845. Q&AF: Handling Distractions, How To Let Go & Reinvesting As A Business Owner

Summary

Podcast Summary: REAL AF with Andy Frisella – Episode 845

Title: Q&AF: Handling Distractions, How To Let Go & Reinvesting As A Business Owner
Host: Andy Frisella
Release Date: February 24, 2025
Description: Entrepreneur Andy Frisella and his guests discuss, debate, and laugh their way through trending topics and hot-button issues. This episode delves into handling distractions, the art of letting go, and strategies for reinvesting as a business owner.

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1. Introduction to the Episode

The episode opens with a rhythmic chant that sets an energetic tone. Andy Frisella introduces the "Q&AF" segment—Question and Answer Format—where listeners' pressing questions are addressed directly. He outlines how listeners can submit their questions via email or YouTube comments, emphasizing the interactive nature of the show.

Notable Quote:

"This is your first time listening. We have shows within the show."
— Andy Frisella [00:42]

2. Structure and Upcoming Segments

Andy provides an overview of upcoming segments designed to enhance listener engagement and personal growth:

• CTI (Cruise the Internet): Analyzes daily trending topics to discern truth from misinformation and discusses societal solutions.
• Real Talk: Brief, intense discussions aimed at personal improvement.
• 75 Hard Versus: A comparison with the mental toughness program "75 Hard," promoting it as a free resource available from episode 208.

He also promotes his book, "The Book on Mental Toughness," highlighting its comprehensive coverage of the Live Hard program and additional insights on developing resilience.

Notable Quote:

"We don’t run ads on the show. If the show makes you think, laugh, gives you a new perspective, please help us grow the show."
— Andy Frisella [01:50]

3. Personal Dialogue and Community Engagement

Andy engages in a casual conversation with a guest (referred to as "C"), discussing personal training routines and upcoming gear drops for Real America Freedom Gear. This interlude serves to build community and promote upcoming products without formal advertisement.

Notable Quote:

"There is a Bison gear Real America Freedom Gear drop this Wednesday at 7 pm. We usually sell out pretty fast."
— Andy Frisella [03:46]

4. Listener Q&A Sessions

a. Handling Distractions After Law School

Listener's Question:
A 24-year-old recent law school graduate expresses feeling overwhelmed by distractions as they transition into the real world, seeking advice on managing these distractions compared to earlier stages in life.

Andy’s Response:
Andy emphasizes self-recognition and self-belief, urging listeners to acknowledge their achievements without downplaying them. He introduces the concept of the Power List, a tool to prioritize critical tasks over perceived distractions. Andy differentiates between true distractions and beneficial life elements, advocating for productive time management over sheer time investment.

Notable Quotes:

"Every time you say negative things about yourself... you are taking away your own belief in yourself."
— Andy Frisella [10:50]

"No one cares how much time you put in... it's about the result you produce."
— Andy Frisella [16:32]

b. Letting Go and Forgiving After a Falling Out

Listener's Question:
A listener shares a painful two-year-old falling out with a close friend, struggling with lingering hurt and anger, and seeks guidance on releasing resentment to find peace in 2025.

Andy’s Response:
Andy advises valuing oneself above toxic relationships, stressing the importance of surrounding oneself with supportive individuals. He discusses using negative experiences as fuel for personal growth and emphasizes building confidence and self-belief through disciplined practices like the Live Hard program. Andy highlights the transformational power of focusing on personal success rather than external validations.

Notable Quotes:

"The best way to get to a point where that doesn't bother you is to win."
— Andy Frisella [25:39]

"You have to replace the distractions with things that propel you forward."
— Andy Frisella [24:05]

c. Reinvesting as a Business Owner

Listener's Question:
A four-year business owner in the landscaping industry, managing 12 employees and successfully navigating seasonal pivots, seeks advice on effective reinvestment strategies and common pitfalls.

Andy’s Response:
Andy advises business owners to retain earnings within the company as long as possible, minimizing personal withdrawals to allow for compounded growth. He shares his own experience of making minimal profits in the initial years to build a strong foundation, which later led to exponential growth. Andy underscores the importance of living below one's means to prioritize business reinvestment over personal luxuries.

Notable Quotes:

"Keep as much money in the company for as long as possible... That's the fastest way to build a large company."
— Andy Frisella [37:38]

"Live below your means for as long as possible and reinvest for as long as possible."
— Andy Frisella [39:28]

5. Andy’s Insights and Strategies

Throughout the episode, Andy shares profound insights into personal and professional development:

• Power List Tool: A strategic method for daily task prioritization to maximize productivity.
• Energy Allocation: Emphasizes the finite nature of personal energy and the necessity of directing it towards growth-oriented activities.
• Relationship Management: Advocates for maintaining relationships that contribute positively to one’s mission, and letting go of those that hinder progress.
• Cultural Critique: Criticizes societal norms that undervalue ambition and success, promoting a culture of winning and self-improvement.

Notable Quote:

"Entrepreneurship, ambition, success requires a different mindset that hardly anybody understands because they've not done it."
— Andy Frisella [44:30]

6. Conclusion and Call to Action

Andy wraps up by re-emphasizing the upcoming gear drop and encouraging listeners to join his email list for updates on the new MF CEO project. He reiterates the importance of ignoring societal distractions and focusing on personal mission and success.

