962. Q&AF: Creating A Bigger Sense Of Urgency, Discipling Employees & Managing Your Team From A Distance

Summary

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Podcast Summary: REAL AF with Andy Frisella

Episode 962: Q&AF – Creating A Bigger Sense Of Urgency, Disciplining Employees & Managing Your Team From A Distance
Date: November 10, 2025
Host: Andy Frisella

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Episode Overview

In this Q&AF (Questions & Answers, Andy Frisella) episode, Andy takes live calls and listener questions centered on three core challenges: how to sustain high urgency after achieving comfort, leading and disciplining employees (including the tough calls around firing friends), and managing a team from a distance—particularly when unexpected life events force sudden changes in leadership style. The conversation weaves together hard-earned entrepreneurial wisdom, no-nonsense business leadership advice, and honest, real-life struggles.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Creating a Bigger Sense of Urgency in Business and Life

Caller: Skyler (Starting ~ 04:32)

• Skyler’s Story:
  After working through college, student debt, and hustling through various jobs, Skyler found structure, paid off almost all student loans, and now struggles to replicate the urgency he had when fighting for financial survival as he looks toward starting his own business.

• Andy’s Guidance on Sustaining Urgency:

  • Zero Options Mentality:
    Andy challenges Skyler to adopt a "zero options mentality"—intentionally recreating the sense of pressure that existed when failure had severe consequences, even when there’s now comfort.

    "You have to train yourself to think of yourself as if you have zero options, but to do it." (Andy, 08:12)

  • Project Forward and Expand Your Vision:
    He suggests visualizing future regret and what happens if you coast for five or ten years, as motivation to keep pushing.
    • Additionally, urgency can now be driven not just by personal financial need, but by a sense of duty to others (family, employees, future goals).
  • Intentionally Create Discomfort:
    Sometimes, Andy says, you have to "intentionally make your situation a little bit uncomfortable" again by stretching or reinvesting, not recklessly but strategically.

    “For me... I end up taking most of those funds and reinvesting that in the projects... to create a little bit more discomfort financially.” (Andy, 14:53)

  • Relatability and the Cycle of Comfort:
    Andy reassures Skyler that awareness of this dynamic is rare and powerful, predicting it will keep him from falling into complacency.

• Memorable Moment:

  • Andy and his cohost riff about the necessity of never letting the sense of urgency fade, as doing so "fades all the results, too."

  “You have to realize that urgency is not something you can afford to allow to fade from your life, because when you allow the urgency to fade, all the results end up fading too, bro.” (Andy, 13:53)

• Skyler on Relationships and Fulfillment:
  He shares loneliness in the current phase, having outgrown some friends and wondering how to build new, impactful relationships. Andy encourages running against the crowd if you’re ambitious:

  “If you're an ambitious human and... with big dreams, you need to run the opposite direction of everybody else.” (Andy, 19:49)

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2. Disciplining Employees & Managing Friendships at Work

Listener Question Read by the Host (~28:52)

• The Situation:
  The listener, working in a family business, had to fire a friend for slacking and ultimately for smoking weed on the job, wondering if they did the right thing or if they could have handled it differently.

• Andy’s Take on Firing Friends and Culture:

  • Boundaries Must Be Clear:
    Friendship at work is possible only when both sides respect work vs. play boundaries. At work, standards are non-negotiable.
    • Letting bad behavior slide, especially from friends, destroys team morale and sets an unacceptable precedent.
  • Holding the Line = Real Leadership:
    The “line” must be held, as everyone watches if you’ll enforce the rules, especially for friends.

    “My responsibility is to the team first. It’s to the company first. Above my own interests.” (Andy, 31:44)

    • Allowing poor behavior can demoralize high performers and drag down the culture.
    • Sometimes the person fired will later thank you for holding the line.
  • Empathy, but Not Weakness:
    Andy admits his greatest weakness as a leader is caring "too much," but he’s learned that protecting the culture sometimes means making painful decisions, even for people he likes.

    "When you try to protect people from their own karma, you end up receiving the bad karma that they were supposed to receive." (Andy, 37:56)

• Memorable Moment:
  Andy shares how the first time he had to fire someone (named Eric), he cried in his truck for an hour, highlighting that real leaders who care deeply don’t relish letting people go, but it’s sometimes necessary for the greater good.

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3. Managing Your Team From a Distance – Forced Evolution Through Adversity

Caller: Garrett (~40:21)

• Garrett’s Story:

  • Small business owner (wheel repair, Orange City, FL), built company with his wife and team.
  • Suffered a tragic motorcycle accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down, unsure about long-term prognosis.
  • Now forced to manage his business and team remotely while undergoing rehab.

• Andy’s Guidance on Managing Remotely and Evolving as a Leader:

  • Perspective Shift:
    Andy urges Garrett (and listeners) to see being “forced out” of day-to-day work as a growth opportunity. Most founders resist pulling themselves away, but for businesses to scale, leaders must graduate from “doing the work” to “leading the work.”

    “You don't want to be the guy painting the wheels forever. You can't run a business that way.” (Andy, 61:49)

    • Sometimes being forced away is the only way to truly empower a team to grow and fill the gaps.
  • Systems for Remote Leadership:
    Weekly group meetings (via FaceTime), daily check-ins, developing accountability—Garrett had already instinctively set up these systems.
    • Andy confirms that’s the right playbook, echoing his experience expanding Supplement Superstores.
  • Letting Employees Build Their Competence:
    Allowing employees to make (and own) mistakes is vital for their development and the company’s growth.

    “If you don’t let them go out and do things, then they never develop. Right?” (Andy, 54:14)

    • Garrett’s team, now forced to step up, are expressing gratitude for prior opportunities they’d taken for granted—a realization for both Garrett and his staff.
  • Positive Reframing of Adversity:
    Both hosts emphasize using adversity (like Garret’s) as a story of overcoming and a force for future motivation.

