990. Part 2: The One Investment That Makes Every Other Investment Better

Summary

Podcast Summary: Fullerton Unfiltered – Episode 990

Part 2: The One Investment That Makes Every Other Investment Better

Date: July 15, 2026
Host: Brian Fullerton
Guest: Liz Fullerton

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Episode Overview

This episode continues Brian and Liz Fullerton’s deep exploration of the concept that the best investment any entrepreneur or professional can make is in themselves. Through candid stories, motivational advice, and industry wisdom, they break down how personal development outpaces any traditional investment—whether it’s in stocks, real estate, or retirement funds. The episode is especially aimed at business owners who feel "behind" compared to peers, offering both tough love and encouragement to keep the long game in mind and not fall prey to comparison.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Breaking the Mental “Comparison Trap”

Timestamps: [02:09] – [05:04]

• Brian and Liz open by discussing the stress of comparing entrepreneurial progress to employees in traditional jobs. Many business owners feel behind when they look at friends with stable jobs, houses, and 401k accounts, but miss the true long-term advantages of entrepreneurship and business ownership.

  • Brian: "You’re living in a rented apartment or a 200 grand starter home... and you feel like a loser. The reality is... you are so much further ahead, not behind than you would ever imagine." ([02:55])
  • Liz: "You don’t know what people look like behind the scenes... we looked horrific... like we were gonna be on state assistance or something. It looked bad." ([03:56])

• Age and experience ease the need for external validation.

  • Brian: "At 18 you care what everybody thinks. At 40 you stop caring... at 65 you realize nobody is thinking about you anyway." ([05:04])

2. The Power of Vision and Perseverance

Timestamps: [05:29] – [07:45]

• Both Brian and Liz recall tough early years, living in a "busted apartment" with debt and little to show for it externally. Brian consistently kept the bigger vision alive, even when Liz struggled to see it.

  • Brian: "You don’t understand what we have here... all you can see is bills. But let that play out and compound for another five years." ([06:11])

• They stress how quickly things can change after years of effort:

  • From a starter apartment to multi-six figure businesses, upgraded homes, and new opportunities.
  • Liz: "And everything, it seemed like it changed." ([07:42])
  • Brian: "All that... has been stemming from the last eight, nine years." ([07:45])

3. Non-Traditional Investment: Investing in Yourself

Timestamps: [07:45] – [14:04]

• The core message: every time you read a book, listen to an episode, attend a conference, or hire a coach, you are compounding “personal equity” that pays far greater dividends in the long run.

  • Brian: "Imagine the investment that you’ve put in yourself to be who you are today... that’s the nontraditional investing that you guys are making." ([08:20])
  • Brian: "Put the investment into my brain for the last 20 years, 10 years, five years, building me up to be able to know how to do that job. That’s why your price is $1,000 more." ([09:50])

• Progress often feels slow, but consistency is key. Brian and Liz empathize with those feeling burnout, but encourage sticking with it.

  • Liz: "If there’s one thing that we’re good at, it’s being hard headed and not quitting." ([11:39])
  • Brian: "If anybody gets it, it’s us. There’s not another soul out there that can relate to you guys more than Liz and I." ([11:31])

4. Fighting Back Against Setbacks

Timestamps: [12:04] – [14:29]

• The couple shares emotional stories of frustration, doubting if “life owes you” and feeling stuck. Brian recalls a turning point where the only answer was to “fight back.”

  • Brian: "I remember turning on the old Plane grill by my mom’s house and I remember saying out loud... fight back." ([12:22])
  • Brian: "Once I feel like I’ve put in a certain amount of work and effort, the universe owes me back. And I really do believe that." ([13:18])

• The principle: give before you get—effort must precede reward in life and business.

  • Brian: "You gotta give before you get." ([14:03])

5. The Long-Term Value of Personal Growth

Timestamps: [14:29] – [21:35]

• The Fullertons highlight how their prolonged struggle created the stories and insight they now share.

  • Liz: "Look at what you’ve done along the way. Like, you never know where things are gonna come up. And look at the story that it’s given to you to give to other people." ([14:44])

• Investment in personal development was always non-negotiable. They never questioned spending on education or growth, even when cash was tight.

  • Brian: "Have I ever asked you if it’s okay if I go spend an extra dollar on anything that’s self improvement related?... Anything, anytime, anywhere ever in 20 years?" ([19:50])
  • Liz: "No... it’s even gotten to that point with the kids." ([20:23])

• Practical Example: Brian spent $10,000 on coaching that led to at least $250,000 in return.

  • Brian: "10 grand in has probably made me a quarter million out easily. Easily." ([21:24])

6. Personal Development Over Traditional Assets

Timestamps: [21:40] – [24:32]

• The Fullertons believe the best long-term investment is in growth—courses, conferences, coaching, masterminds, etc.—not in stocks or retirement accounts.

  • Brian: "Your next best investment is... anything that you can spend money on to learn, educate, and buy people’s best experiences, thoughts, strategies, program to invest early into you being a better version of yourself..." ([21:40])
  • Liz: "How dare you, you know, go to like a self-help motivational $1,500... for an online guru course." ([23:14])

• They openly push back on the traditional narrative that only college or stock investing are worthy “self-investments,” arguing that business and personal growth opportunities can offer higher ROI.

7. Money, Pressure, and Self-Worth

Timestamps: [24:41] – [28:16]

• Brian opens up about the pressure men especially feel to “measure up,” and how social media can exacerbate feelings of falling behind financially or professionally.

  • Brian: "All you want to do and all you want to know is, do I have what it takes?... every single reel is basically telling me, unfortunately, I don’t or I haven’t yet." ([26:28])
  • Brian: "Everywhere around, all of us have nothing but people who’ve quit on us. And then we have to pump ourselves up every day because the only person that can’t quit on you is you." ([26:45])

• He highlights the difference between chasing money vs. chasing impact, and how the family culture of the Fullertons is built around service, not just profit.