Notable Quote:

"Decide what you want to do. Break it down into actionable steps daily. Execute those steps as quick as you can every single day."
— Andy Frisella [45:33]

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Key Takeaways:

1. Acknowledge Your Achievements: Recognize and celebrate personal milestones to build self-confidence.
2. Differentiate Between Distractions and Life Elements: Not all peripheral activities are distractions; some may enhance your life and mission.
3. Prioritize Critical Tasks: Utilize tools like the Power List to focus on tasks that drive meaningful results.
4. Value Supportive Relationships: Surround yourself with individuals who support and propel you forward, and let go of toxic ones.
5. Reinvest in Your Business: Retain earnings within your company to foster growth and long-term success.
6. Maintain Discipline and Focus: Allocate your finite energy towards activities that align with your goals and mission.
7. Cultivate a Winning Mindset: Embrace ambition and resist societal norms that undervalue success and personal growth.

Resources Mentioned:

• Power List Tool: Available for free at episode 16 on the audio feed.
• 75 Hard Program: Details in episode 208 on the audio feed and the book "The Book on Mental Toughness" at andy4sella.com.
• MF CEO Project: Information forthcoming; listeners are encouraged to join the email list for updates.

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This episode serves as a comprehensive guide for entrepreneurs and individuals seeking to enhance their productivity, manage distractions, and strategically reinvest in their businesses. Andy Frisella's candid discussions and actionable advice provide a roadmap for achieving sustained success and personal growth.

Transcript

[A]

Yeah, went from sleeping on the floor now my jury box froze up Bow up stove Counted millions in a cold bad booted swole Got her own bank roll can't fold. That's a no head shot case. Close.

[B]

What is up, guys, It's Andy Frisella. And this is the show for the realists. Say goodbye to the lies, the fakeness and delusions of modern society and welcome to reality, guys. Today, as always, we have Q&AF. That's where you submit the questions and we give you the answers. Now, you could submit your questions a few different ways. The first way is, guys, email these.

[C]

Questions into ask [e-mail] or you go.

[B]

On YouTube on the Q and A F episodes. Drop your question in the comments and we will choose some from there as well. Now, this is your first time listening. We have shows within the show. All right, today we're going to have Q and A F. That's so we could start the week out, get better, get some good momentum. But tomorrow we're going to have cti. That stands for cruise the Internet. That's where we put topics of the day up on the screen. We speculate on what's true and what's not true. And then we talk about how we the people have to solve these problems going on in the world. Sometimes we're going to have real talk. Real talk is just five to 20 minutes of me giving you some real talk. All right? Some might call it a rant, but it's all about making you better. And then we have 75 hard versus. If you're unfamiliar with 75 hard, it is the most famous mental toughness transformation program in history. You can get it for free at episode 208 on the audio feed only. 208 audio feed only. Anywhere you can get a podcast. Now, if you're unfamiliar with 75 Heart, it's the initial phase of the live hard program, which is also available in its entirety at episode 208 on the audi audio feed. There's also a book. The book is called the book on mental Toughness. You can get it andy4sella.com it's not required. Like I said, the entire program is free. You get an episode 208 on the audio feed, but the book is very, very strong. It includes the entire live hard program, up and down, left and right, all the nuts and bolts. If you're somebody who really likes to know the in depth details of things, like I am, I'd highly recommend the book. It also has a ton of extra content on mental toughness, what it is, how to develop it, and why it's important to your life. Again, that'[e-mail]. It's called the Book on Mental Toughness. We do things a little different here. We don't run ads on the show. Okay? And I ask very simply, because we are the biggest show in the world that does not run ads that you help us grow the show. All right? If the show makes you think, if it makes you laugh, it gives you a new perspective, if it teaches you something, please help us grow the show. Don't be a hoe.

[C]

Share the show.

[B]

All right. What's up, dude?

[C]

How's it going?

[B]

Good, how are you?

[C]

Yeah, man, I'm all right. Hurting a little bit.

[B]

Yeah. You've been training again?

[C]

Been training. Back on the wagon.

[B]

Yeah. What's up with that?

[C]

Oh, you know, I mean, real talk. Yeah, real talk.

[B]

I mean, try to get made fun of.

[C]

That's one.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. Madot's not very nice.

[B]

And the Internet.

[C]

Internet's fine.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because I just talk shit back to them. There's not much I can do with my dot.

[B]

I know when you go home at night, it hurts your feelings. You cuddle up in the bottom of the shower. You know what I'm saying?

[C]

Well, no, man. Honestly, like, really what it was. I just know that, like, this year, bro, we got a lot of going on this year. A lot. A lot of to. To. To really, like, you know, build and grow and develop. And so it's like I gotta be at my best.

[B]

Yeah, that's right.

[C]

It's just real, you know what I'm saying? So it's like, you know, I know I've been dibbling, dabbling here and there, but I'm doing good, man. Killed legs today.

[B]

Good.

[C]

Crushed it and, you know, keeping it moving.

[B]

Good. Maybe you'll be able to fit in some of that Bison gear we're getting ready to release.

[C]

That'd be nice.

[B]

On Wednesday night.

[C]

That'd be nice.

[B]

Yeah. At 7:00.

[C]

You know, I haven't been asked.

[B]

I like that. See, that's not an ad. That's just called talking about it. By the way, guys, there is a Bison gear Real America Freedom Gear drop. This Wednesday at 7pm we got some really, really, really cool. I would highly recommend being on the page at 7, as we usually do sell out pretty fast. So again, 7:00 this Wednesday, new Real American Freedom Gear drop. That DJ is now going to be able to fit in.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, I can fit in it Now? No, man. Yeah, no, it's going good, though, man.

[B]

How you doing? Good.

[C]

You all right?

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Good, man. I'm, I'm. I'm excited. I'm also excited about what we have going on this year. I'm very, very excited about the new MF CEO project. A lot of people have been asking about it, and they think that I'm just releasing the old episodes.