• Memorable Moments & Quotes:

  • Impact on Family and Community:

    “My kids saw me laying in the middle of the road... I have to show them that I can get up from this.” (Garrett, 49:03)

    • Andy: “You have an opportunity now, brother, to show everybody around you what it looks like to overcome.”
  • Never Quit Mentality:

    "I have 'never quit' tatted on my chest, not because I ain't a quitter, it's because I have the potential to quit. And I have to look in the mirror and remind myself that I can't quit." (Garrett, 49:36)

• Real-World Leadership Lessons:

  • Forced evolution: Sometimes you have to be pushed into working “on” your business instead of “in” it.
  • The team will step up when given responsibility and room.
  • Long-term, adversity often becomes the very thing that drives business—and personal—evolution.

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote/Highlight | |-----------|---------|-----------------| | 08:12 | Andy | “You have to train yourself to think of yourself as if you have zero options, but to do it.” | | 13:53 | Andy | “You have to realize that urgency is not something you can afford to allow to fade from your life, because when you allow the urgency to fade, all the results end up fading too, bro.” | | 14:31 | Co-host | “Sometimes you also have to, like, intentionally kind of make your situation a little bit uncomfortable.” | | 19:49 | Andy | “If you're an ambitious human and... with big dreams, you need to run the opposite direction of everybody else.” | | 31:44 | Andy | “My responsibility is to the team first. It’s to the company first. Above my own interests.” | | 37:56 | Andy | “When you try to protect people from their own karma, you end up receiving the bad karma that they were supposed to receive.” | | 61:49 | Andy | “You don't want to be the guy painting the wheels forever. You can't run a business that way.” | | 54:14 | Andy | “If you don’t let them go out and do things, then they never develop. Right?” | | 49:36 | Garrett | "I have 'never quit' tatted on my chest, not because I ain't a quitter, it's because I have the potential to quit." |

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 04:32 – Caller Skyler & Creating Urgency After Achieving Stability
• 28:52 – Listener Question: Firing a Friend and Holding the Line in Leadership
• 40:21 – Caller Garrett: Leading Through a Life-Changing Accident and Remote Team Management

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Tone & Language

The episode maintains Andy’s signature direct, no-bullshit tone, blending hard business realities with empathy and motivational storytelling, punctuated by lighthearted moments and tough love. He and the co-host are unfiltered but deeply authentic, speaking “for the realists,” with occasional humor and self-deprecation.

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Key Takeaways

• Urgency is a mindset, not a circumstance. To keep growing after achieving comfort, you need to intentionally create new challenges and keep yourself “on the gas.”
• Leadership demands tough, sometimes painful decisions. Protecting culture matters more than individual comfort. Letting friends off the hook ultimately hurts everyone, including them.
• Every founder must learn to work on, not in, the business. Sometimes external events make this possible or force it—embrace the opportunity to empower your team and scale.
• Personal adversity can be a crucible for leadership and legacy. Real leaders leverage their hardest moments as fuel for themselves and their organizations.

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For those who haven’t listened:
This episode serves as a masterclass on entrepreneurial urgency, hard-edged but human leadership, and how to find strength (and business evolution) in the face of personal crisis. Whether struggling to stay motivated, grappling with difficult personnel decisions, or being thrust into new modes of leadership, there’s practical insight, raw emotion, and reassurance you’re not alone.

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Transcript

[A]

Yeah, went from sleeping on the floor now my jury box froze up Pole stove counted millions in a cold bad.

[B]

Booted swole got her own bank roll.

[A]

Can'T fold that's a no head shot. Case closed.

[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 we have Q&AF. That's where you submit the questions and we give you the answers. Can submit your questions a number of different ways. Malcolm X is going to tell you.

[A]

Oh, well, I have a dream that you can submit your questions a few different ways, guys. First way email your questions into askandy dandyforcella.com you guys can also click the link in the description below and submit your questions for a chance to be on the call in. Or also drop your questions in the comments of the Q and A episodes.

[B]

All right. And if you didn't know, there's shows within the show. Okay, tomorrow we're going to have cruise the Internet. We call that cti. That's where we put topics on the screen over here. We see what's going on in the world, we pick it apart, we laugh at it, and then we talk about what we need to do to solve these problems. Because ultimately it is our problems to solve. Sometimes we're going to have real talk. Real talk is just five to 20 minutes of me giving you some real talk. And then sometimes we will have 75 hard verses. If you're unfamiliar with 75 hard is the initial phase of the Live Hard program, which you can get for free at episode 208 on the audio feed. It's only on the audio feed. It's episode 208 of Real AF and it'll give you the whole Live Hard program. If you're unfamiliar with Live Hard, it is the world's most popular mental transformation program ever. And there is a book written by me on it called the Book on Mental Toughness. It has the entire Live Hard program plus a whole bunch of other information that's not in the podcast. You can get that [e-mail] definitely not required. But if you're someone like me that likes to know the ins and outs, it's a great read. We do have a fee for the show. We do things a little different here. We ask very simply that you know, if you get something out of the show, if it gives you some good information, if it makes you think, it makes you laugh, gives A new perspective that you do us a solid and help us get the word out. Okay? So don't be a hoe.

[A]

Share the show. All right, my brothers.

[B]

What's up? Hey. What is that? What do you. Those are fake.

[A]

No, he's real.

[B]

Why are you going to wear. You're only 30 years old.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Is that old?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So now you got to have glasses.

[A]

As soon as I turned 30, it happened.

[B]

How the am I in my mid-40s? But I don't need glasses.

[A]

You do need glasses.

[B]

No, I don't.

[A]

You've said you need glasses.

[B]

I've said that. But do you see me wearing them?

[A]

Dude, I can't no more, cuz I can't see well.

[B]

You mean, like, I couldn't see that. That turn off a couple weeks ago? Dude, it's all right, man. I get it, you know, it's. It's the night time, man.

[A]

Yeah, I get.

[B]

It's the night time. It's all you guys shaking your head, huh? It's all you guys.

[A]

It's over 30, bro. It happens.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Yeah, bro.

[B]

It's a. Dude. It probably doesn't. That's what it is. I started doing the tinted windshield because it looks cool. Now I can't see.

[A]

I can't see.

[B]

I would end up wrapped around some pole because I wanted to look cool, man. How'd they get Ant man, man?

[A]

He looked good doing it, though.

[B]

Yeah, that's. We give that a 10.

[A]

Fuck, man.

[B]

All right, so what we got today, dude? We got.