  • Brian: "I want to make money. I want to make an impact. Like that’s my mission is to help a million people change their [lives]." ([30:19])

8. Marriage, Partnership, & Alignment

Timestamps: [32:47] – [34:02]

• For those starting out: shared vision and buy-in are crucial in relationships. If you’re not aligned on growth, the partnership can struggle.

  • Brian: "You just spin the dream, sell the dream and ask for some accountability and do it together." ([32:47])
  • Liz: "If you guys are just dating and... she isn’t getting this, then it might not work." ([33:03])

• Honest, tough advice: If someone isn’t on board, it may signal deeper incompatibilities or hinder future success.

9. Final Motivation: You Are Not Behind

Timestamps: [34:31] – [38:32]

• The episode closes with a resounding message: most listeners are far more advanced than they realize, even if their bank account doesn’t reflect it yet.

  • Brian: "If you’re 36 and you’re like, all I’ve got... all you’ve got is way more than you’re giving yourself credit for..." ([34:31])
  • Brian: "The foundation... has been laid not because of what you bought and what you have, but because of who you are. And that’s something that none of you are seeing on your balance sheet." ([35:00])

• The real risk is in giving up, not being behind.

  • Liz: "It isn’t unless you give up." ([35:07])

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Notable & Memorable Quotes

• "At 18 you care what everybody thinks. At 40 you stop caring... At 65 you realize nobody is thinking about you anyway."
  – Brian Fullerton [05:04]

• "The best investment that you can make is into your [self]... not in a selfish way... investment into your brain."
  – Liz Fullerton [20:49]

• "The difference between what’s showing up on the property to take care of it—me versus the other guy—that’s the non traditional investing that you guys are making."
  – Brian Fullerton [09:50]

• "You gotta give before you get."
  – Brian Fullerton [14:03]

• "Don’t judge the day’s success by the harvest reaped, but by the amount of seed sown."
  – Brian Fullerton [17:09]

• "I just decided I was going to be successful, I was going to be rich, I was going to be a business owner... I need to do everything I can to learn how to do said things."
  – Brian Fullerton [18:09]

• "If there’s one thing that we’re good at, it’s being hard headed and not quitting."
  – Liz Fullerton [11:39]

• "The foundation... has been laid not because of what you bought and what you have, but because of who you are. And that’s something that none of you are seeing on your balance sheet."
  – Brian Fullerton [35:00]

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Episode Structure / Timestamps

• [01:27] – Opening: Introduction to “cash outpacing growth” and investing into yourself.
• [02:09] – Comparison with others, enterprise value, and future outlook.
• [05:04] – The journey from insecurity and comparison to vision and self-reliance.
• [07:45] – How luxuries and achievements come after years of steady self-growth.
• [08:20] – The real ROI of podcasts, conferences, and daily discipline.
• [12:04] – Feeling beaten down, emotional low points, and the “fight back” mentality.
• [14:29] – Why their struggle created unique stories and wisdom to share.
• [19:50] – Never questioning investment in education and exposure.
• [21:40] – The compounding (often overlooked) value of coaching, masterminds, and self-education over traditional savings/investing.
• [24:41] – Social media, male psychology, and the risk of living under financial and societal comparison.
• [32:47] – Partnership and communication: making sure couples are aligned on goals.
• [34:31] – Reassurance: Listeners are building a foundation even if it’s not in the numbers yet.
• [35:07] – Only defeat is in quitting.
• [38:32] – Final thoughts, call to action: maximize your contribution to YOU.

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Takeaways for the Listener

• Stop comparing your path to others’ highlight reels. Entrepreneurial struggles pay off in unexpected ways—often all at once, after years of grind.
• Keep investing in yourself without guilt. Conferences, books, coaching, and masterminds offer greater compounded returns than traditional assets in the early/mid stages of business.
• Buy-in from your partner matters. Aligned vision and shared sacrifice are key to lasting success and harmony.
• You’re likely much further along than you think. Personal growth, resilience, and grit are “assets” you can’t see in your P&L but are the real foundation for the future.
• Quitting is the only way to truly fall behind. Progress that's not yet visible financially may already be laying the groundwork for future breakthroughs.

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For more resources, episode links, or to connect with Brian and Liz, check the show notes.

Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

Foreign.

[Brian Fullerton]

You're now listening to the Fullerton Unfiltered Podcast. Straightforward, no nonsense business advice. Completely unfiltered. Grow your business, grow your life. Now here's your host, Brian Fullerton.

[Mr. Producer]

Hey friends, it's Mr. Producer and we're going to get to part two of the one investment that makes every other investment better in just a moment. But if you're listening in real time, July 15, 2026, tonight at 6pm, that's when LaunchPreneur Academy live tickets for our 2026 event coming up in Novi, Michigan over the weekend of November 7th and the 8th are going to go on sale. Now we've got a completely refreshed speaker lineup this year, a brand new format and an even greater focus on leadership, team building and practical strategies to put to work immediately. I really hope you'll consider bringing your entire leadership team join us for master classes. You'll be able to connect with contractors from all across the country that are working toward the same goals that you are. Early bird pricing available for a limited time. So get ready tonight, 6pm when the website turns on. Get your tickets. Right now though, let's turn it back over to Brian.

[Brian Fullerton]

So we're trying to alleviate bottlenecks with capital, but right now, cash is outpacing growth, which is a wildly new problem that we've never had. And now instead of saying, well, you know, 250 bucks a month or 500 bucks a month, 6 grand a year, 20 years, what is that, you know, 100, 220,000 bucks, what if you were able to meet that in, you know, one year at age 40 and then you contributed another hundred grand at age 41 and another hundred grand a year, not messing up your lifestyle, not, not being able to reinvest still in the businesses, not cutting away from your pays or your salaries. But at 43, you put in another hundred grand and at 44, you put in another 100 grand and at 45, you put in another 100 grand, it

[Liz Fullerton]

becomes legacy minded instead of just, yeah, Exactly.