[C]

Is that what really?

[B]

Yeah, some people think that. Guys, the old episodes have always been available. They're free and they'll always be free.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. I always wanted to provide a gateway for someone who's starting out from scratch and, you know, can't afford to, you know, go out and join RTA or whatever. Right. So they're always there. They're always for free. If you go all the way down in the Real AF audio feed, this is before we were on YouTube. You will find the MF CEO project, which was the most popular entrepreneur podcast in the world when we were doing it. So. And it was number one in all shows for a long time, not just business. So if you want to, you go listen to that now. But the new MF CEO is not the old MF CEO. It is completely different. All right. One of the biggest differences is, is that a lot of people who have come up, I guess, since then started listening to the MFCO and now own, you know, seven, eight, nine figure companies, and they're going to be coming on the show and talking about how they use the principles, which principles they used to build the companies that they've built. So a lot of you young bucks in business can see and hear and understand that these things work. Another thing that we're going to be doing is having some of my most successful friends come in and talk about how they do things. So this isn't like typical Internet coach. This is real people who have done real things outside of just creating a coaching business that are going to teach you how to win. And it's never been more important that you guys go out and win than it is right now. We have a big problem in our culture where winning has been villainized. Winning has been attacked, it has been looked down upon. And the fact of the matter is that's all about societal control. And we have to understand that if we want to be truly free and we want to live in the greatest society that we can, we have a duty to be the best that we can in all areas. And that includes being successful. It's not just about driving a Bugatti or driving A Ferrari and living in a nice house. I'll be the first one to admit that's badass. I love it. But it's actually about us as individuals understanding that we have to be the example. We have to extract every single ounce of potential out of our lives, and not just for us and our families, but for everybody else around us in the community. So I am very excited. We've been recording shows for quite some time and I'm very excited to get that launch, bro. Like, it's going to be. I. Since we've been recording the shows, I've started to realize how much I enjoy talking about success, business, entrepreneurship, personal development, and really helping people get the ball rolling in that direction. You know what I'm saying?

[C]

Yeah, I know. There's a lot of people hungry for it.

[B]

Yeah, bro. And I. I think, you know, with the emergence the last few years of the entire community of tards that have come out of nowhere to sell pro programs when they haven't done anything ever, somebody has to come out and teach people what it really looks like, who's actually done it. Yes.

[C]

So that's real, man.

[B]

I'm excited about it. It's going to be. It's going to be awesome. And that's going to be launching in the next couple weeks. So if you are interested in a new MFCO project like a lot of you guys are, first off, we are going to continue real AF the exact same way that we've been doing it, so it's not going away. And secondly, for you to know when the MSCO project drops, you have to go to my website and get on the Andy Graham email list. Okay. Just go in there, sign up for the Andy Graham. It's a daily post that we write. You come in, it's little inspiration, little personal development, little, little life advice that we do every morning comes right to your computer. We don't spam you. We don't send you 75 emails a day. I don't pitch you on a bunch of. I hate that too. But if you want to be aware of when this happens, you need to go register for the email because that's the only way we're going to talk about. I'm not going to be pumping it here on the show. I'm not going to be talking about it on my social. I'm just going to put it out there and you guys are going to do with it what you want, so.

[C]

Hell yeah, man. Hell yeah. Well, guys, it is Monday.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Let's make some people better Today, let's, let's do it. Guys. Andy, I got three good ones for you, so let's knock these out. Guys. Andy, question number one. Andy, I appreciate all you do. I know you have probably heard that a thousand times by now, but I really do. I found your content like a year and a half ago and it's amazing. I have a question for you about distractions. I'm 24, just finished up law school. I have no idea how, but nevertheless, I'm entering the real world and I feel like everything around me is nothing but distractions. How did you handle and view distractions early on in life versus how you handle and view them now? Distractions. I mean, we just talked about having a lot of shit going on. A lot of noise out there.

[B]

Well, first of all, what do you mean you don't know how you got through law school? You showed up, you did the work and now you got through it just like you're gonna do anything in life, okay? So don't take away the achievements by trying to pretend like you're a lot of you guys yourselves. Because you talk bad about yourselves and you say, I don't know how did that, but I got through it. Listen, dude, every time you say negative things about yourself, every time you, you know, subtract from what your actual achievements are, you are taking away your own belief in yourself. There is nothing wrong with saying, hey, I just got through law school, I graduated, was tough, but I got through it and I did a good job. Acknowledge that, bro. That's a hard thing. A lot of people can't do that. You should be happy about that. Don't act like, oh, I don't know how you know exactly how you showed up. You did the work and now you're done with it and now you're ready to do something else. So I, I gotta address that right up.

[C]

That's right.

[B]

Okay? A lot of you, you buy into this humble and you take away every bit of confidence and self belief because you downplay your actual achievements. And of course there's people that overplay their achievements, but it's usually losers that do that. Okay? You're winning. Acknowledge that you're winning. Acknowledge what you did to win and keep doing that. I hate when people talk bad about themselves.

[C]

That's real, bro.

[B]

I couldn't get through fucking law school. You know what I'm saying? Like, that's a massive achievement, dude. I'm, I just don't do that. Yeah, it's bad for you.

[C]

Well, people think it's everybody else is going to take your confidence away.

[B]

No, it's you.

[C]

It's it.

[B]

Dude, you are the one that takes away that shit. Because society programs all of us to be self deprecating and overly humble and take away our achievements and act like we're not. Dude, no, you're a badass. You just got through law school. That's awesome. Congratulations, by the way. I'd give you a hug if you were right here. Okay, so that.

[C]

That's first.

