← Impact Podcast, Mentorship with Eddie Wilson
Impact Podcast, Mentorship with Eddie Wilson
59 - What Happens After the Exit? | The Identity Crisis No Founder Talks About
00:33:20
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- [00:00]
A
Welcome to the Impact Podcast. I'm Eddie Wilson, here to help you visualize what others cannot see, create opportunities where others have failed, and push you to build empires where once there was empty space. Let's embark on this journey together and make a difference in this world. Hey guys, Eddie Wilson here with the Impact Podcast. We got a special guest today and an episode for you. As always, the Impact Podcast is here to teach you something. The reason I built the podcast was primarily to help all the people that were reaching out, saying, hey, help me with my business, help with leadership, help with growth, help with exiting, and I don't have the time to do it. So we decided to build the podcast so I bring in great guests that can also help you teach. So our guest today is Justin Block. Justin, thanks so much for joining us on the podcast today.
- [00:46]
B
Thanks for having me.
- [00:47]
A
Yeah, absolutely. Justin is local. He reached out to me on social a couple months ago or whenever it was. And, um, Justin's family is a, a very well entrenched family in the Jacksonville market for sure because of some of the businesses you guys bought and are built and have sold. And so if you don't mind, just walk us back because I think that my, my audience primarily are budding entrepreneurs, people building businesses, looking for like that tip, that trick, how do I get to the next level? And then ultimately they're all looking for purpose. Right. Like that's what we're here on earth looking for, is that purpose, purpose element. And so, you know, if you don't mind, kind of step back. Rubik's Foods, founded by your grandfather. Great grandfather. Grandfather, grandfather. But your great grandfather was co founder of Ready Whip.
- [01:36]
B
Correct.
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A
And your great great grandfather was in Chicago building other food brands. So you've had basically five generations of, of similar businesses. You've had four businesses in that space, but five exits. Right. And so kind of just give us the backstory.
- [01:55]
B
Yeah, So I just come from a family of entrepreneurs, all in the food and beverage space. And you know, most recently we sold our business last year, which was a B2B food and beverage manufacturer. And so, yeah, just basically my backstory is come from a long line of entrepreneurs. Sort of knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur when I was a six year old kid and sort of ended up here today and was working in the family business right out of college and helped grow and scale it and exit it. And over the past year we've been not sort of chilling, but you know, just doing our own thing and now probably going to get back in here in the game soon and a bunch of other cool stuff.
- [02:26]
A
Yeah, it's hard when you are a true operator and, like, you guys have built these businesses to just chill and walk away for very long. It's not as exciting and glamorous as you think, you know? Yeah, well, very cool. So I know that you sold, or your family sold Rubik's Foods for. For a undisclosed amount, but you sold it twice, right? Like, you sold it to the private equity firm, stayed on board, stayed involved, and then you guys sold again. Can you just kind of walk us through what that looked like?
- [02:56]
B
Yeah. So the business was never really for sale. Eventually just started getting some phone calls, and we were like, maybe we should take some meetings. Took some meetings and basically narrowed it down and, you know, went to market, got some good offers. We couldn't say no too, you know, Know, like you said, continue. Continued on because we still wanted to, like, you know, work.
- [03:14]
A
Sure.
- [03:15]
B
End up finding a partner. Did that, and then actually we ended up selling it back to them again last year. So that's how that happened. But yeah, man, that's just sort of how it worked. We were never really, like, the. Never. The goal was never to sell the company. Just happened.
- [03:26]
A
Yeah. I think, honestly, that's the best type of company for, like, those listening. It's like building companies to exit is smart, but it's like. But if that company can stand alone, oftentimes it's way more valuable to the potential buyer anyways, you know. Well, very cool. Are you able to tell us how much you exited the business for?
- [03:46]
B
We don't do a little bit of that, but I'll. I can. Behind the scenes. Yeah.
- [03:51]
A
So no podcast exclusive. You're not going to, like, let it go on the podcast, unfortunately. All right. Okay.
- [03:55]
B
Keep, Keep, keep work hard to keep that stuff private.