[Brian Fullerton]

The first five, 10, 20 years you're going to have to get you right. And again, as Robert Kiyosaki says, you don't have enough money to contribute to investing in yourself and basically the cost, the baby or feeding the baby at the same time, you can't, you can't pay off your auto loan, your mortgage fund retirement and fund savings all at once and invest into yourself or your business. And I know I'm not the only one out there that feels the same way, right? Because, and here's what Liz and I have said and we will always say this is. You have to then decide to go out there and make a decision and make it right. You have to back up this commitment. You have to say, I'm not worried about what my 29 year old or 34 year old couple, friend, peer, who's in corporate America and has $81,000 invested in the market with a 401k and a matching. And they look wealthy on paper because they make $70,000 a year, they've got the 400 grand home and they've got the $80,000 401k going. And you're living in a rented apartment or a 200 grand starter home or whatever. And you're like, all I've got is two trucks for lawnmowers. We're working on a storage lockers, doing 400 grand in revenue. And you feel like a loser. The reality is that on the, on the dollars and cents, the enterprise value, the growth trajectory, the where you guys were all at just five years ago versus where you are today, let that play out and compound for another five years. You are so much further ahead, not behind than you would ever imagine. And I'm telling you, I know what you're thinking. Well, it sure doesn't feel that way. I think I understand. And we know this is like the

[Liz Fullerton]

second half of it, right? Like if you have a plan, just sticking to your plan and not looking around you. Because that's how you get confused whether you choose to invest traditionally. Like the not to invest traditionally but follow the traditional, like, timeline of things or taking a risk and being a business owner. Like both things can be right at once, depending on who you are for the right person. Right. Because everybody's different. But when you start looking left and right, you don't know what people look like behind the scenes. Like, you don't know what goes on behind closed doors. You don't know what they look like on paper. And we looked horrific. We looked awful. Oh, yeah, like 20 years ago. Not even. We weren't together 20 years ago, 14 years ago, whatever. Like we looked like 10 years ago for sure. Like we were gonna be on like state assistance or something. Yeah, it looked bad. And it's hard because people around us, you know, we're buying their first homes.

[Brian Fullerton]

They were first bags, their first home.

[Liz Fullerton]

Oh yeah, the purse thing. Don't give me. Yeah, like, and it's so hard, especially when you're young, to not play the comparison game. I feel like with age comes just a level Of I don't know if it's called maturity or just, you're just more seasoned. Of.

[Brian Fullerton]

It's 18, 40, 65. Dude, it's at 18 you care about what everybody thinks. At 40 you stop caring what everybody thinks. At 65 you realize nobody is thinking about you anyway. Yeah, you just stop caring about what people think. I wish I had that attitude at 40 that I today at 40 that I did at 18. I think I adopted it around 20, 25.

[Liz Fullerton]

Brian, I've never met somebody who doesn't give a rip about what other people think of them. Like you like truly. I don't think you were born with that bone in your body.

[Brian Fullerton]

I think it broke that one pretty quick.

[Liz Fullerton]

You broke that pretty quick. And you broke it out of me pretty quick too. Took me a little bit longer, but yeah. And I vividly remember we always go back to the same conversation because I can just. It was so like, I remember it so viscerally I don't even know that's right way to say that. But having that conversation of like Brian, we're never going to have a house. Brian, we're never going to have babies.

[Brian Fullerton]

Oh, I remember that.

[Liz Fullerton]

Never going to like do anything. Like we are just in this busted apartment with our busted cars, with our 99 cent jar of spaghetti sauce and like it just what does this actually look like and how are we going to get there? And just like it felt like the world was just passing us by because it looked like we were standing still traditionally it did.

[Brian Fullerton]

And I'm like Liz, what are you talking about? We have a. And I don't know If I said seven figures but I was like we have a multi six figure landscape company here with this YouTube thing. I'm taking this thing all the way. Like we're gonna build something that nobody's ever done. Like this thing will make. And I, I'm sure I said like a hundred grand a year at that time because that was like a big number to me. I'm like this thing, I was like this thing's gonna make 100 grand a year. I just know like there's people that make millions of dollars with YouTube channel. I've never made like in a single year a million dollars in YouTube. There's no freaking way. Not even close. And but I'll tell you what, like Liz, think about it like this. I was like, look you don't you, it's not like you can't see it, but you struggled with the vision more than I did for sure. But I said like, you don't understand what we have here. And you're like, all we have is bills. All we have is debt. We have a crappy apartment. And it didn't take but a year or two later, we were moving out of the old crummy apartment because our income started to grow. And we got the new apartment, which was new construction, basically condo. And at the time, to us, that

[Liz Fullerton]

was like the Taj Mahal.

[Brian Fullerton]

It was like amazing. It, it literally felt like a flat penthouse at New York City. Like a hundred million dollar penthouse. It's so laughable and crazy.

[Liz Fullerton]

If you go back and look at our FPO2 channel, you can see us doing old videos of this apartment that was like a condo apartment. And we.

[Brian Fullerton]

Nobody had ever had in our house a $2,200 a month rent.

[Liz Fullerton]

It was bigger than any house I grew up in.

[Brian Fullerton]

I don't know if anybody in our house made $2,200 a month other than Adam and Sarah.

[Liz Fullerton]

Like, we were so excited for this place. Like it, and it really was, it was such a nice place for us to like it.

[Brian Fullerton]

And it was great. It was a good four or five year window, whatever, three or four year window that we were there.

[Liz Fullerton]

Yeah. And everything, it seemed like it changed.

