I just feel that faith and family are so important as a foundation. And so my goal is to be the message to counteract the hustle culture of succeed at all cost and scale and grow. But who cares what happens? You just gotta put in your 10 years and you know, so that's just not my thing. The cost of being half in is twice as much. And I say that because if you're half in on anything, you're gonna feel that constant nagging guilt and that drift. And I think you actually do worse in your family and your business when you feel that when you're at work, you're like, oh, I'm missing stuff, I should be at home. And when you're at home, you're checking your emails and your messages at the dinner table, you're not succeeding in either. And I think that's extremely costly, super costly.
A
And not how we were. You know, I'm a faith girl, so I talk to that Lynn's faith and science all the time. And the reality is we were called to be extraordinary. We are called to follow an extraordinary God that made us more than we could ever ask or imagine. And so why do you think people ask so little of themselves even though they want so much?
B
I think people naturally want the easy path.
A
Yeah.
B
And so on social media it seems glamorous and easy to be rich and successful and it's not, it's not that easy. And it's also, it's also not that easy to be successful at home. I think people make a lot of excuses and we outsource a lot of the important family things in our life at the expense of work. And it's not gonna, it's like eventually that's gonna catch up to us.
A
Yeah.
B
You know, so I think we, we don't expect much from ourselves. We say, oh, I don't have time to do all these things. But then if you really look at your screen time. You do have time. You're just using it elsewhere.
A
Yeah, yeah. It's that idea of if I'm thinking about doing it, then I'm actually doing it.
B
Right.
A
And we're tricking ourselves into believing we're spending all this time doing something where we're not taking action. And I want to dive into the big eight that you talk about in the book, but I would be remiss to not ask you this. You. You and your company, you manage trillions of dollars of assets across most of the ultra elite entrepreneurs. So this is a pool you've been playing in not for the last year or two, but for decade, decades now. And so I would love for you, for those who are winning, that they aren't trying to balance it, but they. They have healthy family and faith lives, and their businesses are in that 1%. What are you seeing that's uncharacteristically different about that group versus the mainstream group that's trying to get to their first million in the business?
B
Let's say discipline and boundaries. Those are the two things I see differently amongst the ultra successful who are thriving at home and thriving at work. They have discipline and they have boundaries, and they say no. There are a lot of opportunities that we can say yes to, and even if there's just social opportunities, but that are not advancing anything for work or family. I think giving up some selfish habits allows us to be more successful at home and work and so becoming less selfish.
A
Yeah.
B
What else?
A
What are some examples of that, though?
B
I'd love for you to get under that Netflix binging. You know, it's like, I don't have time to do these things at home, but, you know, I'm gonna watch two hours a night because this is a great show and everyone's talking about it or.
A
Right.
B
You know, I. I think that you can succeed if you cut out waste. There's a lot of things that I had to cut out. Like, I haven't. I haven't really watched TV or I really don't watch movies. My wife wishes I did. I just don't. I'm like, I just. If. If I want to succeed big in business, there's things that I had to cut out. And. Yeah, so I did. Yeah. But I'm not. I don't feel like I'm missing anything for it. You know, I feel like we're. We have a very full and and thriving family life, and I'm not missing. I'm not missing out on much. People might say, oh, did you see that show? Did you see this or that? And I have nothing to add. And I get teased for it, but I'm all right, you know?
A
Yeah. What is it? It's not going to end up on the eulogy like you watched all the episode of Friends, you know what I'm saying?
B
That's right. That's right. Yeah. In the end, it's not going to matter much.
A
Yeah. No. So discipline. I. I want to. I want you to define what that means, because I think people think they understand what that is. And I was just having this conversation inside my program, and it's that discipline isn't you doing what you love to do a lot. That's actually not discipline. So I'm curious, how do you define that word when you say that's an attribute that you see so frequently amongst.
B
Doing what needs to be done when you don't feel like it.
A
Amen.
B
That's the way I would define it. So there are many things I don't feel like doing. You know, I set a goal in 2020. Like, right when Covid started, I had people on LinkedIn saying, Hey, I would love to have you written a book? I kept getting this question. It was like, one month, where suddenly people are saying, have you written a book? And I said, you know what? I'm gonna. I'm gonna write 10 books in 10 years. And I know what that means now. Yeah. That's not. That was. That was kind of said flippantly, but it was public. And now I'm like, I'm six books in. In six years, and I don't know what my next book is ever about. It's always a challenge. I don't feel like starting over every single time, but I do it because I committed to it. And I think there are a lot of things that if we just set better boundaries, even with our calendar. I'm very particular about what gets on my calendar. Now. Maybe a decade ago, I wasn't. I would say yes to lots of things. My assistants could book things on my calendar without permission. Now, it's extremely protected. So saying no to lots of opportunities. Hey, we'd love to have you speak at this conference. It's this and this and this. I might not say yes. And so there are a lot of things that I say politely say no to, that I used to say yes to.