- [03:57]
A
I. I know I. I get asked all the time. We disclose, like, a. A larger amount that I've sold all the businesses for. But it's like most of what most people understand is the private equity firm really doesn't want to. Oftentimes people to know. But even more than that, it's like if your family, you know, selling this business, it's like the last thing you want to know, like, the world to know is, like, how much capital you just got in. And it's like. But, yeah, completely understandable. And. And so many times what people understand is that's usually hidden behind NDAs and things like that. And. Yeah, so, yeah, very cool. Well, kind of to jump in because I want to make this very Practical and kind of teach the audience something is, you know, when you exited the business, right? So, you know, whether it was the first exit, the second exit, probably more the second exit. You know, what changed internally? Because often people will hyper focus on the external, right? Like, okay, so you got a large sum of money, or you no longer have to work, or you get to go take some crazy vacations or get to buy a supercar, whatever it is, right? Um, and you know, when you go down that path, right, they see the external. But what I know is, is that oftentimes there's a massive internal shift and an internal change. So what changed internally for you when you guys exited the business?
- [05:16]
B
Yeah, so it's sort of a funny story. So I. We knew we were selling the company, right? So I was actually on a phone call with a buddy of mine probably about six months before we sold the business, and I was telling him, like, dude, everything's going so well, but I just don't feel. Feel that great. And we just got to talking, and eventually he was like, dude, have you ever thought about working with, like, a life coach or, like, an executive coach? And I was just like, I don't need coaching. I've been reading the books and doing all the personal development stuff. And I call him back, like, 10 minutes later, I'm like, yo, can I talk to your guy?
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A
Yeah.
- [05:41]
B
And so basically what happened for me was I hired a coach knowing, like, this was gonna happen next, and he really helped me build out, like, my life blueprint and knowing, like, hey, my identity is gonna shift a little bit, but it's not gonna totally shift if I do this kind of internal work, right? And so I know a lot of people who have sold their businesses for hundreds of millions, billions of dollars, and they're miserable, dude, because they haven't done that work of, like, their identity is so wrapped up into being an entrepreneur. When they don't have the business, they just, like, don't know who they are, right? And I've got friends who used to play in the NFL, and, like, a very similar thing happens when they get out of the league. They don't know who they are. So my story's a little bit different because I had a little bit of a push, and, like, I've had some people help me along the way, but it was knowing, like, hey, like, once this comes, like, I'm not going to be the exact same person I am, but I'm still. I can. I can still identify with being an entrepreneur, but I think it's it's knowing, like, hey, what story are you telling yourself? How do you see yourself? And are you going to continue to sell that? To sell yourself that story, even if you don't have the external business to really, like, you know, attach yourself to anymore? So for me, a whole lot didn't change, but, like, just because I was doing that work beforehand. But I think a lot of people do struggle with that, and I think it's sort of like, part of me is like, I get it, and part of me is just like, why aren't we taught this kind of stuff?
- [06:49]
A
Yeah.
- [06:49]
B
Um, because, you know, like you said, people do see the external. I think it's all glitz and glamour, and it's fun. It is to an extent, I think. I think it'd be great for everyone to go through a exit just to, like, understand. Like, I think a lot of people, at least entrepreneurs, they want to have the business so they don't have to, like, deal with the solitude of, like, dealing with themselves. Like, they want that business. They want that pressure to know, like, I'm a CEO, I'm an entrepreneur. Like, I got people to rely on or that rely on me, which is important, but also, like, do you know yourself at the end of the day? Which I think is the game of life. So for me, it was a little bit of both.
- [07:21]
A
So, so good. It's. It's what we deal with on the show a lot is I went through a long period of kind of depression after this, the exits, because I didn't do the work. And I was like, in this place of. Wait a minute. My identity was tied to that story. The business card, the people, the. But more importantly, I think what you hit on, which is we need self worth, and oftentimes we find self worth by being the person who can solve problems or be the guy or sell the thing or whatever it is. And all of a sudden, all these employees are gone, the products are gone, the clients are gone, and it's like. And then what you're worth. And so am I at the end. Yeah, it's. Who am I? And. And that's hard because so much of. And I think that you're. You nailed it. It's like these people that have businesses today, they are building an identity in this business. They're not. You know, it's like, they're not. They say they're trying to build freedom by building a small business, but oftentimes they're just. They're just masking what's really going on inside. And it's a way to escape. You know, it's. I find, you know, I've often said that a small business is just as dangerous as a bottle of alcohol or a bottle of pills because you can. You can dive into that. And it's way more addictive, you know, than anything else in life. You know, success and finding success is so addicting. And then all of a sudden, without it, who am I? You know, it's the NFL player that walks away. Yeah, it's super good. At what point did you start thinking about, you know, giving? Right. So I find that there really are two things that happen on the exit. One is the identity shift, which you said you. You really dealt with ahead of time, which it's not taught. Right. Like, so many fundamental pieces of business are not taught at the collegiate level or even really by anyone else other than maybe business coaches or people that have gone through it. But the second thing is, is kind of this, like, purpose piece. You know, it's like we often have this mindset of, like, well, once I get to success, then I will do this thing that, you know, is purposeful or helps make impact around the world. And so at what point did you start thinking about giving and did that mindset shift once you exited?