[A]

We got. It's Monday, guys. We're making people better today. Got some great questions lined up. So shall we. What you sipping on?

[B]

I'm sipping on that. On the orange. Orange fury.

[A]

I got the scissor because I'm feeling furious.

[B]

Yeah, this is her.

[A]

Yeah, I'm sipping on the scissor over here, man.

[B]

I like the grape a lot. I just can't drink it.

[A]

I get it, bro.

[B]

I want a crime spree.

[A]

Yeah. That's what I'm saying. With the way the interest rates are right now, like.

[B]

Yeah, I can't afford that. My credit can't go down. You know what I'm saying, man?

[A]

Let's get into it, man. Let's get some calls. Let's get. Let's get our boy Skyler, all right. On the phone. Here's Skyler. Hello, Skyler. What's up, dude?

[C]

Yo, is this dj?

[A]

This is the one and only DJ Skyler.

[B]

What's up, bro? It's Andy, too. Dj. Dj let me be on the show today.

[C]

Andy, that's crazy. How you doing?

[B]

I'm good, brother. How are you.

[C]

Man? I'm just trying not to freeze my balls off out here in Utah.

[B]

Is it cold?

[A]

Is it cold in Utah right now?

[C]

Yeah, up in the mountain.

[A]

Okay, gotcha. I forget Utah's like that. It's like split.

[B]

Yeah. Mountains and desert. It's a beautiful state.

[A]

It's crazy. Yeah.

[B]

So what you got going on, brother? What are you doing?

[C]

So I'm at this point where I'm about to create a greater level of urgency to pursue business ownership. And like nine years ago, I had this point in my life where I was like, I need to get my money right. And like any 19 year old at that time, I was trying to find direction and navigate life. But ultimately I chose college and I graduated in 2020 and I got buried under student loans. So I actually moved that same year to a new state job hopped. And that's actually where I found during that job hopping is when I found real as on YouTube and 75 hard where just changed my life for the better and finally got like a salary worthwhile and just kept working hard, started winning my role. Like all my work was getting done ahead of time and they started executing on like other people's projects without being asked to. And in return I was given what I asked for and have. And now I have like all this time and flexibility in my schedule. But during that time I was hammering away at that loan and that debt was easier to attack because it came was serious consequences if I fell back into that position like when I started financially. But now, now I'm about to be on the other side of that loan and without that external pressure, just trying to create a new level of urgency to pursue. Pursue business ownership. And now that I'm entering that more stable phase and working towards becoming that, like, my question is, what do I need to keep in mind to create that greater level of urgency than the level that I had when I was fighting to escape that debt.

[B]

Bro, this is a really good question and I'm glad you asked it because a lot of people struggle with what you're talking about and they're not aware that this is the. This is the destruction of the success that they've created. So I went through this as well, brother, you know, when you don't have any money and things aren't going well, you have to perform. There's no other option. And then when you start to get a little comfort like you're talking about, that urgency sort of fades away because you do have options in theory, all right? And that was a big struggle for me when I started making money. I went three or four years, and I'm like, all right, man, I'm good. I'm good. I'm good. And then I started feeling, like, very comfortable and sort of relaxed. And then the money stopped coming in because of my comfort that I had, you know, started to feel naturally because I was. I didn't have my back against the wall. And I created this mindset in myself, which I now talk to you guys about called zero options mentality. All right? And what zero options mentality is, is that you have to train yourself to think of yourself as if you have zero options, but to do it. And the way that I really cultivated that is I would think about where I would be five years from now if I remain in this comfortable position where I will be 10 years from now. What would the story be if I lost everything? And that created enough urgency in me to continue to stay on the gas. And then what I also did at that time is I found other reasons to work my ass off, all right, with urgency, such as the people who have helped me build my company, my. My responsibility to my employees. I allow those things to put the pressure on me now outside of the, you know, I guess, individual financial pressure that, you know, I had back then. So the whole trick here, Skyler, is to figure out ways that leverage you into action. That may not be actual reality, but you trick yourself into feeling it to be real reality. And that's how you start. But if you really dig into it, dude, you have to understand that even when things are comfortable, you have other obligations than just yourself. Right? Life is not supposed to be lived where you. You just go out there, you get yourself comfortable. You know, you live in your house with the white picket fence and 2.5 kids and just live that life. That's an empty life for most people. That's why most people feel very frustrated in their life, and they can't figure out why. And it's because human beings are naturally born to create, become, and build things in their nature. And so when you don't have that in any way, shape or form, even if you have comfort, you're going to have a lack of fulfillment because you know that you're leaving things on the table. And I say all that to say this. You have to cultivate a zero options mentality. You've got to put your back against the wall as if everything you do matters, because everything you do does matter. And you're only 28. Is that right?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, bro, you got a long road ahead of you, dude. And you have to ask yourself, like, where you're at now? Is that all you actually ever want? And if it is, there's nothing wrong with that. But just understand that when you start to feel unfulfilled or you start to feel like something's missing, what is probably missing in your life is you're leaving on the table. And you know it deep down. And that starts to eat away, especially anybody who is an achiever or who is driven or who has ambition. And so I don't know what your current situation is, but I could tell you you're not making enough money, okay? You're not. You are very young, and you have a long road ahead of you. And if you don't consistently stay on the gas, eventually this comfort that you've created will fade away. And you have to understand that, bro. That is just the reality. That that is a. That is Uncle Andy telling nephew Skyler, hey, brother, this is the way the path works. And I've been down that path many times, dude. And it's no fun getting to a point where, you know, the success that you've seen starts to fade away because you started to feel comfortable. And I think the fact. If I'm being real with you, I think the fact that you're aware of it is what's actually going to keep you from becoming one of those statistics, right? Most people are never aware of this. Most people never come to the conclusion of, I'm doing good, but that scares me. I'm doing good, but I'm scared of what's going to happen down the road. Most people, Skyler, will say, I'm doing good, so I'm good. And that's. Whenever they start to take their foot off the gas, they stop paying attention to details. They stop doing the things that they were doing whenever they were digging themselves out and building their life. And then it crumbles. And, you know, the fact that you're aware of that ahead of time, brother, is. Is a very profound awareness that most people lack. And you don't realize that because you're so very young, how rare that is. Okay? But I could tell you for sure that that the fact that you even ask that question tells me that this isn't going to happen to you. It's not. You're not going to be one of these people that loses. You're not going to lose that awareness, okay? You're going to keep it. And yeah, man, I mean, it's. It's a mental fuck. And you have to. You have to transition your mental into a place of zero options. And that's what I do, man. Like, you know, I live a very good life. I've. I've done very well financially for myself as you guys, you know, know, I have literally everything that I've ever wanted. And the stuff I don't want, I could get if I really wanted to. And so I had to come up with a different purpose and a different thing that made me urgent, and that came down to leveraging other things that mattered in my life. So, um. So, yeah, bro, I, I, that. That's how you got to cultivate it, dude. You. You have to realize that urgency is not a. It's. It's not something that you can afford to allow fade from your life, because when you allow the urgency to fade, all the results end up fading too, bro.