[B]

That's first. Now, how do we handle distractions? All right, look, man, we're always going to have things that are outside of what we are pursuing in our professional life. Not all of those things are distractions. Some of them are just life. Okay? So we have to determine what is a distraction and what isn't a distraction. For example, having a significant other in a relationship can be a distraction or it can be something that benefits you if you have the right partner. A lot of people will say, I can't have a significant other, or I can't go play sports or I can't do this because that's one minute away from my goals. Well, listen, dude, if you are that concerned about living your life and it takes away from this thing that you're doing, what will happen is, first of all, you will burn out and you will get tired. Second of all, you don't need to live a draconian life in order to be successful. Third of all, you're going to miss out on a bunch of things. And fourth of all, it's completely unnecessary. All right? We just have to determine if it is or isn't taking away from productive action. So the actual way to deal with distractions is to understand if it's a distraction or. Or a benefit. Just because something's in your life doesn't mean that it's a distraction. So you need to work to eliminate the things that are pulling you back or pulling you away or, you know, keeping you from doing what you want to do and the things that are propelling you forward. Okay? You need to have as many of those things as you can outside of what it is you're trying to do. And you need to have the least amount of things that hold you back. All right? And a lot of people think that everything holds them back. It's just not true. A lot of things you'll have will push you forward. So you handle it. The true answer to this is you handle it by being productive with the time that you have. All right? And it's not just about time. No one cares how much time you put in. No one cares how busy you are. No one cares about anything other than, than the result that you produce. And if that result takes five minutes, it takes five minutes. If it takes five days, it takes five days. If it takes five months, it takes five months. But if all three of those people are doing the exact same thing, the dude that gets it done in five minutes gonna get paid the most. All right, so how productive are you being? How focused are you? I have developed a tool that I have used for 20 plus years that solves this problem for us. It's called the Power List. You can get it for free at episode 16 on the audio feed. What it does is it allows you and shows you how to break down critical tasks that move you forward. And it doesn't talk about how much time you're going to have to put in. The time is irrelevant. So if you can become effective, you have five critical tasks per day that you need to cross off. Okay? And then the rest of the time is yours to fill with distractions or fill with entertainment or go live a life. This idea that is put through by all these fake ass that you have to work 50 hours in a 24 hour day is a lie. That that's how you know they haven't done anything because no one can do that. All right? So it's not about how much time you have, it's about how productive you are and what result you produce. And a lot of people have problems differentiating those two concepts because they grew up in a regular job and they come from regular, you know, I work for someone they pay me to do and they have trouble converting because they're, they're so used to thinking about this, I'm getting paid for my time. I'm getting paid for my time. Poor people get paid for their time. Successful people get paid for their skill. Okay, so how do you use your skill to be as effective as possible, as fast as possible so that you can get paid the most money and have the most free time? Well, you create a systematic framework that outlines the critical tasks that you need to do. You do them every day. You realize that there's only so many things that you need to do in a day to get forward, and then you have the rest of the time to do whatever you want. And that's how I've lived my life. If I get done with my critical task by 10am, I could do whatever I want the rest of the day. If it takes me till 10pm, I'm working on that. It just depends on what the task is. So there, there's that. But ultimately, dude, look, the truth of the matter is I had a really good time growing my business, okay? I. I worked very hard, but I also enjoyed things. And some of those things would be called distractions. But those same things that are called distractions are now great memories that I have of my younger years. So I wouldn't trade those things. You see what I'm saying? So we have to understand, dude, this grind, grind, grind, grind, grind, grind, grind mentality. Yeah, it's true, but the more effective you are and the higher skilled you are, the less time you have to put in, the more life you get to live. Okay? So I would encourage you to reframe how you think from time to effectiveness. And now you're an attorney, you bill for your time. But we, but we all know what the you guys do. You get, you. You go in your computer, you pull out your little sheet that you send to everybody and then you say that sheet would have cost. Would have taken 10 hours to make, and then you bill them. 10 hours.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Right. So, you know, we all change a.

[C]

Couple of names in there, a couple of words.

[B]

Works, bro. These guys don't have anybody full, but that's, that's the bottom line, dude, like eliminating distractions. You know, if you ask most of these people out here, well, I'll go in a dark room and I meditate for 75 minutes and I put a eye mask on, and then I'll dunk my face in cold water. They have all this, bro. Listen, dude, you don't have to worry about being distracted if you're effective. You don't have to if you're working. Yeah. So the answer is, build your skill set, be more effective, get done quickly, and the more time you have to do what you want. You go to the Cardinals game, you, you know, go on vacation, you can off on the Internet. It doesn't matter because you got your five things done and five critical tasks done per day will get you where you want to go. Yeah, most people don't get any done.

[C]

Yeah, that's real. I wanna, I wanna dive a little bit more deeper into this. This concept you brought up about just differentiating what is an actual distraction and what's life and what's just something that will benefit.

[B]

For example, like the, the relationship thing.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. We've all been in relationships that were a distraction. You know, women who. For us guys, I'm just gonna speak for. I'm speak as A man?

[C]

Sure.

[B]

I've been in relationships before where when I was broke, I was yelled at for not having any money. Okay. In the same relationship when I got busy to try to make money, I was yelled at for not having any time. So as a man, there really is no win with a female like that.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So you have to find friends and partners and people that are going to help push you forward and understand what you're trying to do, not try to be selfish with your time and take away. They have to have the long term vision. And so we have to understand that the same thing that could be a distraction for you could be a benefit for me if I had the right partner that's just using partners. You see what I'm saying? So many things are like that. Like many things. Like.

[C]

A friend group.