- [09:28]
B
No. So I grew up in a family who just have been given forever. And honestly, so like, I grew up with sort of the life philosophy of, like, hey, you're. You're supposed to leave the world a little bit of a better place than you found. And so grew up just doing a lot of philanthropic efforts, whether that in the local food bank or volunteering my time. So my whole philosophy, too, is like, if you're not going to give when you got nothing, you're not going to give when you got a lot. So for me, it was just part of my family, how I grew up. And I think it's been a big piece of, you know, just my life. And so I just. That's all I know sort of a thing. But, yeah, I think even if, like I said, even if you do sell a company or you have some means to give, I think if, again, if you're not doing it before you have that, you're probably not going to do it. Have it.
- [10:07]
A
I think my business partner has a show that he's ran for years called Money Is. And basically what he says on his podcast is, like, money is blank. And really whatever you say is in that, blank really is your identifier. And my answer to his show was money is a revealer because it's what you said, it's. Money doesn't define you. Money reveals what's inside. You know, it's like oftentimes on the exit, you just see what was already there before they had the money, right? It was already there. It just came out now. And so if. If you don't. If you're not already predisposed to give when you have nothing, when you have everything, you know, it's like I was looking at the world's top billionaires. It's a crazy list of how much percentage of the. Of their wealth they give away. And it's minute. It's wild. I mean, Elon gives compared to his vast wealth, he gives virtually nothing away. You know, Bill Gates, all these people, like, they're. They're kind of touted as philanthropic, but by percentage, the average person who just gives 10% to their church or something like that is giving way more than they are. Warren Buffett was the one exception out of all the world's top billionaires. He was the one exception. And what it does is it shows that it, you know, know, it's the great revealer, you know. But anyways, that. That's a. A really, really great answer. And I think to any person today, it's like finding that purpose and finding something to give to long before you have it sets the right character traits that when you do have it, and, And I believe that, you know, I. I'm a person of faith. I believe that God rewards people that have a level of faithfulness. So it's like when you give, it seems like it. It's given back to you, you know?
- [11:49]
B
Yeah, the more you give, the more you get. I mean, I learned that from Tony Robbins with what I'm doing with 100 billion meals. But it's just like. Yeah, I'm a big believer in that myself. Whether it is philanthropically or just, you know, helping out your neighbor, your local community, I think it's. I think it's really important, and you definitely get what you focus on.
- [12:03]
A
So there's a universal law to it. It's like, you know, whether you're a person of faith or, you know, it's like you just experiment with it. It's like the more you give, the more you end up receiving back, right? It's like the more that comes to you. Okay, so what did each exit teach you about what actually matters? Right? So you've exited twice, and each time I'm sure it kind of taught you something. Like the first time you still were involved in the business, the Second time. Now you're outside of the business. So what are some of the lessons that you learned in each exit?
- [12:38]
B
I would just say, I mean, number one is it's not easy. Like, it can definitely take some years off your life. But, I mean, talking about, like, what really matters, what's important, I think for me, it's just, you know, being a part of something bigger than yourself. Right. You were talking a little bit about how people struggle. Some entrepreneurs struggle if they don't have that business to attach to from an identity perspective. But to me, it's really just people at the end of the day, man. Like, I think surrounding yourself with great people is important, but, like, after the second sale, it definitely forces you to look in the mirror and be like, okay, like, now what? I can pretty much do whatever I want. Like, what do I want to do? And so for me, it's really just four things. It's. It's being healthy. And being healthy, to me is mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. It's. It's making money at something that fits your personality, I think something that you actually care about and curious about. It's surrounding yourself with great people, having good relationships, and ultimately, it's fulfillment at the end of the day. So it's having those four things at a high level for me. And I think, you know, I'm certainly not there. I think that to me, that's just the goal. It's honestly rare for me to find someone who has one of those things at a high level level, let alone all four.