[A]

Can I throw something in real quick? Because I think this is so important, especially to the younger crowd. You. You taught me this, Andy. And again, listen, I'm not a financial advisor. I'm not. None of that.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But here's something. Okay? This is. This is important, bro. You. You taught me this. Like, sometimes you also have to, like, intentionally kind of make your situation a little bit uncomfortable.

[B]

Yeah. Stretch yourself a little bit.

[A]

Just. Just a little bit, man. Like, I'm not saying, go get a Lambo, Skyler. That's not what I'm saying. All right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But you got to kind of put yourself in a situation where like. Okay, well, all right. This is new coming in now. I gotta work a little bit harder to get to make sure that I'm still good. Yeah, I think that's so important.

[B]

That's a real thing. And it feels. It feels counterintuitive because you feel like you're being a little irresponsible.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, for me, those, Those situations in my life where I've accumulated a lot of funds. What I, what I end up doing all the time is just taking most of those funds and reinvesting that in the projects that I have in order to create a little bit more discomfort financially. So there's all kinds of things you can do, brother. But at the end of the day, you've.

[C]

You've.

[B]

You've actually done some really, really awesome, you know, digging yourself out of financial loans. We all know that student loans are predatory and basically useless and bury people intentionally. And the fact that you're 28 years old and you've almost dug out of that it says a lot about you, bro.

[C]

Yeah. Thank you. It. It's totally this mindset shift where I feel like I need to build it. It's like the only. It's just what convince. I'm convinced of. And whenever I'm working towards something and people close to me tell me that, what do you. Or they're asking me what am I doing, or they just don't believe in it, it just kind of seems like that indicator that I'm doing something worthwhile.

[B]

Absolutely.

[C]

And there's. There's all this. There's all this obligation I'm starting to think of now as I'm transitioning. My mindset of, like, okay, well, what would happen to this person that I really care about if I don't do this for them?

[B]

Right? Exactly, dude. Exactly. You know, I had a situation that happened to me in, like, 2014 where I got pneumonia real bad. Some of you guys have heard the story, but some of you guys haven't. And I missed work for, like, 17 days, which was the longest that I had missed worked up until that time. And I was sick and I didn't feel good, but I was. And I wasn't working, but I could see my bank account going up. And at that point in time, you know, I was making the most money I ever made. But I wasn't happy. I wasn't excited. I felt like what I was doing was pointless. And then I had to leverage that on. I had. I actually snapped out of it. And I thought to myself, I'm like, this is why fucking wealthy people kill themselves because they don't transition over to these other meanings that are more fulfilling. I mean, look, dude, you know, all the cars in the house and the shit that we all like and fight for and all that, I mean, dude, the reality is, is it's not about that stuff. It's about the build, it's about the game. It's about the process. And if you make it about stuff, eventually you're going to be unfulfilled. And if you transfer that. You know, I always talk about this because Gary Ve and I have gotten in a couple arguments about this. Just misaligned, where he says things like, you know, cars and this and that. Yeah, but for some people, that's their big driver. Right? Like, for me, when I started, dude, I wanted cars and I wanted a cool house, and I wanted this and I wanted that. They were very selfish desires. But I also think natural desires is, like, why people start businesses and try to become financially independent. And that's okay. But eventually you have to transition from a selfish point of view to a selfless point of view to where, like, you're saying, bro, you know, the people around you are going to depend on you much more than you think. And when you transition your. Your pursuit from something that you're going to gain to something that you're going to do for others that have helped you or that care about you or that depend on you, it really creates a different level of urgency in you. And I'm sure this is how probably people feel when they have kids. I, you know, I don't have kids, but everybody I know that's young, that has kids, they're like, man, the first time you see that little come out, you know, you have a different level of understanding of what it's about, and that's, you know, that's probably the closest thing I. I can experience to that personally. So I think you're thinking about it the right way, dude.

[A]

100%, dude. Love it, man.

[C]

Yeah. There's, like, this idea of helping other people as you're going along, working towards this great dream that could. That it's, like, going to benefit you financially, like, materially. But, you know, in this stage that I'm in, it's very, like, lonely. I would describe it where, like, I lost a lot of friends and stuff, and now it's like, how do I build better relationships with new people and, you know, ultimately help them while still getting something out of it?

[B]

Well, it's the same thing that you did in the beginning, dude. You're just doing it at a different level. And that's what I'll say, too. Another way to really cultivate urgency is to expand your vision for yourself. Okay. You know, true champion, true winners, people who do great things, they don't. They don't ever really achieve their goals. Okay. They get to a point where they understand they're going to achieve it, and then they say, okay, well, I'm going to expand this. This is what I could actually do. I didn't know it was going to take me this amount of time to do that. So now I have this much Runway in front of me, and they take the progress and the momentum that they've created, and they create a bigger goal, which then instills a new level of urgency on them. And that goal can be many different things. It could be, I want to build a school system for my community. I want to be able to solve this problem. I want to be able to take care of my family. I want to be Able to take care of people, or it can even be, I want bigger life for myself. You know, it could be all kinds of things to cultivate that urgency, but I don't think you're going to lose it, dude. I really don't. You're asking the right questions that make. Here's what somebody would say that was going to have a problem with that. They would say, they would have said like this. I started when I was 19. I got myself in all this debt and I paid it off and I'm good. And that's where the question. That's where it would have stopped. Yeah, that would have been the winner. So the fact that you're already thinking about this, bro, you got to believe in yourself a little bit. And I can just tell you from talking to you, bro, you're. You're wired. You're wired different than everybody else. And if we're being real, you know, you. If you're an ambitious human and you're someone that wants to win, and you're someone with big dreams, you need to run the opposite direction of everybody else. 99% of the time, these people are not on the same path with you. That doesn't mean they're bad people. It doesn't mean they're bad friends. It doesn't mean they can't. You can't be civil with them or have a beer or, you know, an energy drink or whatever it is you guys do out there in, In Utah.