[B]

Let's. Yeah, for sure, a friend group.

[C]

You know, I guess my question was, is like, you know, because I feel like there's a fine line here. You got to be careful with. Of like, okay, like I got my five things done, but I could also be doing stuff in the off time that will wipe out all of that progress of those five things. So I think, like, I guess what I'm asking is like, does this really come down to, to like the discipline level you have as a person going on this, this journey?

[B]

Because I, I mean, I think discipline's a different topic than what we're talking about here. This is. This. Yeah, maybe, I mean, maybe it's the discipline here of, of staying true to your mission and not allowing people to be distractions. But you know, everybody goes through this, dude, everybody goes through this phase when they start out. And everybody in their family and everybody in their friends and everybody they know is like, what are you, what are you doing? What do you mean you're doing that? What do you mean you're going to start a vitamin store? What do you, what do you, what do you mean? You're selling vitamins? Yeah, well, you're not going to get a real job. Like, what are you, what are you talking about? That doesn't make sense. Oh, you're going to build a brand. You're, you're, what are you, you're going to build a, you're going to build a world class nutrition supplement brand, lifestyle, high performance lifestyle brand. You're going to build that from St. Louis where you, who fuck you think you are? Okay, like, dude, you think I haven't heard all this shit? I replace those people with other people who say, bro, that's fucking awesome. How Are we going to do that? How, how can I help? You know what I think, dude? What if you did it like this? What if you did it like that? You know, I, I don't know much about it, but I was thinking, I was in the store and I saw this. What do you think? Okay, even if it's not valuable, it's the intent because they want you to win. So you only have so much energy in a day and if you spend any part of your energy, and this is the truth here, I, I, we talked about, you know, you don't have to spend 50 hours in 24, but you do have to account and allocate your energy properly. And if you spend one unit of energy, when I say one unit, I'm just gonna say, okay, we all have a hundred units of energy in a day that we can use, right? We all have. When we fill the gas tank, it's at a hundred. We get to choose how we spend that energy. And if we spend any of that energy on things that pull us backwards, we will lose to people who have understood that they needed to replace distractions with things that propel them forward. So if you have equal skill set, okay, and, and, and you probably don't, you're probably behind on skill set and you're also spending your energy dealing with a nagging girlfriend or a shit bum boyfriend or a family that doesn't believe in you or anything. And you're spending your energy over there and you have equal skill and this guy has figured out to put things in his life to propel him forward, he's going to destroy you. It's not, you cannot be that good. You're not that good. So we have to understand there are people that are as good as us and better than us who allocate their energy properly. And that's a real thing. I won't, you don't have to work 24 hours or a day, but you do have to allocate your energy properly. One thing I know for sure from all of my friends, I don't hang out with anybody, not because I'm better than anybody. But all my friends are successful. All of them do that, right? None of them, none of them have a relationship or friends or distractions or things that pull them away from what they're trying to do. They all have people that contribute. So you have to be aware of that energy expenditure, I would say, more than anything, and learn to replace things in your life that are a distraction with things that push you forward and that, that takes that. That's hard.

[C]

That's a hard thing to do.

[B]

It's hard because you've been friends with people for a long time or you've been in a relationship for a long time.

[C]

Yeah, but I love them.

[B]

Yeah, bro. Listen, just because you've been in a relationship for a long time doesn't mean it's the right relationship.

[C]

Oh, man.

[B]

You know, so like, the. We. We have to. We have to equip ourselves with things that are going to push us forward, and we have to remove the things that aren't. I did a podcast on this on msceo years and years and years ago. Anchors and propellers in a boat. Okay, I can't remember what number that was. The guys will find it here real quick. But it basically describes that we're all in a boat, okay? And there's 10 of us, and you're either rowing or you're holding us back and throwing anchors in the water. That's it. And you got to remove the people that throw the anchors in the water and replace them. People that row. Episode 150 on the McCEO project that's at the bottom past Real AF episode one, go to 150im SEO project and we talk about this concept directly.

[C]

I love it, man. I love it. Guys, any question number two? Uh, Andy, I had a falling out with a close friend two years ago. And while I've tried to move on, I still find myself feeling hurt and angry when I think about what happened. I know holding on to these feelings isn't healthy, but I don't know how to let go and truly forgive. How can I release resentment and find peace with. With 2025 here now? I want to get through this. How do you. How do you really let go of those anchors you had to let go?

[B]