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A
Yeah.
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B
So for me, it's like, how can I maximize those four categories at the highest level I can and just, you know, fit for me. Right. Because I have a different destiny than you do.
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A
Right.
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B
And so it's just knowing myself and putting the pieces in place and doing the actions to achieve that. Have a good time while I'm here.
- [13:52]
A
That's good. It's good. Your fourth one, fulfillment. What do you think? You know? And how would you describe that you receive fulfillment, like, today? Like, how do you. What fills your cup? Like, how do you get that?
- [14:07]
B
Yeah. So I think fulfillment is really just living what you're made for. So you got to know yourself, number one. But number two, it's just being able to continue to grow and learn and then be able to contribute. So, like, we're talking about impact here in this podcast, right? So, like, when I met Tony Robbins and got to be involved with 100 billion meals, I was like, holy crap. Like, this is such a big.
- [14:24]
A
It's big.
- [14:25]
B
A big impact.
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A
Such a worthy cause.
- [14:27]
B
Yeah. And so I was like, this is fun. So I, I get a lot of fulfillment from being able to help out people, but it's also just helping out, like I said, your neighbor or being able to come on this podcast. It's probably a good message. So for me, it's learning and growing every day, whether that's reading a book or like getting a good workout in just pushing myself a little bit and then being able to contribute to something bigger than myself. Because I think that's honestly my whole thing is and how I think about things at the end of the day, like you said, we all want a purpose and I think we all just want to feel good about ourselves, like when we're by ourselves at the end of the day. And for me, it comes from helping other people and, you know, helping my family and my friends. And this is how I do that. So for me, that's growing businesses, being able to employ people, helping out my friends, my family, being a part of, you know, awesome organizations like 100 Billion Meals, Just Stuff like that.
- [15:09]
A
Very cool. Let's go back and let's go through the four real quick because I want the listeners. This is a great teaching point is, number one, it was health, right? And if you don't have your health, you don't have anything. Right? Right. And it's like you could have a billion dollars in the bank, but if you're laying in a hospital bed, it's your billions worth nothing. Right? Health is everything. You know, we talked about Jesse. It's. I know you do stuff with Jesse, we do stuff with Jesse. It's one of the things that Jesse pushed me on was, you know, was health. It's like, because most entrepreneurs, that's the thing they're willing to give up to achieve their dreams, right? Like they're willing to, you know, whether it's drinking or self medicating, but all the way down to not not eating properly, to not exercising, to sitting in a room all day or no sl sleep. I mean, all those things, it's crazy
- [15:55]
B
because like the healthy you are, the better decisions you're going to make, the better decisions to do a better business. But like, yeah, sacrificing your health for money is like a fool's game.
- [16:02]
A
It is a fool's errand for sure. Number two was wealth. Wealth. And so how would you describe wealth? And I want you guys to think internally about how you would describe wealth or what does that mean to you?
- [16:14]
B
Yeah, so wealth for me is not, you don't got to be a billionaire, right? Like, I think you can live an awesome life. You can make 100k a year doing what you love. And so for me, it's finding a career that actually matches your personality. I'm a big believer in, like, genetics as well. Like, I knew when I was young, like, I wanted to be a businessman. As I'm older now, like, I come from a family of entrepreneurs, so I sort of knew that about myself. But, dude, I've met so many people who. And I'll give you an example. I used to have this dentist way back in the day, and I was, like, little. And I remember he, like, put me back in the chair, and I look up, and you know how you look up with a dentist screen. He had this amazing piece of art, and I was like, oh, my gosh, like, who painted this? And he's like, I did. And I was like, dude, why aren't you an artist? And he's like, oh, my parents told me to become a dentist so I can make some money. And to me, that's just sad because I was like, if you would have became an artist, you probably would have had a better life, like, because he really enjoyed the art.
- [17:00]
A
Yeah.
- [17:01]
B
And I didn't know the guy super, super well because I was young, obviously. But, like, it's just stuff like that where if you can go all in on something you really care about, you're really curious about, that you love and enjoy, I think you can have an awesome life. And from. From that, I think love and curiosity, money will come.
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A
Yeah.
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B
So that's wealth to me. And obviously you got. You got to build passive income and. And learn and continue to use the tools and stuff like that. But to me, that's the real wealth.