A
Wow. So it's just really that hemming in of, if you say you want this, are you willing to do what needs to be done? So thanks for that little diversion. I know that's separate. But I also know after listening to you for a while, you talk about this a lot. So that it is the difference maker. So in the book you start to talk about vision and elevating your future and mindset, but you start with this big eight. I'd love for you to talk about the big eight. Why you think those are the most important things to take a look at before you start.
B
Yes. So there are, I think I love the quote. Many people have said it, so I'm not going to pick one person. But all progress starts by telling the truth and so assessing where you currently, currently are and what matters to you today.
A
Yeah.
B
And that could shift in 3, 6, 9, 12 months. But if you rank the eight categories I like to use and elevated, you rank these eight categories and then you rate yourself one to ten, you can see where the improvements need to be made. And then you can find people to be mentors or content that can help you. But it's health and wellness and this is in no order. Key relationships, money and wealth, family, faith and spirituality, personal growth, business and fun and adventure. And those are the eight life categories that I feel like if you can really shift and see what matters to you today, where you need help in, then you can constantly basically keep a pulse or keep the temperature of what's going on in your life.
A
Do you see many people, actually in my experience, because a lot of what I'm doing is helping people achieve more and less time just through the power neuroscience. And so many people, they, they buy the Internet fantasy. You know, you're going to get there in a million, you'll have it in two months. They start climbing this ladder in their business. They might have some success. And then they build the team that somebody else told them to build. They build the system somebody else told them to build. And they're climbing the technical ladder. But it's becoming somewhat of a prison. Have you had any experience of that yourself? And if so, like, what made you so religious, so to speak, on making sure that that doesn't happen?
B
I think what made me just resist the prison of being trapped by complexity is knowing what it, what I would not be able to do if I was, which is I wouldn't be a present husband or father. Yeah, I wouldn't keep my commitments in my faith if I was trapped with too many commitments. And so having boundaries and seeking more freedom with leverage and systems and people and opportunities, to me, that's the end goal has always given me the path. And the end goal is to Be able to impact lots of people, to have fun at work, to do what I'm good at and not what I'm not good at and to still have lots of time and resources for family and friends. And so if I can achieve that and find ways to do that without compromising any of my principles, then I'm going to do that and I'm going to continue to grow in that pathway. Yeah.
A
You feel like you get a lot of pressure to kind of get on the wide path, so to speak, and be in that area or do you feel like you've gotten that kind of dialed in protectively now?
B
Yeah, it's very dialed in now. I would say five to seven years ago. Yes, more so. But every year I've gotten more clear and more, I guess, more strict in my boundaries and I've got multiple full time assistants that protect, protect me. And they're awesome. Yeah. So I'm sure you spoke with one of them. But yeah, they're awesome. They, they everything in line for me. If I didn't have them, I'm sure I would. Left to my own devices, I would be a mess.
A
Yeah, because you're a visionary. High visionary. Right. And most of my listeners are. And I think the key thing that I'm honing in on is you, you iterated to that place. Do you think standing from where you are now, if you would have started that a decade ago, you would be able to go faster or do you think that's just a process people have to go through and iterate through?
B
I don't think I could have gotten here much faster. Nothing I've done has ever been overnight success. It's never been fast.
A
Never is. Yeah, that's the lie right there. Right?
B
Yeah, I just, I've, I've made good hires and bad hires. I've, you know, I've started businesses or invested in things that didn't work. But over time I just learned through my mistakes and struggles and I've gotten just much clearer on how things should work.
A
Yeah, so I'm, I'm, I'm thinking through because I want to honor our time frame together. Because here's the thing, my listeners looking at the screen here, make sure you click the link and get this book. In fact, I think we're gonna, we're gonna do a contest around it of some sort, so.
B
Oh cool.
A
If you buy the book and you DM copy, Chad and I both and let us know that you got it, we will have a contest where we'll do some kind of Cool event that you'll win a seat to if you're buying the book. And the reason why I'm doing that, I mean, it matters so much to me is because you talk about. And I'm not going to talk about on the podcast. The way you talk about vision is so aligned with how the brain works, and so few people in my experience understand that and understand how to craft vision. So I'm going to. I'm going to do that cliffhanger so they feel like, wait, she's saying that I better go grab the book.
B
And that's good. That's news to me because I'm not a super smart guy. I just wrote what I thought.