[Brian Fullerton]

And it wasn't but a year or two after that where we got the property. Well, we got the Tesla, then we got the property, then a couple of years, we had to put some more cash in the bank, obviously, and then put a down payment, the home and then built. And that's like what everybody sees more today, the last 24 months. And I'm like, look, dude, all that has been stemming from the last eight, nine years. It just came together in the last 24 to 36 months. Here, here's a different way I want to say it. Like, you guys are making the investment into yourselves every single day. Here's like me preaching to the, to the, to the choir and to the obvious. But every single day that you show up to this podcast on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday, I, I don't believe I've ever mailed in an episode ever. Like, literally I've been like, oh, that's, you know, decent episode. There was one or two good nuggets, and some shows are definitely better than others. But I don't feel like I've ever put out content just to put out content just to make to a schedule. I've never put myself under that bind, that, that pressure ever. So let me, let me ask you this. This every Monday, Wednesday, Friday that you guys show up to a podcast and you learn something new. Imagine the investment that you've put in yourself to be who you are today and subsequently, I'm sure your income, your life, your relationships, your ability to be a parent, a spouse, a son, a daughter, you know, maybe a better community member, maybe a better churchgoer, whatever. You've made that investment into yourself for what, five or six now years listening to this show. I'm really glad, and I say this like humbly, I'm really glad that I put a lot of thought process, time and money investment into me to be able to put out on a show 985 episodes, to be able to pour that thought process into you guys, to be able to go have a better frickin life. And yes, we've made a couple bucks along the way with a couple whole ball of wax sales and sop bundle sales. And I'm pretty sure everybody on the plans download the lawn care contract at this point. Thank you. And you know, you hear an ad once in a while, which 90% of them run for free because they're affiliates and they don't pay the sponsored rate. But it's not like I've made $25 million doing this. And I'm not trying to like, it really is the mission to help you guys change your freaking stars. And all of you guys that are out there like bidding against somebody and they're like, oh, well, that makes your company different than ours. You freaking get me. And the other guy is not putting in five years of effort listening to 980 shows and thousands of YouTube videos like you guys do. That's the difference between what's showing up on the property to take care of it. Me versus the other guy. Like that's the non traditional investing that you guys are making. And you better roll your shoulders back, you've better walk tall, you better know like there's a difference of like why Your price is 5 bucks more than the other guy. Oh, because my element budget says so? No, because you fricking deserve it. Because you made the investment into you and people want to cash in on that investment. Imagine this customer comes up and they want, you know, you to do a specific job or task. You have a highly trained personal set of skills. Like it's taken over here. And then they go, they go, they go, why is your price $1,000 more, $10,000 more? Put the investment into my brain for the last 20 years, 10 years, five years, building me up to be able to know how to do that job. And you're going to like, nickel and die me against the competition. Dude, you're not our icp. Peace out, Cub Scout. Good luck. Best of luck on that job. Like, you guys are making the investment into you right now. And if you're like, well, the dollars aren't showing up just yet, just keep going. I told you it took two decades for us to now start to barely be in a position to be able to do what we're about to do, right? Two decades. And then somebody's like, well, I've given it 24 months. I've given it three years. I've given it five years. I'm giving it seven years. You don't know what it's like. Trust me, folks, if anybody gets it, it's us. There's not another soul out there that can relate to you guys more than Liz and I. Because, dude, I really do feel like we've ran the gamut so far.

[Liz Fullerton]

It took us so much longer than it should have. Should have. And like, if there's one thing that we're good at, it's being hard headed and not quitting. Like we might not have. Yeah. And I feel like, I feel so much for the people that are like just burning, giving it all they got, right? Like they're burning all the fuel. They're doing all the things they're.

[Brian Fullerton]

Have you ever said, something's got to give me? Yeah. Yeah, I have. Have you ever been in the car pounding your steering wheel and saying, I don't know what else to do?

[Liz Fullerton]

It gets to the point where you know that life owes you something.

[Brian Fullerton]

It does.

[Liz Fullerton]

So you're not going to quit because you're waiting for it to pay up.

[Brian Fullerton]

I remember driving around saying, as corny as that sounds, no, I remember driving around saying, like, this sucks. Like something's got to give. Like, what the heck is going on? And I remember me yelling out, well, then fight back. I remember I was turning on the old Plane grill by my mom's house and I remember saying out loud, and I don't think that was me talking, I think something else was coming out of me. And it was like, well, fight back. And I'm like. Because I was like, this is. Nothing is fair. This is not going right. This sucks. And I remember just like, I don't remember it for any other reason than just the fight back. Like, no crap. And then people are like, well, how can you remember poems like, life? I counted my life. I bargained with life for a penny. How do you remember these stupid quotes and these stupid Poems, because they literally are my true north. Once I feel like I've put in a certain amount of work and effort, the universe owes me back. And I really do believe that. And it's not like this law of attraction type nonsense. It's, dude, I've put in the work and this world owes me. Dude. Like, not in a victim, not an entitlement. I mean, like, I can't wait to see what the universe conspires to put into my world because of what I've put out into the world. If that makes sense.

[Liz Fullerton]

Yeah, I mean, like, it's a whole, like, energy doesn't cease to exist. Energy has to go somewhere.

[Brian Fullerton]

It doesn't come out. Void.

[Liz Fullerton]

Yeah. So if you're putting energy into something, it is going somewhere and it's going to come out somewhere.

[Brian Fullerton]

This is the whole like, God will not be mocked conversation. Like, if you just sew and you do a good job, people like, well, I want fire before there's smoke. Well, no, there's got to be some smoke before fire. And people are like, well, I'm not going to put in any extra work because I want to see it first. Doesn't work like that in life. Doesn't work on it like that in this planet. It doesn't work like that here. People are like, well, I want to get before I give. I'm like, it doesn't work that way. You got to give before you give.

[Liz Fullerton]

Well, so and so got lucky. And so and so did, you know, like, that I hate that whole.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah, but then people are like, oh, well, I don't want to go the extra mile. I don't want to give. I don't want to get. I'm tit for tat. No, I'm an eye for an eye and all this stuff. And I'm like, dude, you just. That's fine that you can say those things. And I'm really proud that you're so dug in on those beliefs. But I am sorry, that is just not how it actually, actually works.

[Liz Fullerton]

You know why it doesn't. I feel like this is probably getting off on a whole other topic, but I feel like there's a reason why your story took so long and is taking so long to fully come about. And it's like, look at what you've done along the way. Like, you never know where things are gonna come up.

[Brian Fullerton]

Not at all.

[Liz Fullerton]

And look at the story that it's given to you to give to other people. So, like, you don't know.