[A]

Ain't nobody, right?

[B]

Well, you know what they say about Mormons, bro. If you, if you, if you, if you take one fishing, you better take two, otherwise to drink all your beer.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

You know, so. So I don't even know if Skyler's Mormon, but you get my point, brother. You know what I'm saying?

[A]

Yeah. Love it, man.

[C]

No, I do get the point. And yeah, it's really, man, now that without that external pressure, like, figure it out.

[B]

Well, what's it going to be?

[C]

Theory.

[B]

What's it going to be? You know, sit down. Sit down and spend the next, you know, today and tomorrow and think about, like, okay, well, what's my next thing? What's my next thing? You know, I'm building a whole new company right now. I talked about it last week on cti, like, and it's a tech company, and it's a new challenge for me. And it's something that I don't. I didn't. A year ago, I didn't know anything about. And that was the expansion of my vision to maintain my urgency. And now that urgency flows into all my other projects, too.

[A]

Right.

[B]

I'm more tuned in to everything else going on because I've created that urgency in myself to do this other thing. So, you know, I think you just need to sit down and think about what that's going to look like for you both personally, what it's going to mean to your family or your future family, what it's going to mean to you when you're 50 or 60 or 70 and think about those things. Because I could tell you the one thing you don't want to do, bro, is you don't want to get to 60, 70, 80 years old and say, fuck, I was on a good track, bro, and I it up. Or I. I could have done so much more or, you know, and. And by the way, bro, we're all going to have regrets when we die. Like, there's. It's just the trade off of life. But one of the. One of the worst ones I think that someone could have is. Is saying, I could have been this. But I. I didn't. And I think that would be a terrible thing to. To think about when you're, you know, time is up.

[A]

True, man. Skyler, we do. We appreciate you calling in, bro.

[C]

Yeah, that's awesome. Thank you for taking my call. I'm not Mormon, by the way.

[A]

Well, you can have some beer.

[C]

Yeah, so I can have a beer. But, yeah, this has been great. Thanks for. Yeah, thank you, Andy.

[B]

You're welcome, bro. It's just reassurance, you know, everything I'm saying here, you already knew it.

[C]

Cool. Well, have a good one, guys.

[B]

All right, brother. You too. That's a good question, man.

[A]

No, it's. It's super important. But I think the other piece, too. You truly believe, like, you can lose it all any day?

[B]

Oh, yeah, I can.

[A]

You know what I'm saying? So, like, that's not.

[B]

But like, dude, it's no different. Entrepreneurship never changes. If you're an entrepreneur, you are going to ride on the fucking line of losing your ass your entire life. You're only three two mistakes away or two bad moves or one business deal or, you know, fudgeing one government regulation change. Who fudgeing knows? So you have to go when you can. Last night we went to. We're recording this on Saturday, Friday for you guys. On Monday, we went to see Jamie Johnson and Riley Green. And Jamie Johnson is like, for you guys that don't know, he's my favorite artist of any genre of all time. And so to get to sit down and talk to him and, and, you know, become friends with him and, and, you know, we spent a lot of time together yesterday. One of the things we spoke about the entire time was, you know, it's really no different for anybody in any lane. Like, they see the result, they see the, the. But that. What they don't see is the 20, 30 year grind that has been put into that. And it's really no different for a music musician or an entrepreneur or a pastor or anybody trying to do anything. It's just reps and reps and reps and reps and reps. And, you know, I'm fortunate enough in my life to be around some very high achievers. You know, that in the public that people know. And every time I have a private conversation with any of these people, I mean, it's the same thing. It's like they're normal dudes, normal women who have put in a gazillion more reps than people will ever understand. And they keep the gas down because they, they don't know when it's going to end. You know what I'm saying? So the thing that we were talking about was, you know, the way the country boys say it, you know, is you got to make hay when the sun's shining. You know what I'm saying? And that doesn't change for anyone. You're going to get older and there's going to be a new guy that comes back behind you. And, you know, you've got to continue to fight those battles your whole life. And it's no different for any lane that you decide you want to be in.

[A]

Yeah, I love it, man.

[B]

Even if you're an employee, right? Like, you're going to be pretty good and you, Even if you're the best employee of a company and you're making it great, you can't, you can't think that there's not going to be someone that comes around behind you that wants your.

[A]

You don't continue to invest in your skills.

[B]

You don't.

[A]

Yeah, that's right.

[B]

And eventually you get past, you know, how many, you know, how many times over my business career I've had a situation where my literal best employee ended up, like, failing out of the company because they got too comfortable and they said, well, I'm the best. And then they stopped doing the things that they used to do. They just ride on that identity because they were the best at one time.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then all of a sudden, you know, a year later, you're having to have a conversation with them and they can't understand why you're even having the conversation. Yeah, because in their mind, they're the best.

[A]

They still got the varsity letterman jacket on.

[B]

Correct. When we've graduated college now.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And dude, that's. That. That happens in entrepreneurs. It happens with employees. It happens with anybody, anywhere. So, like, the sense of urgency has to be real because you have to understand that this is a competition and there are people that are going to come try to take your spot all the time. And we see this on the Internet, right? Oh, the only person you're in competition with is yourself. True, true. Kind of like if you don't compete with yourself to get better, you, but you will get passed by someone else. Right? So this idealistic mindset of, oh, this isn't a competition, that's total bullshit. Like, it's total bullshit. There is a limited number of spaces. There is way more people, and those people are trying to get to those spaces. What is that called? That's called a competition. Okay? So this whole idea that we're going to remove competition from society and all we got to do is compete with ourselves, it's total fucking bullshit. Like, it's total bullshit.