A
I always say the doctor in front of my name stands for desperate enough to get a PhD to figure out what ceiling was there. But here's what I'd love for you to talk about. In my estimation, you have built serious championship teams. I'd love for you to dive in. You talk about it in the book. What creates a championship team? What kind of leader do you need to be able to attract those kind of people? Let's start there. Because you approach teams, I believe, a little bit differently than most people do.
B
What I found entrepreneurs struggle with is giving up control. And they feel like they need to be in charge and they need to be in control, and they need to have a say. And if you were to ask my team and my people, I am the most opposite of that. I don't think there's anyone more like trusting and empowering. I just can't imagine it because I really do trust my people. And has it burned me before? Yes, it absolutely has.
A
Yeah.
B
I've hired and trusted people, and they didn't do well. But for the most part, we have championship teams right now in each business. And on my inner circle employees, the team members there are superstars. I really believe in putting people where they thrive. And what are they strong at? What do they love to do? Where can they make the most impact? I remember one activity where we had the entire team in one of my businesses. They wrote down on a sticky note all the tasks in their job that they really dislike, and they put it up on the board in the conference room. And I said, all right, everyone, go up there and see if you can take five to seven things. And what's crazy is what some people hated, other people were really excited about. And it had nothing to do with their role. It was outside the role. One of them was like wrapping packages that are gifts for clients. You know, like wrapping mail packages. And someone said, this is my favorite thing. Like, I love wrapping Christmas presents. And I get so excited. And the person who was doing it dreaded it every week. Wow. And so to me, it was like just re shifting tasks in a way that lifted energy and didn't drain energy. And so I want people to love coming to work and doing their jobs.
A
Yeah.
B
And so a leader needs to be super clear about the role and the vision of where they're headed and make room for everybody to be excited to be a part of that vision and that success journey. And so I feel like we've done a good job at that. And I don't have to micromanage anybody. These people are totally filled up with energy and excitement to do their work.
A
I love that. So one of the big things I talk about a lot is with your team creating internal owners. And this is one of the things.
B
Yeah, that's good.
A
Yeah. That I see you do so naturally. It's part of your natural personality where so many entrepreneurs don't want to. I always give the visual of like, entrepreneurship is like running in a relay race, except for the entrepreneur never lets go of the baton and wonders why it's going, you know, why it's not working out so well. You more naturally want to trust people and want that be. I do too. Because it. It is what gets your freedom. It is what gets you the time to be able to work on higher elevated things. What have been some of your key ways that you've been able to transfer ownership to your team so they really internally, intrinsically own it.
B
I. I think spending time getting to know them and understanding what excites them, what they want, and then relating to them how our company goals and how serving our clients fulfills what they want. And so connecting their wants to our mission. I think that's one thing. Another thing is extreme clarity when giving a task or a project. So I've created some tools and resources inside of elevated where I never delegate. Like, I don't throw the baton.
A
I don't have with it.
B
Yeah. So I pass the baton very thoughtfully and I make sure that before I wipe my hands of this project, they are super clear about what the expectations and goals are, what the obstacles are, who the resources are. Like, it's very clear. So it's not just me throwing out a lot of entrepreneurs. Just here's what I want. And they kind of just barf up their brain ideas. And it doesn't go anywhere. You know, it's. And then there's Confusion, and then there's miscommunication and there's misaligned expectations. And that's a result of not communicating well up front.
A
Yeah, love that. And it's back to the vision for what you're transferring. And I didn't hear. And I'm just pointing this out. Chad knows this, but he didn't say this is how you're going to do it. He said, here's why, here's what, here's who. And you trusting your people to come up with the how.
B
I think that, yeah, I don't want to. I don't want to deal with the how. Actually, lots of times I don't want to know the how. You'll start explaining to me, hey, this is what I'm going to do. And I'm like, hey, hold on. I don't need to know this. Like, I trust you to get it done. And like, okay, I just thought I should explain. And I'm like, nope, you don't have to explain that.
A
Yeah, yeah. I say I'm a recovering control, so the more I know, the more it tempts me. And so that's exactly, exactly. I'm protecting myself in that sense from jumping back in the pool when the pool is perfect the way it is.
B
There you go.
A
So much. All right, so I want to wrap up with you. You have a whole chapter on the power of presence.
B
Yep.
A
We actually were just talking about that in relationship to the team and how you transfer ownership. But I feel like this is an art that was very common, you know, long time ago. And in today's day and age, AI is making presence even less. People are less capable of presence because their brain is starting to shrink. I'm not going to go into all that. But how do you practice presence in the different arenas of life?
B
I think what I've thought about in the last couple weeks is that a person's success is tied to their ability to put their phone away.
A
Yeah.