[Brian Fullerton]

I don't. And it's insane, like, how it's been revealed the last couple of years. I had a friend of mine, I think it might have said this story on the podcast. One, a friend of mine, old friend of mine, 20 years ago, came over to the house and he said, and I was showing him a house in the barn, a little bit of this. And he like, looks at me and he goes, hey, dude. Like, can I just say something? Like, what's up? He's like, you know your life makes no freaking sense, right?

[Liz Fullerton]

Like, and it's very hard to not take that the wrong way.

[Brian Fullerton]

He's like, yeah, like all this, you know, it makes no sense, right? I go, does it? I said, yeah. I said, in a way it doesn't. In a way it absolutely does. And also in a way it doesn't. And when I was at Mark Bradley's leanscaper shirt Charlotte event, you know, a year ago, the same time last year, and Mark's like, can you imagine, like 10 years ago you telling you that this is where you're at today? And I'm like, yeah, yeah, I'm at where I'm at. Because I did believe it. And also, obviously, absolutely not. It's insane.

[Liz Fullerton]

Have you seen the memes going around? It's like a video. And it's like, everything will always work out because I'm absolutely insane or something like that.

[Brian Fullerton]

Something like that.

[Podcast Announcer]

Yeah.

[Liz Fullerton]

That's literally, I feel like, like, like,

[Brian Fullerton]

because I always, like, betted on me or something. Yeah. Like, it's like, look, we'll, we'll button up. I'm not here to, to, to tell you it's okay to not have a. And look, I'm having a number in my brain for traditional retirement at a certain age point because I want to do a certain adventure. Not from a. Yeah, like, not from a. Well, that. And then like to be able to work in even different capacities later in life, like you said. And even kind of like recently, like last year or so, two years forward, it's like we, we've always operated like this. Like, we don't make decisions based on the dollar or the bill. We make decisions based on the merit of the decision. And that's why folks like Mark Bradley have what they have, period. Like, and I'm. That's what I'm trying to emulate. When you don't, when you, when you want nothing and need nothing. It's funny, like, how your decision making prowess changes and then all of a sudden you start getting money and making more money and like, Mark Bradley, like, loses a million or two bucks on the leanscaper events. And he makes the investment into 700 people. And people go, God, it's just. It must be so nice. And you're just so lucky. It's like, dude, he's been making investments into people and the people around him like that for 30 years. You know what I mean? And people, it's like, don't judge. One of my favorite lines is like, don't judge the day success by the harvest reaped. But. But the amount of seed sown. Like, I remember reading stuff like this 5, 10, 15 years ago. I'm like, oh, it sounds great. I'm broke. I can't afford double meat at Chipotle. But thank God I read that Think and Grow Rich or the Psychology of Money or how to be Rich to

[Liz Fullerton]

be fair, nobody can afford.

[Brian Fullerton]

Not anymore. But you know what I'm saying? Fifteen years later, I'm like, oh my God, it all makes sense. It all makes sense and it's making more sense.

[Liz Fullerton]

And I'm sure there's so many things that we still have to figure out.

[Brian Fullerton]

I'm 1,000%. There's no way. The exponent that we know it all, the exponential growth curve of who we are and what we are becoming. And I feel the same with all of you guys listening in as well. I pray that we all look back five, ten years from now and go, boy, were we on it. But man, we were just off one or two degrees, you know, like, in a good way. Yeah, because that's how you want to measure your future success. Yes, yes. Like, they were, they were, you know, like. And that's what happens. I'm like, mark, it's like this. But he goes, well, sort of. But like, like 1, like 97% of the way there. And here's my funny, like, my funny statement on that is always like, you know, like, you know, chimpanzees and human, like, you know, DNA is like 97%, you know, accurate. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, yeah, I'm 99% the same. Right. But 1% that chimpanzee, the 1% that, you know, allows me to use toilet paper versus a leave in the woods, you know, I mean, there's a 1%, a big deal industrial revolution and the Internet, an AI and you know, picking your butt so it's like. And somebody paying 20 bucks to come see you do it. It's. It's a lot different. And so I hope that is our, our true final story. And, and I think that's The Mark Bradley's always talking like the Maslov's hierarchy of needs, you know and that's enlightenment, right? Like at the, at the peak is you're just fully self aware and whatever dude, that's a whole nother conversation. But that's the hierarchy of Maslov's needs and all that stuff. And, and look I'm not here to give anybody a pass. I'm not here to tell anybody this what you should do or what you shouldn't be doing. I'm just telling you my plan. I saw from at age 18 and 19, 20 and I just decided I was going to be successful, I was going to be rich. I was going to be a business owner. Checked a couple of those boxes. I still got a couple more of those boxes to check off if you know what I'm saying. And I had said this is what I'm going to do. I need to do everything I can to learn how to do said things. And there was when it comes to Liz and myself and our personal and I guess our business finances. But let me ask you this. Have I ever asked you if it's okay if I go spend an extra dollar on anything that's self improvement related?

[Liz Fullerton]

No.

[Brian Fullerton]

Anything travel on self improvement related. Anything on education about us being better people? Marriage conference conversation?

[Liz Fullerton]

Nope.

[Brian Fullerton]

Anything going with element of break records tour, Anything with to get on the trades? Any. Anything, anytime, anywhere ever in 20 years. Have, have I ever asked you is it okay if I spend XYZ dollar bill? No.

[Liz Fullerton]

No.

[Brian Fullerton]

Have you ever said to me I want to go spend XYZ amount on me and me tell you no.

[Podcast Announcer]

No.

[Liz Fullerton]

And it's even gotten to that point with the kids. Like there's a program that I want to enroll our son in that you know will make him be a little better man one day eventually with like public speaking and confidence and stuff. And you're just like yeah, makes sense.

[Brian Fullerton]

It's a really cool program. Another conversation for another time that we're already enrolling little dude in. It's a super fun. It's the craziest thing I've ever heard of. I'm like that sounds like some future of education stuff.

[Liz Fullerton]

Yeah. But like it's a, it's whatever.

[Brian Fullerton]

A local program.