Well, you just have to value yourself more than that. You got to value yourself more than that. Like, why would you. Why would you keep someone in your life that you know shouldn't be there, regardless of how long you've known them or how. What you did or what memories you have? Entrepreneurship is a different thing, dude. Success is a different thing. You don't get all the things everybody else gets, but you do get things they don't get. Okay, so there's a trade. And while a regular person who maybe isn't highly ambitious, they. They can deal with relationships in their life that don't push them forward because they're obligated to in their mind. Right? I'm related to this person, or I've known this person since kindergarten. And a lot of people would say that's being a good person. I don't think that has anything to do with being a good person. I think being a good person is you taking care of yourself, making sure you become the best person, knowing that when you're the best person, other people improve too. That's being a great person. So, you know, when we think about letting go, you know, I, I understand when you're younger, it's hard. I don't know how old this person is, but when you get older, you just care less and less about that and you just kind of accept reality for what it is. I, I personally, I really. People are gonna think I'm a for saying this, but like, I really don't give a, like if you don't want to be here. If you're not about what I'm about, if you're not trying to win, if you're not trying to be better, if you're not trying to improve, if you're not trying to kick ass and you don't want to be my friend, I don't care, like at all. You know what I'm saying? So like, I don't know why and I'm trying to like empathize with this question and think about like how I was when I was younger. And I think when I was younger I felt rejected by these things and because I had less confidence and I had less belief and I hadn't accomplished as much and I didn't believe in myself the way that I should. And I think when you're in that state, you know, relationships can hurt a little bit more when, when you feel rejected or wronged or whatever. But dude, the best way to get to a point where that doesn't bother you is to win. And it's to believe in yourself and it's to build yourself into what you should be. This is a big benefit of 75 hard and live hard. Because once you get everything on tune and once you understand that you are in control of, of most of the things that matter in your life and you're not just drifting through it sort of changes your perspective on everybody else. For, for better or worse, the people who don't belong in your life, it becomes very clear. And the people who do belong in your life, that becomes very clear. And so, and I think, I think you develop enough confidence and self belief through that program to where you don't mind if people don't want you. You know what I'm saying? Like, I look back at the times I was rejected or the times I had relationships or friendships fall apart. And I'm just being completely honest. It was a blessing every time, every time. And no disrespect to anybody that's listening, but just being real, dude. Like, my life got significantly better every single time one of those things happened. And while I might have been sad and it may have bothered me, if I think back to the times where it bothered me for a long time, it was because I wasn't winning. It was because I wasn't at my potential and I didn't believe in myself the way I should. And I felt like, oh, well, you know, I just felt like I wasn't good enough, and it's because I wasn't. And I think the other thing that you can do is you can use it as fuel. You know, one of the biggest drivers of my life has been these situations. It's been people, my friends, that didn't believe in me. You guys hear me talk about it. All the things I just said a minute ago, those came from people that were, quote, unquote, my friends. You knew. Yeah, I knew them personally. Well, what do you. What do you think you're going to do? Like, I'm going to win. That's what the I'm going to do. Okay? And you're going to be the same, and I'm going to win, and that's that. And so when we think about, you know, these times of rejection and these times of disbelief and these times of doubt and these times of falling out, that's massive amounts of fuel for you to go do what you want to do. And I know we live in this feel good society where everybody wants to say, well, don't worry about what they say. Well, listen, if you don't worry about what they say, you're missing out on 50% of the available fuel. And it takes 100% of the available fuel to get where you want to go. And every single I know that's built anything relevant that is highly successful, whether they talk about it in public or not, if you get them in private and you get a cup of whiskeys in them, they'll tell you everybody they hate, they know their names, they know where they live, they know what they're doing. And they'll say that I'm winning and they are proud of it. And I'm talking about all the. All the spiritual gurus feel good. All. All of them. I know them all, motherfucker. And all of them have this dark side in them that wants to smash faces and that comes from rejection. It comes from doubt. It comes from people breaking up with you. It comes from people saying, ignorant, not believing in you. These are things that you can use by simply saying, fuck them and going to do it.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, so you have to become one of these people that can absorb the negativity and then not dwell on it, but then turn and do productive things. In terms of taking action to move forward, I think that that has been one of them for me. That has been one of the most powerful fuel sources that I've ever had. I. When people believe in me and people like. And I'm. And they're like, oh, yeah, you're great, dude. That doesn't motivate me. You know what motivates me is a saying, bro, you haven't done.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And that gets harder and harder to do. And so as you progress, you have to find different ways to fuel yourself. And like, for me, I replaced. Because a lot. I mean, dude, look, you know, I don't have a lot of people anymore. They're like, oh, you'll never do that. Like, I get the opposite. Oh, you're so. You've done so well. So I have to use that as fuel. Because now I'm like, no, I actually haven't done anything. I'm going to do this and this and this. Okay. And. And then I think about the purpose and who's. Who I'm responsible for and the change I'm trying to make. Right. Like the MSCO project, the reason I'm bringing it back isn't for any other reason that I realized that we have to change the culture of ambition and winning in society, especially in the youth. And that's what I want to do. It's not, you know, I want to prove people wrong about how much I know now. Now it's a bigger mission. Right? Like, when I come in to my companies, it's not how much more money can I make, it's what are we trying to do? How are we trying to change things? What kind of result are we trying to create? What's this going to mean for my team? All of these things are bigger missions than just being wanting to prove people wrong. So as you progress through the path of entrepreneurship, you're going to find yourself motivated and driven by different things. In the beginning, you know, it's usually like, material ambition. I want car, I want house. I want a big fat bank account. Then when you set out to do it, you get a bunch of people that'll doubt you, tell you you can't ask you why you're doing it, try to talk you out of it and then you get pissed. Okay. So you start using that for fuel. Then if you're good and you're dedicated, you end up finding yourself in a place where you're doing okay. So I'm not getting the hate, I'm not getting the disbelief, I'm not getting the doubt, I'm not getting the fuel that I was getting. So I have to adjust how I attack because I'm not operating on that fuel anymore. And that is where you finally get to a point where it's no longer anger or frustration or hate or dark side energy and you move into a positive energy, which is these are the people I care about. I'm responsible for these people. This is the mission we're on. This is what we're trying to do. And it becomes, we're trying to build rather than prove anything. So there's phases to it.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And in the beginning, dude, if you try to operate without that dark side energy, you're probably going to get stomped on by people who know how to harness it properly. Because we only have like we talked about 100 units of energy. And let's just say half of it comes from the mission positive. What I want to do, prove people right. I believe in myself and the other half comes from you. I'll show you exactly what the I'm gonna do. And when I walk in and I see you 10 years from now, you're gonna be embarrassed you didn't believe in me. Those two things have to be used for all of us, the regular people who don't have billion dollars worth of funding for our companies. That's how we got to do it.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

It's a safe to say you wouldn't be where you're at if you didn't use that negative, bro.