[A]

Just live, laugh, love, guys.

[B]

Dude, it's, it's. It's very. It's damaging. It's a damaging narrative to people. You know what I mean?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So that's crazy, man.

[A]

I love it, man. Let's keep. Keep it cruising, moving. Sorry.

[B]

Oh, yeah, let's keep improving.

[C]

There you go.

[A]

All right, guys. Andy, let's get question number two. Andy, I joined the company where I am currently at about three years ago my dad hired me. He is the president of the company. We are an ESOP company. I am trying to grow and scale the business since it has run very old school with no social media, no website. This is a foundry, supplies slash sand company. I'm trying very hard to learn the industry and do everything I can to grow the business and myself. I recently hired a friend, but he has been slacking off and I've told him to pick. Pick it up and he didn't. Now I caught him smoking weed on the job on the property and I had to let him go. I feel really bad because of how he took it. I know it's the right thing, but I would like to know if you would do anything different and how I should have gone about it. I appreciate everything you guys do.

[B]

I mean, look, man, that's the unfortunate reality of a great culture and trying to build a strong Company. You know, when you care about your people and you spend so much time with them, you know, you end up being friends with them.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And sometimes when you become friends with people, they start to take advantage of that friendship. And the only way you could really be friends with your people is that if they respect you and you respect them. And that means that when we come to work here, to work, when we're not at work, I'm not your boss. We're friends. We're cool. We, we, we. We could drink beer. We could smoke some weed. We could talk all the you want. You call me a. I'll call you a. But then when we go over here, dude, it's business time. And not everybody can operate that way. They let those things bleed together.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And so there's been a number of situations where over the years, I. We've had to let go of people that I really liked. Like, there's. There's really nobody that I can think of that I ever let go that I didn't like as a person. Yeah, right. There's one. Okay, but that was a many, many, many years ago. Yeah, but, yeah, I mean, look, I don't think you did anything wrong. I think, you know, what will eventually probably happen in that situation is that friend, if he's actually your friend, he's going to come back and he's probably going to say, hey, man, I know I up and I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. That was crossing the boundaries. You know, I. I've had to let go. I had to let go of somebody not too long ago who I found out was, you know, doing very similar things, drinking during the day. You know, they had an alcohol problem and we were trying to work through it and. And then that. That problem wasn't able to get solved. And we, We. I found out some things that was going on, and we had to let this guy go. And this is like, this is a guy who I loved and I still love, but he's mad at me, you know what I'm saying? And that sucks. But at the end of the day, my responsibility is to the team first, okay? It's to the company first. Above my own interest, it's. It's company first. You know, there's a little saying, you know, you work for the company first and you work for your boss second. And that's how I look at it. I don't look at it like, oh, this is my shit. And, you know, I look at it like I'm a part of the team. And this is my responsibility. And if I don't protect the team, then that's. I'm not doing my job. And that's the same for, for this person. Writing in. It's very difficult and it's hard sometimes, but you got to hold the line. And if you don't hold the line, like, if you didn't hold the line with this, a year from now, you'd have the whole team out there smoking pot. Okay. And not watching what you do. That's right.

[A]

Watching how you're gonna respond to it, dude.

[B]

And here's the problem. When you, when everybody else knows, like when all your high achievers and your hard workers and everybody that's kicking ass knows that you're not taking care of this other thing, they start to resent you because they're like, well, he gets to do all this special. I don't get to do that. And then it demoralizes your good people. So, like, those are things that you have to realize when you're in a leadership position, which are incredibly hard to do because you become friends with these people and you like them and you know, their family and you. You understand where they are in life. And you know, for a long time I would put, put all of that on my back, bro. And it was really, really, really. It's still really hard for me to let go of people because I care about their outcome. Yeah. But what I started to realize is that if I didn't let those people go, then I'm stifling their development as a human being because they need to recognize that that's a, That's a part that you can't. Can't touch that stove. Right. You can touch that one. You can touch that one, but you can't touch that hot one, bro.

[A]

It's non negotiable.

[B]

Yeah. It's just not. And, and, and that's part of being a leader, dude. You know, sometimes these decisions are not fun. You know, if you're going to lead people, bro, people, there's going to be people that don't like you even when you're trying to do the right thing for everybody. And that's. That sucks. But at the end of the day, that's the difference between being a great leader and being someone who, who doesn't lead at all. Right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I definitely understand. I think you did the right thing. 100. And I think, you know, you have to get comfortable with holding that line. And if I were this person, I would be proud that you were able to do that, because a lot of people can't do that. A lot of people can't look at their friends say, hey, bro, I'm sorry. But, you know, I know you've put a lot into this, and I know you've been like, dude, this situation that he's dealing with is much easier than the situations that you're going to deal with in the future, because you just hired this dude and this happened pretty quickly. But think 20 years down the road and you got someone who's put 15 years into your. And then they go off the rails. That's a. That's hard. Yeah. Okay.

[A]

So be thankful it happened this quick.

[B]

Well, it's part of it. Yeah. But here's the thing is, is the reason. Well, here's what I'll say. You doing that now sets a standard with everybody else. Okay. They're going to know that you're not around, and I don't see that as a bad thing. That's going to be a good thing for your leadership capital.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because everybody else is going to see it and they're going to say, well, if he let go of somebody who's his friend for that, I mean, you.

[A]

Going to do with me if I. Yeah, that's right.

[B]

So. And that's a hard skill set to learn, especially when you actually care about your people. But it's still a necessary skill set to have. You have to have it.

[A]

Yeah. Know, I think too, like, like, just because you care about somebody else's outcome, you. You still can't care more about their outcome than they care about.

[B]

And. But that's very, that's very difficult when you've started something from nothing.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And you've had people around you who have contributed and helped build. And like, a lot of, a lot of founders and CEOs don't care about that. They're like them. I don't give a. But that always leads to a very. A terrible culture. So if I were going to run the business and I were going to choose between me not giving a fuck and just letting these people come in and having a shitty culture, or me giving a lot of fucks and having a great culture, I'm going to choose that even though it's harder. Right. The hardest things in life are the most rewarding. And if I didn't have that empathy for, for, for my people, I don't think they would be bought in the way that they're bought in.