- [17:22]
A
Yeah, I love it. The way I always describe wealth is. Is having enough to. To live and to do what I need to do today without diminishing what I need for tomorrow. Right. Like, that's true wealth to me, you know, but that is all dictated by our lifestyle, by our choices, you know, stuff like that. Like, I just don't think it's a monetary amount. You know, one conversation I had with my dad when I was in my 20s was, he said, what if you could build enough passive income that you never actually need to make, that you never actually have to create money again? So everything you get to do is in this, like, complete creative space. Well, creating enough passive income, even if it's a small amount, just enough to live on, allows you to make all your decisions and Choices so much differently. But yeah, you're so, so right. So.
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B
And.
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A
And then number three, relationships. Relationships. So what, what does that mean to you in relationships?
- [18:11]
B
Yeah, just surrounding yourself with great people, man. Obviously, you got to have a good relationship with yourself. That's number one for me. It's, you know, family, friends. If you got a significant other, that's great too. But I think who. Who we're around is like, who you become, you know, I think your environment's really important. For me, it's like, I don't want to spend my time around energy, vampires, any stuff like that. Like, I want people who can push me and make me feel uncomfortable, but in a good way, like, make me better. And I'm very lucky that I've curated this circle for myself. But that I think, man, is like, at the end of the day, one of the most important things. Just like, all the stuff is great and stuff, but, like, you don't want to, like, create a business just for yourself. You want to, like, share it with people. You want to have a bunch of cool experiences and share it with people. So it's just doing that.
- [18:49]
A
Yeah, absolutely. It's great. Yeah. This. This weekend I'm flying to. I have two sons that I'm going to go spend some time with up in Boston. We're going to go race cars in New Hampshire, up in Concord on the track.
- [19:01]
B
Nice.
- [19:02]
A
Then we're spend the weekend in Boston, go check out a Bruins playoff game. Because in the end, it's like the only thing you remember and take with you are those moments, those relational moments where you connect with people and. But yeah, I 100% agree. I spent so much time in my early days chasing success while foregoing health, while forgoing relationships. And it's like, then you get to success, you turn around, there's no one there with you, and you're. You're ultimately paying back all of the debt you created in your health. Right? So it's just like, it's really important to take these four things you've talked about and really put them into practice, right? Like these entrepreneurs that are out there. And so as you kind of give those four, I want each one of you to think about, give yourself a grade, right? Like, where are you in your health, where are you in your wealth, where are you in your relationships, and where are you in fulfillment? Right? Like, your four things are huge. And as an entrepreneur, I 100% endorse what Justin's saying, and you should grade it. And in the end, what you focus on you can change. And so if you focus on those things this quarter, take your. If your health is a D, then get it to a C. You know, it's like, start making progress.
- [20:15]
B
If you're making money, you got to raise the wealth bucket too. Or if you're making money, you gotta raise a health bucket too. I'm actually running a book on this right now, which will come out later this year. But yeah, I just think it's. It's the only real goal, man like you. You don't wanna look back in your life and regret a bunch of stuff and like, wish you were a little bit healthier a hundred percent that you went on, didn't go on that trip and didn't spend time or like, you know, and didn't end up doing what you wanted to do.
- [20:34]
A
At the end of the day, you got it. You got it. If someone's building their business right now, how should they think about generosity before the exit? You already talked about, you know, giving before. You maybe have. But generosity, I think is a little bit different than just giving. Right. It's more the mindset of giving and they can be generous in their life, in with their employees, with their time, with a lot of things other than just money. How should they think, you know, before they exit? A lot of the. These people, like, they're on my podcast because they know that I've exited so many companies. So they're all sitting here waiting for nuggets on how to exit. How should they think about generosity before they get there?
- [21:12]
B
Yeah, I mean, I would just say if you are a business owner, if you want to implement events or just, you know, little things you can do for, like, your employees. Like we used to do a bunch of canned food drives. Like we would just, you know, once a month we just say, hey, if you guys want to donate some, some food, and we'll donate to the local food bank or just events that you can do around town and go pack some meals or stuff like that so it doesn't have to be anything crazy. I think generosity, like you said, is a mindset. So it's giving your employees time just to, like, if they want to vent to you, just like, just let them talk. Just ask how their day is going. Like, just actually care about people. I think about at the end of the day, I think that's just really important. But yeah, no, generosity is just. I think it's just wanting to give more than you get. And like we were talking about earlier, the more you give, the more you get. So It'll all come back around anyway. But I think it's just, you know, developing yourself. I think probably one of my favorite quotes, I think it's a Jim Brown quote at the end of the day, is he was saying, you got to work harder on yourself and you. Your business. So I think if you do that, you're just automatically probably going to be a lot more generous than you would be if you just focus more on your business. So I'm just. I'm a big believer in personal development, if you haven't figured that out yet.