[Liz Fullerton]

Yeah, yeah. But it's, it's, it's always been kind of like a blank check of like if it's going the best investment that you can make is into your to help others really like it's not in a selfish way like not like going to go, you know in the mostage. I mean, although that would help you. It's like investment into your brain in

[Brian Fullerton]

the most cliche way possible. I hope you understand. Yes, yes, it is. When people like, oh, you invest in courses and conferences and resources and education. I remember it was like three, four years ago now. I spent 10 grand in six weeks on $1,000 an hour coaching calls with a YouTube sponsorship coach.

[Liz Fullerton]

That was crazy.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah, that has absolutely made me, dude, 10 grand in has probably made me a quarter million out Easily. Easily in the last five years. Easily.

[Liz Fullerton]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

Not even a question about it.

[Liz Fullerton]

It's gotten to the point now where it's like, okay, what else can we do? And like how quickly can we do it?

[Brian Fullerton]

That is the ex that. And then Mark Bradley's like, you know, you want to talk about a permission slab? Mark Bradley's like, now at all of our level mine. And any of you guys listening in for real, this isn't unattainable. This is where all of you are listening in. You start to hire your mentors and now you can hire coaches. You can hire and be a part of masterminds or groups or conferences like leanscaper. This is where your next best investment is. It's not in Tesla ipo. It's not in anything else. Like it is a thousand dollar a month personal trainer. It's a $3,000 a month quarterly conference or the accelerator program. It is the link, $50 a month membership. It is anything that you can spend money on to learn, educate and buy people's best experiences, thoughts, strategies, program to invest early or into you being a better version of yourself to have the larger ROI and dividend for every subsequent year. And I truly, truly believe that, like it's the craziest, it's the craziest investment you could ever spend money on. It's yourself. And people hear that and they think it's cheesy and it just, it's so, it's just, it's okay, it's fine. But versus like, oh, you should like $100 a month into the stock market,

[Liz Fullerton]

go get into, you know, multiple six figure debt or whatever to go pay a professor who's never done what he's teaching you to do.

[Brian Fullerton]

That's, that's a whole other, that's such an easy one.

[Liz Fullerton]

But that's okay, you can go do that all day. But how dare you, you know, go to like a self help motivational $1,500

[Brian Fullerton]

for an online guru course, you know, a vetted person or okay, let's just take Like a, like a brand name, like Tony Robbins. You go to a Business Mastery summit. Let's say, I don't even know the number. Let's say it's ten grand and you go there for a week and you're like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Or, you know, Brandon dawson with the 10x guys. Or pick your guru and you go put 10 grand there, and people are gonna go to Tony Robbins Business Mastery. Well, it's been a pretty refined program for 30 years. Like, most of his money comes exclusively from that event and the subsequent things that he does around that event. But like, you know, yeah, you know, Business Mastery, it's such a scam that's been going on for 30 years and has 20,000 people that they now have to teach it at a stadium because of, like, the impact. Right, right. But that's a scam, especially to the traditional, Any education, traditional system. They'll tell you, oh, that's a waste of time. But you know what? Like you said, 30 grand a year at Michigan State University, solid investment. Solid investment. So it's not like people don't disagree in investing in you. They just want to make sure that they get theirs first before you go put yours into anything that's actually going to pay you a real dividend. Because there's not a single person going to college right now that's going to, you know, say, boy, I'm so glad I went there for that education. They went there for the experience and the networking.

[Liz Fullerton]

And it's not that we're putting down college. College has its place. And I do believe that there's obviously merit to it, depending on what you're trying to do with your life. I don't think. Blank.

[Brian Fullerton]

Of course not. No. And I'm not saying that bad or good, but I'm just saying. But if you ask your professor, should I go to your class or Business Mastery Summit with Tony Robbins, who do you think they're going to tell you, oh, you need to be here at class. And Tony Robbins, he's just getting rich off the back of you teaching you how to rah rah. That's not true. That's not true. That's. That's your. That's your, you know, myopic opinion about something you've never been to. You can't even judge anything until you've went to at least once. So I tell everybody who has ever heard me say it's something that you need to go at least check out once and see if you like it. And then you decide if you want to come back? Join Link. See if you like it. Join Go gang. See if you like it. Go join Tony Robbins program for one week and see if like, go to Business Mastery Summit by Brandon Dawson for 497 bucks. If you like it, go to a leanscape event. See if like go into forward coaching. See if you like it.

[Liz Fullerton]

Just go figure out your thing and then let it be your thing.

[Brian Fullerton]

That's it. Yeah, it's this. This is just something that I will tell you. Like, I'm not talking tough, I'm just talking with total clarity and confidence about a lived experience here. Through this entire conversation today, I know what it's like to not have a dime, to like not even take my girl out to date night. And then somebody breathing down my neck saying, you gotta retire. And this, this retirement conversation. Nobody thinks about it much at 20, 30 and 40s. It's very relevant at mid-30s and beyond. It's like my whole feed. Not just because I'm always thinking this stuff, but it's always like the top 1% income earners earn this and the top 1% net worth is this and the top whatever. And then like my next rate real is like the Monaco Bay of like, you know, F1 racing and it's all $100 million yachts and you know, billionaires

[Liz Fullerton]

and trillionaires feed is like really giving you a lot of pressure. Mine's like, hey, look at this.

[Brian Fullerton]

This it is, it probably is the difference between guys and girls feeds or my feed and your feed in general. But it wears on me because it. You have no idea what it does to the male psyche. Because all you want to do and all you want to know is, do I have what it takes?

[Liz Fullerton]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

And in a very traditional sense, every single reel is basically telling me, unfortunately, I don't or I haven't yet. And then fuck, yeah, it sucks. And then think about. You have a bad day with a bad. An employee situation or a tough customer who then tells you, I don't want to work here. I. E. I don't. Like, I'm quitting on you or I don't want to. We don't want to be a customer of yours, which is, I'm quitting on you, I'm quitting on you. And then everywhere around, all of us have nothing but people who've quit on us. And then we have to pump ourselves up every day because the only person that can't quit on you is you. Because if you quit on yourself, you got nothing left. And like, this is A very important topic. And then God forbid. And I'm not. I don't want to extrapolate this out because it'll get. I'll get angry or cry. But then you go home, your wife's like, doesn't believe in you, and then your kids don't respect you. And then the church plate goes around on Sunday if it can't remind you that you're a piece of Monday through Friday. Here's the dinner plate going across on Sunday. The church plate going. Dinner plate. Here's a. Here's a church plate going across on Sunday. And you don't have any money to give. 10%. Is that net or gross?