[A]

No.

[B]

So, you know, like, but there's, there's a line that you can cross there, like, you know what I'm saying? And you have to hold it. And if you don't hold it, your. Your leadership capital fades. And there's been a number of times in my business where my leadership capital has faded because I've allowed people to stay who I knew should have been gone. Right. And this is probably my weak point as a leader. Yeah. Is that I care too much. But I wouldn't trade it because I think it's provided much more benefit in my life than it has these negative moments.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know?

[A]

Yeah. For sure.

[B]

For sure.

[A]

It's almost like, too, like, what's good for the goose, good for the gander.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

The collective. Like, I care more about the culture of everybody, not just one soul, because there's consequences both ways.

[B]

Yeah, that's right. And, you know, if you want to win and you want to build, and you're serious about building what you're building, this is a requirement, you know, And I'm lucky enough to have people around me who identify that weakness in me, who will sit me down and say, hey, dude, no. Yeah. And you know that's my weakness.

[A]

I know it.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Sal knows it's my weakness.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Jason knows it's my weakness. Will knows it's my weakness. So, like, they are very comfortable saying, hey, Mike Taylor knows it's my weakness. Those guys are very comfortable saying, hey, this guy's got to go, and here's why. And now I've just learned to listen to him.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I don't think that that's. If you're going to be weak at something, I think that's a good thing to be weak at almost, um, because the benefits of it long term are much better. But you can't. You still can't. You still. You still have to learn how to hold the line, even when you care. And I think one of the things that really helped me realize that is that, you know, I heard. I heard somebody say one time, you know, when you try to protect people from their own karma, you end up receiving the bad karma that they were supposed to receive. And that stuck with me, you know, because, like, think about this situation. You have this guy who's not contributing, who's. Who's setting a bad example, and you protect him over and over and over again, and then you end up receiving the bad karma. And the bad karma being your entire culture is like. Right. And then you got a bigger mess to deal with, and they're still cool. Yeah, right. Exactly. And not only that, not only are they still cool, once that person's created that standard with everybody else, now you're the. For giving them a break.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

You know what I'm saying? So, you know, this. This person is. Is in their first time of having to deal with something like this. And, you know, the first time I had to let someone go, bro, I cried. And I'm not embarrassed to say so. I remember the guy's name. His name was Eric. And I had to fire him. I never fired anybody before. And this guy was, like, the nicest dude. Like, the nicest guy ever, but he just couldn't do the job. It's not that he didn't want to. It's not that he didn't try hard. He just couldn't. He didn't have the skills. And, bro, I. I got my truck. After that, I probably cried for hour because I felt so horrible about it. But it taught me a lesson, man, because after we got rid of him, things got better, you know? So, bro, it's. It's. It's hard when you care, you know? Life's a lot harder when you care, Honestly, like, all areas of life. But I don't think that you're not supposed to. I don't think that callousing yourself to not care is the. Is the proper line of. Of action. That's just my personal opinion.

[A]

I love it, man.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Love it. Guys, we got another call. Let's. Let's get to our third and final question. Question number three. We're gonna get Garrett.

[B]

Garrett.

[A]

Garrett. All right, two T's. Yeah, let's give him a call.

[B]

Let's call him.

[C]

Hello? It's Garrett.

[A]

Garrett, what's going on, brother?

[C]

Oh, man. Pretty incredible to hear from you guys.

[B]

What's up, Garrett? Andy, what's going on, brother? How are you, man?

[C]

I'm doing the best I can under the circumstances.

[B]

Oh, that doesn't sound too good.

[C]

Yeah, I was in a motorcycle accident October 14th. My life. And I'm. I'm a small business owner. I've been building my business since 2019 and going through Covid. I built my business through Covid, and I have a standalone building now. I started in a trailer. I fix wheels for collision centers and car dealership. My heart's beating so fast right now, bro.

[B]

It's all good, man.

[A]

Fucking heart attack motorcycle, bro.

[C]

Y' all don't realize how much of an impact y' all have had. I mean, to be honest with you, it all started with the MSCO project. Somebody referred it to Me, when I was struggling, trying to handle rejection, when I'm going into all these dealerships and everybody's got their own guy, and I'm trying to be their guy. And I finally got through all that. Things got, you know, thanks to Human Vaughn and all your guests. And then eventually the real AF kind of became the new one for me, and I continued on. And you guys, you know, y' all are incredible, and so.

[B]

Thank you, bro.

[A]

I appreciate it.

[C]

I know y' all need me to get to my question, I would imagine.

[B]

No, no, no, listen, bro, we got. We got time, bro. You're good. Just relax. We Both appreciate it 100%, man.

[C]

All right.

[A]

So.

[C]

I have a building now, and I got a team, and I don't ever leave my shop.

[B]

How many people. How many people are on your team?

[C]

It's literally me and my wife and three other people. And my wife is a bad bitch.

[B]

She runs.

[C]

She's. She's such a. We got three kids. So, you know, she's limited on her timeframe, but she learned how to run the equipment. She's hyper, competitive, against me. Anything I can do, she can do better. She tries, you know, and that's awesome.

[B]

Yeah, that's good.

[C]

Yeah. I'm a lucky man, you know, and. And I try everything I can to keep going with the limited time I have with her at the shop. And then the other guys, you know, they do everything they can, and sometimes complacency is an issue. And I've sent in some. Some questions that I've overcome in the past through, you know, dealing with complacency with my team and trying to motivate them. And, you know, culture was the answer, and setting the example was the answer. You know, my personal excellence journey was the answer. And there was a lot of things I learned from you there just by listening, you know, and just setting things in motion. So, yeah, I mean, the question I have now, I've been doing everything. October 14th, I got my accident. I had two emergency surgeries, two blood transfusions later, and I'm still alive. And I have my brain. I was wearing a helmet. I didn't. I didn't do. Have any brain trauma.

[B]

So you got everything else.

[C]

Say again?

[B]

Said you got everything else, or did you lose anything?

[C]

Unfortunately, I'm paralyzed from the waist down. I'm an MMA fighter. Four in one. I'm a juju brown belt. I'm an active competitor. So this has been. This has been challenging, you know?