- [22:07]
A
Yeah, yeah. No, it's good. And. And it's so true. So many times I'll. I'll, you know, get calls from business owners and they want some advice. And my advice oftentimes is that it's like, are you personally advancing? Because if you're stagnant, your business is stagnant, right? Like, if you're regressing, your business is regressing. Like, so much of your business is tied to who you are and your personal development, your personal growth. And I think generosity is one of those things. You know, it's like generosity is oftentimes a mindset that we can live out long before we even have because we have. We all have some resource. Right? It can be time, it can be service. And, you know, generosity and that mindset changes everything. It's like generosity to others and gratitude for what you receive. Like, if you can be generous and grateful, it's like, man, your whole entire life changes, you know? How old are you?
- [22:58]
B
I just turned 30.
- [23:00]
A
Just turned 30. Congrats. Very cool. So you've spent. Let's just say you outlive, you know, the average person. Let's say you make it. How old do you think you're gonna live? Oh, man, I mean, I hope big guess.
- [23:11]
B
I hope, like, over 100. But, like, I. It's not really about the years for me. It's like, can I. Like, because again, you can say, I want to be 120, but, like, are you in a wheelchair? Like, I don't want to do that.
- [23:20]
A
So let's say you're gonna live to 100 and you're gonna be healthy.
- [23:23]
B
Yeah.
- [23:23]
A
Okay. You're gonna die in your sleep at 100 years of age.
- [23:25]
B
Cool.
- [23:25]
A
I don't want. I. I don't wanna put that on you. I hope you lived to 120.
- [23:28]
B
That's fine.
- [23:29]
A
Okay, so let's say you're 100 years old and you're healthy. Okay. So you've essentially lived one third of Your life, How would your friends define you today for the first third? And how would you want that to change for the second two thirds?
- [23:44]
B
Oh, man. So I think I've changed a lot already in the past six years, ever since I really got heavy into the personal development stuff. So even my friends who like me growing up would probably say a different story about me now.
- [23:55]
A
Yeah.
- [23:56]
B
But for the rest of my life I would say just because. And we both like to accomplish stuff. Right. But I think for me, just like the people in my life who helped me get to where I'm at today, like, they just believed in me more than I believed in myself before I could believe in myself. So that's probably it for me. It's just like, how can I help people believe in themselves a little bit more so they can do the things to get what they want out of life. And so that's really what changed my life. And like, I really don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for guys like Tony Robbins or, you know, Ed Mylett, Wayne Dyer, Jesse, like all these guys who like put, put out that awesome message and has helped people, you know, people in my family. It's just stuff like that where it's like the achievement stuff is, is cool. And I think it just comes as a byproduct of, you know, just doing the work on yourself and enjoying life. And I want to just help people enjoy a little more and believe in themselves a little bit more.
- [24:40]
A
Yeah, Ed Mylett and I had. He's obviously a local guy here. Part time local. We were having dinner, I think it was me and Andrew and a few other people. And I said, you know, we were talking about that self development piece and I said, it's interesting. I said, because I think in self development, I mean, I've been very engaged since my first exits in 2019. Right. So I'm on a seven year journey too. Right. And I said, really what self development is, is I'm reaching ahead to somebody that's ahead of me. You know, that's the Tony Robbins, that's the Ed Milettes, you know, like he obviously had his exit before I did. And it's like. But self development is, there's something about, it's not just about reaching ahead to somebody that's ahead of you. It's also like reaching back to somebody else who's behind you. And I love that. It seems like I've watched some of your stuff on Social and seems like that's what you're doing. It's like, you know, you're reaching ahead to these guys, the Tony Robbins of the world and the 100 billion meals, saying, this is where I want to go. But also like not leaving the person behind who was where you were, you know, five steps behind. There's something about self development that it has to be two. It's a two way street. And it's like, and then you naturally get to this place and that's where Ed and I were talking was like, then you get to this place where there's really not a lot of people ahead of you. You know, it's like the conversation he and I were having was like, you sell a company for a billion and now you're looking for somebody ahead of you. Like, wait a minute, like there's nobody around that sold a company for a billion, but, but they're ahead of you in relationships or they're ahead of you in health, or they're ahead of you in, you know, you know, kind of your four areas. And it's like, so, you know, what are you doing to reach back to the people that maybe are step, you know, obviously you're reaching forward saying, self development. Here's where I'm headed. What are you doing, you know, today to try to help the people that are a step behind?