[Liz Fullerton]

I love that cover.

[Brian Fullerton]

You know, we love that.

[Liz Fullerton]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

We don't have. We don't have 1%. Here's 20 bucks. Well, 10% is 2,000 bucks. I don't have $200. I don't have. Here's $20. God, please don't smite me. I'm doing the best I can. And you let that wear on you. And then you get on Instagram and it reminds you even more you're a piece of crap.

[Liz Fullerton]

Get a comment, go kill yourself.

[Brian Fullerton]

Then you get an Instagram comment, go kill yourself. Or you hear some, like, friend that you thought talking junk behind your back. And. And then people get around me, like, dude, that guy's so encouraging, and he's so nice. And you know how. What? He's so encouraging. He's just trying to sell you something, right? Yeah, he's so encouraging that. Because you're part of his membership. He's so encouraging. Oh, just because he wants you to buy the whole ball of wax. I. I don't. I literally don't even know what we make on any of that stuff. I have no. People go see us, you know, conferences. How many. How many people? Party membership now. I go, I don't know how many. How many people? I go, I think 318, 319. I don't. I don't know. Well, how many people pay? I go, well, there's like, girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands, spouses. So it's like, you know, two something. I go, well, I don't know. I don't know about a single thing about any of this. I look at an annual snapshot of. I get a monthly snapshot of revenue, and I get an annual of where we did and what we finished at. I don't make any decision on anything, anytime, any place about how much anything costs ever. Yeah, it's insane. And people go, well, why is that I go because it's all literally just as Mark Bradley says, fuel to invest into me, invest into you guys to help all of you have better lives. And then you just get reciprocated with and reciprocated to from the universe and you get this, this inflow, this influx, this cash flow, this machine. And it's so clear to me on the come up of how this works that I'm like, dude, you just. And people are like, why do you work so hard? Why do you go go so hard? Why do you travel anywhere, anytime? What? Because I've explained to me and I'm believed and I'm convinced and I've explained the list and she's believed and convinced and bought in that this is what we're supposed to do.

[Liz Fullerton]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

And that's why there's no cost conversation. I just like, I'll spend my own money to go make it happen. And knowing that God will pick up the tab because I'm doing what I'm supposed to do because that's what I'm called to do. And people go, well, you know, I tried five YouTube videos. It didn't work. And I didn't make any money. I didn't get any views. Oh, okay, so like you're just here to take. You want to make money? I want to make money. I want to make an impact. Like that's my mission is to help a million people change their.

[Liz Fullerton]

I challenge anybody. We don't put our kids on the Internet, but if you happen to see them around at lal or something, they don't attend a whole lot anymore. But if you do get the opportunity to see one of my children, ask them how we make money and then ask them why for sure. And you will be humbled by the answer, I guarantee it. Because the thought process that Brian has put into our kids about what money actually means and what money is meant to do, just, just humor me. If you happen to see one of my kids out and about.

[Brian Fullerton]

It's just, dude, like I will make sure that they know at. Already at three. I mean we're saying that for a year ago, like what we do here and how we help people and how. And if we want to make more money, what do we got to do? Because like it's true north. Like just do that and everything else in life will take care of itself, I promise you. We're. Here's the. We'll just wrap it up. We're looking at some options now where we get to pay down the mortgage a little early. Not off by any means. Put it down more early one day, one day for sure. On a ten year plan. Start putting some money down more. Start putting some money in a non traditional invest or into it, I'm sorry, a traditional investment opportunity route than we've ever been able to before. We've never had a single dime invested outside of ourselves and in our businesses anywhere else. We've been liquid on anything and everything we've done for 20 years as a couple or 12 years together as a couple, us two together, or me 20 years, we don't have anything else on anything else. Anytime. It's all been back into the business and back into ourselves. And I'm so glad that I did that. I'm so glad that I listened. I'm so glad I convinced myself. I'm so glad that that's what you did because there's a lot of education that you put into yourself. I'm like, hey, here's the top 100 books. Read these. You're like, okay. But I wasn't going to, like, I wasn't going to leave this up to chance. I wasn't gonna say we don't have $2,500 for a Louis Vuitton bag. We're going to this conference. You're like, another conference, another freaking place that we can't get to. Another inconvenient city on an inconvenient plane ride, on an inconvenient taxi ride on us. How much $uber. Eating how much expensive junk food at the airport, living on how much fast food? Yes, yes, we are. This is what we're going to do. And if you don't like it, dude, for real, peace out. Like, it was like that. And people like, oh, that's, you know, look, I'm not saying you get a permission slip to do that to your spouse. You've been married for eight years.

[Liz Fullerton]

But if you're dating, we started the interview though, like that. That's what I'm saying about when we first, before we even on our first date, we, we be like, how do

[Brian Fullerton]

I get my wife or how do I get my girlfriend to, you know, not go to the. I'm like, you just spin the dream, sell the dream and like ask for some accountability and do it together.

[Liz Fullerton]

And honestly, I'm gonna say the hard thing. If you guys are just dating and like you or she isn't getting this,

[Brian Fullerton]

then it might not work.

[Liz Fullerton]

It's not gonna work like either you guys aren't gonna work together. The future is not gonna work how you wanted it to draft. Like, I'm really sorry.

[Brian Fullerton]

Draft if you're already married, you got

[Liz Fullerton]

to figure out, figure that out. Like, that's not. You got to, you got to figure that out.

[Brian Fullerton]

It's not his thing. Her thing.