[B]

I, I love when people hate me. I love when people talk.

[C]

I love, it's rare now, but it happens to everybody.

[B]

And I don't care if I don't care, I don't care who it comes from because I love it so much. I take it from anybody. Like the worst thing you could do to me, like if you're competing with me is talk or hate on me or tell me that you won't because I will stomp your face into the dirt. I will go, I will go back to sleeping on a piss stained mattress in my first retail store to beat you. You won't do that. You're not going to give up your comfortable Life. You're not going to Give up your 5 Series BMW to go back. I give up everything, bro. Don't with me. I'll stomp your face. You're better off. Just leave me the alone. That's right. Don't say just leave me alone. That's why you should never with competitors, bro. Especially ones who are accomplished. Because there's a good chance that those are some badass, dark, driven. And when you with them, bro, they'll go to the ends of the earth to ruin you. Not ruin you like burn your house down, ruin you, but win so big that you feel like a dumbass.

[C]

Yeah, that's real shit, man. That's real guys. Andy, question number three. Let's get our final question here. Andy, got a business question for you. Question number three, Andy. I'm four years into my business. I do landscaping from design to build outs to maintenance. I have 12 employees and we are doing really well. I've been able to pivot during the off seasons to keep my guys paid and working. Now we are getting back into the work with spring around the corner. And my question is about reinvesting into the company as the owner. Where do owners mess up with this concept and what's the right way to go about it? Reinvest in the business.

[B]

How you do it. Where do owners mess up? They mess up by taking money for themselves far too soon. And if you want to know the truth, you should keep all the money in the company, every single dollar that you make for as long as you possibly can. And then when you do start getting paid, you should pay yourself the minimum of what it takes to cover your living expenses and let everything else compound scale. And that is the fastest way to build a large company that will provide for you. Now most people don't do that because the first time they can make 200 grand or 400 grand, they're fucking. They're so hungry that they want to take it. I was no different, by the way. And I could tell you this, if I had delayed just a little bit in terms of getting paid, it would have exponentially scaled me faster. So this, this is something that I think we all make mistakes on.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So if I were re. If I were doing it today, I, and I was in my 20s and I was, I was young. Even if I'm in my 30s and you're young or 40s and you're young and you're just starting, I would keep as much in the company as I possibly can for as long as I can possibly do. It. And I would live in a way that was way less than what I could have, what I really could afford for as long as I was comfortable doing that. And people will say, well, winner. When.

[C]

When is the right time?

[B]

Yeah, it just depends on what you want, bro. Depends on how big you want to build something. Okay. Some people are happy, you know, with a. Just having a half a million dollar house, you know, they want. That's. That's success to a lot of people. You know, driving a Denali is success to a lot of people. Some people, that's their roof. So they're gonna have to do this probably for way less time than somebody who wants to build the greatest American iconic company in the world, which is what I want to do.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. So there's scales to it, and we just have to determine what it is we want. And, and then we also have to consider, you know, life. You know what I'm saying? Like, life. The time goes. I mean, it goes by. And there's a thing called quality of life. You know, a lot of people will say, don't ever make emotional decisions about money. I would say that's 90% true. But there's things that you could overpay for because they're important to you, like the house you live in. Okay. Like maybe, you know, this is your dream house and it costs you a little bit extra that you. To live there. Well, that's okay if you know that and you understand you're making an emotional decision for the quality. For your trade off of quality of life.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So now that's a whole different topic. It really is, because I don't want people to get the wrong idea. But we have to understand that if you want to be as successful as possible, then you live below your means for as long as possible and reinvest for as long as possible. And that. That's what. That's. And the less you do that, the less successful you're probably likely to be. And then, you know, like I said along the lines, when you make a logical versus emotional decision, you. You should be very aware which decision you're making. Okay. Like you, you don't need a fucking Escalade now do you want an Escalade? Okay, well, all right, you want it, you don't need it. You understand?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's okay to make want decisions as long as you can afford it. And it's not putting you behind the eight ball and it's not crushing your finances. You know, there's people, there's people that will Deny that like, you know Ramsey.

[C]

That's a logical decision.

[B]

Yeah. Ramsey rant. If you listen to Ramsey, which, by the way, I got tons of respect for. For Dave, you know, he'll say, don't ever do. Don't ever do that.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay, well, what if the. What if you die and you never got to do. You never got to taste any of the. You know what I'm saying?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So we have to understand, to answer the question very simply, keep as much money in your business for as long as possible. Live very Spartan for as long as possible and let the business compound. That's. That's the fastest way to grow a business.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

When should you spend money on yourself? In the early days, Only when needed. When you're a decade in and you want to buy a BMW, and it doesn't mean if you buy it, who gives a. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? These things, a house, a car, a lifestyle should not put you in some sort of bind financially at all. And your goal in business is to build a machine that works at scale. And that takes time and it takes money. And so if you want to do it fast, you put everything you got into it.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Can we.

[C]

Can we talk about some real numbers here? Like, for you? What. What did that look like for you? Early on in business, how long did you go before you took anything out?

[B]

Well, the first three years, I made zero dollars. Like zero. We didn't. We worked other jobs and we lived in the store on and off. And then also some shitty apartments. Like 400amonth, three dudes living in it. Right.

[C]

Sounds great. Yeah.

[B]

No, for real, dude. And then the next seven years, I made $695 a month post tax for a grand total of my first 10 years of $58,380 for my first 10 years in business that I could have made more money working at McDonald's. Okay. But that time set the framework for what you see today. All right. So that was the foundation of everything we've used to scale out. My 10th year or 11th year, I made a hundred and eighty thousand dollars.