- [26:24]
B
Yeah, I like the, I love what you just said. Like, how's it 2 issue. I look at it as like you're going up the elevator, you're just sending it back down. But yeah, so it's stuff like with 100 billion meals, just like trying to put out a good message. I sort of switched up my, on the social media side of things. I want to do more like documentary style. I have a podcast that I do with my buddy as well who used to play in the NFL. It's called Born to Be Great. So we do that once a week and we just talk about stuff like this, business, sports, personal development. But I want to start documenting a lot of my life a little bit more, showing people how to grow a business, but also the personal development stuff because I don't, I don't love just picking up my phone and just creating. It's not my thing really, but it's really. Anyone who wants to help is writing my books. That's been a huge challenge, but it's been super fun at the same time. You think you have it in your head and then you put it on paper and you're like, this is not good. So that's, that's been a, an avenue that I'm Getting into as well. And then just, you know, living my day to day is, you know, it's just helping grow the companies. It's investing in businesses, investing in people who want to invest in themselves. At this point right now, like, I sort of view myself as like a. I'm not like a flint. I'm like a gasoline on the fire. Like, if you want to, like, grow, like, I can really help you, I think. But if you're like, I don't. If you have no interest, like, I can't be the fire starter for you.
- [27:30]
A
Yeah.
- [27:30]
B
And so I really love that quote where. And I'm going to butcher this again. But it's like, I can see further because I've stood on the shoulder of giants. That's really like 98% of the reason why I'm sitting here with you right now. Because those people have come before me and I'm just standing on their shoulders.
- [27:43]
A
Yeah.
- [27:44]
B
And so if I can just be a little bit of that piece for someone else, like, I think I did my job. I'd love to talk a little bit more about what we're doing here because, like, with, you know, being able to work with Tony, like, I've learned a million things from that man. And I think he's. Honestly, he's probably the number one person since he's been alive that changed most lives on this planet, in my opinion. So that. It's just stuff like that where I'm like, I wouldn't even. I have no idea. If you told me, like, seven years ago, Justin, you'd be doing this right now with Eddie. I think you're crazy. And like, all the stuff I've done. But it's because I did that personal development work. I really believe that.
- [28:14]
A
That's great. Let's end the show by talking about 100 billion meals. To me, it's the most. One of the things in this planet that is the biggest travesty. You know, if you look at. And obviously you're in the food space. And I've heard that over the equivalent of around 30, 30% of all food in America spoils today before it's ever used. Right. If you just look at our waste, we could solve the world's hunger problems. And one of the things that I saw Tony come out with a few years ago is this 100 billion meals. And, you know, I just. And that's something I do. I. We feed and educate 5,300 orphans every single day, you know, globally. And. And it's one of those things. It's it's, it's like human decency, just human allowing somebody to have the basic needs of life. Like the fact that they're still starving people in this world is, is just incomprehensible, you know, so if you know, and talk, talk to us a little about the 100 billion meals, what you're doing with that, and we'd love to hear more.
- [29:10]
B
Yeah. So 100 billion meals challenge is basically over the next 10 years, we're trying to serve 100 billion meals. The cool thing is we've already done 62 billion plus meals in three years, which is wild. But, yeah, like, like you were saying, the hunger issue is it's really bad globally and it's really bad here in the States as well. So I think Tony was telling me this the other day. If hunger was a country, It'd be the third largest country in the world. Wild. Every 10 seconds, a child dies of food, insecurity of hunger. So this is happening, you know, right now as we're speaking. And then even here in America, I think there was a study a few years ago by our, our partners at Paramount, they did a study where it was either one out of every three children or five children is dealing with some sort of hunger issue. So unfortunately, since the pandemic, it's gotten a lot worse. We do have an issue here with just the way we consume food and the way it's wasted here. And so that's just really the mission is like, how can we make our food system a lot more stable? Because this isn't about just, here's a meal. See ya. This is about creating actual sustainable solutions. And so we partner with amazing organizations because giving back to hunger relief is nothing new. Like, you've, you've been doing it.