[Liz Fullerton]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

I can't stand that. The only thing that breaks my heart more is, like, the guy getting beat up is like the wife not getting it. I'm like, do you know, I, that was my trades talk in Big sky where women are like, oh, you know, he's working so hard and, you know, he just never has time for me. And he's going to work late again.

[Liz Fullerton]

Do you think he wants to?

[Brian Fullerton]

No. Shoot.

[Liz Fullerton]

Maybe he does because you were just. But at one point, he wanted to work and win for you.

[Brian Fullerton]

Why does he spend 10 minutes out in the garage every day before he comes inside the garage or inside the house? I have no idea. Maybe he doesn't like you. Like, for real. So hold. That was my trade stock three years ago. You missed that one. You miss that one. Oh, trust me. I lay into things because there are certain things that bother me.

[Liz Fullerton]

You could, you could spin it right around, though. Like, why doesn't my wife believe in me? Have you shown her that you're worthy of it?

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah.

[Liz Fullerton]

Have you kept a promise?

[Brian Fullerton]

Have you kept a commitment to anything you started? I'm gonna start a YouTube fishing channel. I'm gonna start of this thing. I'm gonna start that thing. And every 12 months, it's idea of the month club. It's like, you know, you're 32 and you haven't done anything because you're not committed to one thing. And mastering that one craft, it's, it's insane.

[Liz Fullerton]

Look, we can go back and forth.

[Brian Fullerton]

We can go back and forth on this all day. I, I, I just want to let you guys know. If you're 36 and you're like, all I've got, dude, all you've got is way more than you're giving yourself credit for, number one. Number two, the foundation, the floor has been laid not because of what you bought and what you have, but because of who you are. And that's something that none of you are seeing on your balance sheet. There's none of that on your pnl. There's none of that on your.

[Liz Fullerton]

It's not a line projection. Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

It's not a line item. Is the investment you've made into yourself and who you are today.

[Liz Fullerton]

And all is not lost.

[Brian Fullerton]

It isn't unless you give up.

[Liz Fullerton]

Unless you let it be.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah. Unless you give up. And unless you let it otherwise, you guys are the most primed audience in America to go out there and be the next six and seven figure income earners in your blue collar business more than anybody I know. And that's why I'm here to continue to make that investment into y'.

[Liz Fullerton]

All.

[Brian Fullerton]

Like, it's very, very awesome. It's very, very transparent. It's very, very, dude, altruistic. It's exciting, it's crazy. It's my mission. And the only thing crazier than that is the success stories that are starting to come from this content, from my journey. Being able to tell my crazy story and hearing how it's transformed and now you guys are having your same stories transform. Getting around the people that I'm trying to get around and that much more. It's awesome. It's crazy. It's working. And so that's what I charge you guys with today. Don't feel like you're behind, oh, the hundred dollar a month if you can afford it. Dude, I'm not telling you to not go put six grand into your Roth ira, by the way. Get over a certain income level. That stuff doesn't matter anyway because you lose every single fucking deduction that you can even imagine. So it's not people like, oh, I earned the earned income credit or, or my Roth, it's maxed out at $7,000. Look it, eventually you're going to get put over the barrel north of a quarter million 400 grand, it does it matter anyway? Take advantage of it if you can, but your child tax deductions, gone. This stuff gone. This stuff, new limits, this stuff, new maximums. This stuff doesn't matter. Like, like if you're making $1 million a year, you're not going to be concerned about your $7,000 annual contribution to your Roth IRA and, and maximum salary payouts into your federal withholding to get your max payout. Social Security at $2700 a month at age 65. Nobody here should be gunning for that. That is a 1/10, 1/30, 1/50 part of the holistic pie chart of my income at age 65 and beyond, if you know what I'm saying. I'm not here to maximize my contributions. I'm not here to maximize my Social Security withholding if it's even there in 20, 25, 30 years.

[Liz Fullerton]

That's my thing is like, are you going to invest in something that is like within your control or are you going to invest into something that's in Your control. You know what I mean?

[Brian Fullerton]

Dude, it's crazy. It will. None of it matters. You're not behind. Just do invest in yourself. Figure this business out. I've given you every tool and resource. I'm here to continue to give every tool and resource. I will not leave any DM unread, any email unanswered, any conversation in person. I will. As long as I got time. I'll give you the time of day at any, you know, SIMA equip. Elliot. I will have the longest Catch me plowing snow, catch me driving down the road. I will help anybody out to make money in their business and make this thing work. And if I don't know, I will get you the answers to somebody who does. And it's fun. It's fun. That's what we're here to do. And it's awesome seeing the progress and the growth that all of you guys are having. And so that's where I leave it here today. You are the non traditional investment and I want you guys to maximize your contribution to you. That's where I leave it today. Liz, got any final thoughts? Because this is where I'm going to leave it. Dude, I'm fired up.

[Liz Fullerton]

I'm glad the other one got deleted.

[Brian Fullerton]

It was good. It wasn't as good as this one, I feel.

[Liz Fullerton]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

So. All right, that's gonna sign off, guys. I love you. We appreciate you new episodes Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays. If we can ever do anything, we're always here for you. If you need links to anything that we talk about, it's all in the show notes. And thanks in advance for the love and the support. Anywhere you guys go, everywhere we go. We hope to see you guys on the highways and the byways and we'll catch up with you here on the next episode. Bye guys.

[Podcast Announcer]

Thanks for taking the time to listen to the Fullerton Unfiltered podcast with Brian Fullerton. We hope you enjoyed this production. If so, please consider leaving us a five star review for the show. While the techniques and ideas presented here are designed to help you grow a more successful and profitable business, no one can guarantee these results for you. We want to emphasize that entrepreneurship is not easy and the ideas presented here are just the opinions of Brian Fullerton and his respective guests. No one can guarantee success for you. That being said, we hope the ideas presented here help you and motivate to go on out there and crush it with your own business.

[Brian Fullerton]

Fullerton Unfiltered Podcast thanks for listening and

[Podcast Announcer]

we hope to see you on the next episode.

[Mr. Producer]

This has been a Brian Fullerton and Mr. Producer Production.