[C]

You're 30 by this time, right. Like that would make you 30.

[B]

Okay. Yeah, there's a lot of. Yeah. I mean, it's just. Yeah. I was 30, 29. 20, 28 or 29. Made 180 grand. The next year I made over a million bucks. And I haven't made less than seven figures ever since then, so. But I wouldn't have made that seven figures ever if that first 10 years I had been taking money out to go fucking drive a 5 Series Beamer or some bullshit.

[C]

So, so this is important distinction. What you were taking home, the 795. That wasn't what you were taking home because that's all you could it.

[B]

Correct.

[C]

You're saying you could have taken.

[B]

Correct, correct, correct. Okay, so, so for, and that's a, that is an important point.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

From years 6 to 10, we probably could have got paid pretty good, but we put all that money back in.

[C]

Gotcha. That's the discipline you're talking about there.

[B]

Okay, so, so, I mean, dude. And you know, all my, just so you know, like, all my friends made fun of me. Everybody I knew made fun of me. Everybody, everybody was like, Andy's still doing that little vitamin shop. Like, bro, they said it to my face. This is why I stopped going around. People like you talk about eliminating distractions. That's why I don't. Dude, how, where do I go? You, you, you spend more time with me than anybody. Where do I go?

[C]

Do we go here and where we go home.

[B]

That's it. I don't, with anybody. I don't go anywhere. I don't talk to anybody. And it's a bad habit now because it's become almost hermitage or antisocial to my successful friends. But the reason I got that way was because everywhere I went, all I heard was, yeah, so I stopped going to family, I stopped going to social, I stopped doing anything. I stopped talking to anybody. Because, dude, I got tired of hearing that and I didn't want to hear it because when I did hear it, I'd spend three days like stewing over it. So I just cut the out and I put the blinders on and I went over here and, and that was it. And I, I, I don't regret that, you know, because, you know, I lost a lot of friendships and, and, but they weren't the kind of friendships that were serving me, dude. You know what I'm saying? So, dude, listen, this is all hard to navigate. This is a hard thing for people to navigate. Like, we have to understand that, you know, there's going to be people in your life that have to be removed for you to get where you want to go. It's just reality. And, and you have to do it. You, you don't have an option because you won't get there because the energy expenditure on that negativity will force you to lose in business. You see what I'm saying, man? So, you know, I tell you this. If you got a girlfriend that bitches at you for not having any money. She going to bitch at you for being too busy. Or vice versa. Yeah, naggers nag. Give him the fuck out.

[C]

That's real shit.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You got a bum of a boyfriend.

[B]

Yeah. Same for boyfriends.

[C]

Yeah, get them out of there. Yeah, get them out of there. Boo Boo.

[B]

Yeah, bro.

[C]

Yeah. I love it, man.

[B]

Guys. Yeah, I mean, I mean, dude, like we're you. You guys have to understand you are on a different path. You are on a different path. You are on a path where only 1% of the people that choose the path are successful and only 8% that choose that. Only 8% of the population choose that path. Only 1% of them are successful. So you're choosing the hardest possible path. So when you listen to your friends and you listen to the memes on the Internet and you hear people talking about all these things, none of those things are for you. They're for them. Entrepreneurship, ambition, success requires a different mindset that hardly anybody understands because they've not done it. So stop reading the memes and stop trying to fit your life into all these frameworks that all these so called experts try to frame up for you on the Internet, right? Oh, you're a bad person. If you're super focused and you don't have time. No, you're not. You're living a different life than those. And there is no standard of how we should live. You have to go out and pursue what it is you truly want in your heart. And if you do not do that, at the end of your life, you will have a major regret. You will say, I could have, I should have, I would have. But. And it's not going to make you feel any better at that point. So please understand this. If you understand nothing else that I ever say, ever. If you get sucked into the vortex of what everybody else wants for you and what everybody else thinks for you, and what the memes say and what the therapists say and what the your friends say, you're gonna be just like them. And most of you don't want that. So ignore the noise and realize you are living a different life. You are living a different path. And that path requires a different set of rules than anything else you're reading online. And when you do read online, you say, oh, that's good. Who wrote it and what'd they do? This is a guy that just writes memes. Does he know what the he's talking about? Is this a therapist who's convincing people that they're broken so they can get paid. Who's writing it? Is it a regular that's talking about balance? What the do they know about balance? To have balance you got to have success too, don't you? Ambition too. Those people don't have any of that. They think balance is sitting on their ass at home doing nothing. So none of that applies to you. Here's what applies to you. Decide what the you want to do. Break it down into actionable steps daily. Execute those steps as quick as you can every single day. You're going to have balance in your life because you'll have free time and you're going to have success. And that's how you have to look at it, dude. This, this, this society we live in, that. That rewards victimhood and laziness and fucking quote unquote, balance. Let's be real, dude. Motherfuckers that talk about balance or they. What are they really talking about? They're talking about being lazy as fuck. That's what they're talking about. Don't listen to any of it, guys. It's all. You are living a different path. You are on a different mission. Not everybody is going to relate. In fact, very few people are going to relate. And just keep that in mind.

[C]

I love it, man. I love it, guys.

[B]

80.

[C]

That's a hell of a way to start a Monday, man.

[B]

All right, guys. Don't forget real America. Freedom. Gear drop Wednesday at 7 o'clock and we'll see you tomorrow.

[A]

Went from sleeping on the flow now my jury box froze fuck up Bow fuck a stove Counted millions in a cold bad bitch booted swole got her own bank row can't fold just a no head shot case close.