- [30:09]
A
Sure.
- [30:10]
B
So we're partnering with, you know, foundations like FarmLink, sharing access hatch for Hunger Feeding America. And we're just partnering with all these amazing organizations saying, how can we help you amplify and get to where we need to go? Because the cool thing about 100 billion meals as well is like, every dollar that gets given, it's going straight to the resources. No one's getting paid for this. I'm not getting paid for this. Tony's not getting paid for this. Yeah, the team's not getting paid for it at all. And so every $10, I believe, is serving about 44 meals right now. So you're feeding someone for weeks, which is really cool. And we're doing a lot of cool stuff. So on May 28 is World Hunger day. So I think we're coming out with a subscription where you can actually go to our website, 100 billion meals.org and you can actually subscribe to give like 10 bucks a month. And you'll. You'll know you're feeding 44 people or 44 meals, which is really cool. And then we're also working on a lot of cool events behind the scenes, which I can't announce right now with some major sports organizations, some other stuff that'll be coming later this year. So really just amplifying it. And then my. My involvement started about three years ago, where I was actually at a meeting in New York, which I probably wasn't supposed to be at. I just said yes to this invitation that I got. And I just happened to be sitting next to this gentleman at this table of 150 people and was telling him my story, just like I told you. And he's like, dude, I love your story. Like, have you ever heard of this gentleman by the name of Tony Robbins? And I was like, dude, if I heard of Tony Robbins. And so he connected me with someone on his team. Her name was Joelle. We got to talking, got close with her, and she eventually ended up asking me to help. Help out. And I said yes, of course. And so my role has been, you know, getting organizations involved, strategic relationships. And funny enough, it's actually been harder to get people involved with 100 billion meals and is actually to sell them product. These major corporations, which is wild. We're still working on it. We got a lot long ways to go, but it's gonna happen. And so just connecting people here in the States and, you know, making sure that, hey, like, you know, food is. It's on the bottom of Maslow's hierarchy needs. Right. You know, we're both into learning and growing and personal development. But how can you do that if you can't even, you know, feed yourself? Your brain needs calories and nutrition, so it's such a basic thing, man. And, like, it doesn't take. It isn't. Like, you don't have to have a bunch of money to give to 100 billion meals. Like I was saying earlier, you can give $10. You know, there's that other quote. I forget who it's by as well. I'm butchering all these quotes today. But if it's. If it's. Every man would sweep their front porch. The whole world would be clean. I love that quote. So it's like, you can just. You can help out your local neighbor, help out your local community that would make a big impact. So one person can make a huge difference here. We're not asking the world of anyone. So it's just if anyone wants to get involved with what we're doing, with what you're doing, with what anyone's doing, I think that's just a huge piece of it. So, yeah, it's just been cool to be a part of something again, bigger than myself. Obviously. We do stuff here locally as well, but I think if everyone just got involved locally and just made their community a little bit better, could help feed people a little bit more. We'd be in such a better spot. But it is. It is a big issue. It's unfortunately getting worse. You know, with all the variables about inflation going on, the world. Like, food is not cheap anymore. Like, I just went on to restaurant yesterday and it was like 30 bucks for some chicken parm. I was like, dude, I know how much this costs for me to make and stuff. But, like, the inflation, everything's on crazy. So there's just a lot of variables there. But it's just important to know, like, hey, like, there are people out here trying to help. And so if you, if you want to get involved, I think it would be awesome. You know, go to our website, reach out, and you shoot me a message one more time.
- [33:04]
A
What was the website?
- [33:05]
B
100 billion meals.org.org Very cool.
- [33:07]
A
Yeah, I'll definitely make a contribution there. And if you guys would, I'd love for you to go to the website as well. Let's all get involved in May. I love that this podcast come out in a week or two and it'll be plenty of time to get involved. So that's awesome. Very cool. Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast today. I appreciate it. Appreciate you stopping by. It's kind of nice to have a local guy here. Yeah, everybody else has to fly in, but yeah. And then let me know when your book comes out. Love to promote it. Sounds like it's going to be awesome. So thanks so much.
- [33:37]
B
Thank you for having me.
- [33:38]
A
Yeah, I appreciate it. Thanks so much for being a part of the podcast and for listening today. Love to connect with you further. And you can connect with me on social media Dywilson Official on any of the social media channels.