B
And that's super simple and rudimentary, maybe, but I see it in my teenagers. I see it in myself. When I'm disciplined with my phone habits, my presence increases and my impact increases when I'm not. And I'm not perfect at it. When I'm not disciplined with my phone, I. I don't succeed as much. I'm less present, I'm less focused, and it's just not as. It's not a good feeling. And so, you know, I went to dinner with a friend last night in Los Angeles. We met for dinner, went to the Lakers game together. And we're at a very nice restaurant in the steakhouse in downtown la. And the people next to us, it was clearly a couple and their two teenage children, and all four of them had elbows on the table and phones in the face. And this is like a white tablecloth. Nice restaurant. And I just thought, I looked over a few times and I'm like, man, I do not want to ever be caught like that. Like, it was a bummer. I'm like, this is a hundred dollar a plate type of fancy restaurant and it's a family. And I'm like, I just, you know, I had my phone in my pocket and my do not disturb on, and my friend who I met with actually was taking a work call as we were getting seated, and he could see that my phone was in my pocket. So I just sat there and I just sat there and I waited. And he's like, hey, I gotta finish this call. I'm at a dinner with a friend. I gotta go. And it's like, if someone has to be the leader and manage that and be present, otherwise nobody will. It's too tempting not to be.
A
Yeah. And it gives that essence of getting things done. But in reality, it's really an illusion. So hard to win at business and at home if you're not present in either. Right?
B
100%.
A
I love it. All right, we'll wrap on that. I want to make sure everybody gets their hand. Check the link below. 7 Strategies to Win big in business, in life. Chad, thank you so much for coming onto the podcast. And I'm excited for my listeners to get connected with you.
B
Appreciate it. Thank you.
A
Good luck on the book.
B
Thank you. Thank you.
A
All right, so I've been following Chad for a very long time at Pacific Capital. He writes this newsletter that I get every single week. And honestly is one of a handful of people that's in the billion and trillion dollar industry that puts faith, family and business in a way that he supports able to win it both. And he talks about them all and honors them all. So I'm super excited for you. Grab this book. Fully invested and be blessed by learning through someone who has walked the talk. All right, that's what I have for you this week on the Epic Success Podcast. Go down to the show notes, grab the book, and I'm looking forward to seeing you next week on the Epic Success podcast. Bye for now. Sam.
Date: December 17, 2025
Guest: Chad Willardson, Founder of Pacific Capital & Author of "Fully Invested"
In this thought-provoking episode, Dr. Shannon Irvine interviews Chad Willardson, a financial expert, entrepreneur, and author of "Fully Invested." Together, they break down the myth of "work-life balance" and challenge conventional entrepreneurship wisdom. Listeners are offered actionable strategies to excel both in business and at home, centered on discipline, boundaries, intentional presence, and building aligned teams. Chad shares personal experiences, practical frameworks, and deeply held values around faith, family, and success, making this an inspiring listen for ambitious visionaries seeking integration in all life areas.
Chad’s Perspective:
Work-life balance isn’t just unrealistic — it’s a lie. Chad, a committed family man, critiques the social media narrative that we all have the same 24 hours. He highlights the real-life logistics and responsibilities that differentiate people in different life stages.
The Cost of “Half-In” Living:
Attempting to “balance” by only putting partial energy into family or business leads to guilt and underperformance in both.
Discipline & Boundaries:
Examples of Boundaries:
What Discipline Really Means:
Chad’s tool for self-assessment and intentional living—eight core areas to evaluate regularly:
Resisting Complexity:
Chad cautions against building businesses as a prison, losing sight of freedom due to excessive commitments and complexity.
Iterative Process:
Trust and Empowerment:
Matching Talents to Tasks:
Clarity & Ownership:
Connecting Personal and Company Goals:
Letting Go of the “How”:
On the myth of equal time:
“We all have the same 24 hours. And I'm like, no, we don’t really.”
— Chad Willardson (03:07)
On being “half-in”:
“The cost of being half in is twice as much.”
— Chad Willardson (03:55)
On discipline:
“Doing what needs to be done when you don't feel like it.”
— Chad Willardson (08:42)
On building a team:
“I really believe in putting people where they thrive.”
— Chad Willardson (17:10)
On presence:
“A person's success is tied to their ability to put their phone away.”
— Chad Willardson (22:17)
On intentional leadership:
“I pass the baton very thoughtfully and I make sure that...they are super clear about what the expectations and goals are, what the obstacles are, who the resources are.”
— Chad Willardson (20:07)
This episode offers a countercultural, faith-anchored perspective on work, family, and self-mastery for entrepreneurs:
For more: Grab Chad Willardson’s new book Fully Invested, and consider implementing the assessment tools, team exercises, and calendar boundaries discussed in this episode for your own epic success.