[B]

Yeah. Is that. Is that permanent or is that something.

[C]

That'S going to come back right now. They're. They're unsure. Some people are giving me a lot of positive ways to see it. And some people are trying to tell me to get used or get ready for my new normal. Like they're about to teach me how to self cast my man. I'm not ready to shove a tube in my. In my dick. I tell you that. I've been letting them do it for me. I just been looking the other way, pretending I'm asleep. I don't like it. I'm still trying to get used to all this crap, and I'm hoping I don't have to get used to it. If I just push through and get these legs working again, man. These legs are a big part of my life, brother.

[B]

Plenty of people have overcome what you're dealing with right now. Just keep that in mind.

[C]

And I'm trying to find them, and I found a couple of them and I'm looking online and I'm sending messages and I'm trying to do what I can to be inspired by others.

[B]

And you know what's your Instagram, real quick? Because I guarantee you there's people listening have dealt with this.

[C]

Instagram is never quit underscore Jiu Jitsu.

[B]

Okay? So never quit underscore J I U. J I T S U. Nailed it. All right. If you guys. Man, any of the guys out there listening have dealt with this, let's. Let's hit Garrett up and share some. Share some knowledge with him about.

[C]

Overcome this, please, and mean the world to me.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I'm a few weeks in, you know, so there's a lot of swelling. I broke my femur in half. And when that. When I hit the guy's trailer, he pulled out in front of me and he must have forgot he was pulling a trailer. And I, you know, I give the man grace. There had to have been something. I don't know what it was. And I'd love to meet the guy. Yeah, I would want to know what the hell his personality is like, or at least his character.

[B]

Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure he don't feel good about it, brother.

[C]

Yeah, it was a pretty bad situation. You know, they thought I was dead. It was treated like a vehicular homicide. And a lot of my family and friends were driving by the incident thinking whoever was on that bike was dead. A lot of people didn't know I had a bike because I bought it as a gift for myself because I had bought my. Have bought a building, man. And I created My own product for wheel cleaning. And wheel take it because of you. You know, I forked off just like you say. You have something, you fork it, and you continue to find the next thing that you can fork and make your own, you know, And I try to take a lot of steps that you put out for us to follow, and I'm working it, you know, and I got. I got blessed with this old man that owned this building and in my hometown, that he doesn't even have a mortgage on it or nothing. And we signed a deal. We Revised it about 12 times, but we. We got the deal figured out and we signed it for 15 years. I'm paying them a payment for 15 years. And that. That joker is mine.

[B]

There you go.

[C]

And, you know, we're a year in and unfortunately this happens. And I got a little nervous that he was going to get scared, but he has my back and he sees how much growth I've done. And I feel like everybody in my community has just been amazing, more than I could have ever imagined, you know, and it's been a blessing.

[B]

Well, look, brother, here's the thing, okay? Bad things are going to happen to all of us. We don't know what bad things are going to happen, you know, and we can't spend our lives competing over who got the worst of the bad things, you know, and what you're dealing with, I'm sure, is very difficult right now. You know, you're dealing with a major life change. You're dealing with a lot of uncertainty and feelings and probably frustration and a lot of, you know, and. But I will say this, dude, every bad thing that's ever happened to me, every bad thing that I know that has happened to others, we have some guys here that have. Have some pretty serious injuries and. And things that they've overcome. One of the guys I think of is Austin, who run. You know, Austin was born with a. With a physical disability and he has never let it stop him. And, you know, probably one of the most baddest ass. I think he's the baddest ass dude we got in here for sure. Yeah, I think he's the toughest guy we have in this fucking building. And you have an opportunity now, brother, to show everybody around you what it looks like to overcome. And it would be very easy for you to sit back and say, well, this happened to me and poor me, and nobody would blame you. Like, nobody would blame you. And. But you have to realize that you have an opportunity now to show everybody what it looks like to overcome Work through, push through, and continue doing what you were doing. And you're gonna face some dark days, bro. I'm sure you're gonna. You've probably already been dealing with it. You know, the suicidal thoughts and the. The. The that comes with these things is it's bad, but it's new, it's fresh, and it's going to be bad for a little bit. But, brother, I'm telling you, even if this would be a permanent thing for you, you're gonna go on to live a amazing life that inspires people, and I think it's very important for you to keep that in mind.

[C]

Yeah, man, I appreciate that. And I. I feel very motivated to. To come back. You know, my kids saw me laying in the middle of the road. They all thought I was dead. They were right behind me. You know, they didn't see the accident, but they were on their way to catch up with me. And I know they were there, and I was trying to get up and I couldn't. And I have to show them that I can get up from this. And I think about it every day. I plan on being that for whoever needs it. You know, I have never quit. Tatted on my chest.

[B]

That's right.

[C]

You know, and I intend on never quitting on myself, even though I have quit on myself in the past. And I put that on my chest not because I ain't a quitter. It's because I have the potential to quit. And I have to look in the mirror and remind myself that I can't quit.

[B]

That's right, brother. We all have the potential to quit. And we all. We all feel that way. Everybody feels that way, whether they're dealing with something like you're dealing or whether you're just dealing with the stress of business. It's. It's. It's just a hard. It's a. It's the hardest. It's the hardest way to make a living that you could ever choose for yourself. And.

[C]

Yeah, I don't. Chose one of the hardest paths, too, because it's a niche service and it's.

[B]

Yeah, but maybe you're learning a lot about business right now, and maybe this isn't your main business down the road. Maybe.

[C]

Oh, man. I feel like you. You put my mind on the right track, and I feel like I have. I have dialed this in, my friend.

[B]

There you go.

[C]

We. We have set my. My business up in a whole nother direction, and I'm sad that I'm not there because we were just getting into a whole new Field of coding, the wheels and we have a demand out the. Out the. Man. It's. It's. It's just insane. I. I hope that you can. Look, you know, here's something funny. Since 2019, 2020, when I. When I got recommended to you and Vaughn, I was sending you updates just for my own mind. I was sending you updates of every time I made a progressional step towards something in my business. I was like, hey, Andy, I. I created my own product. Or, hey, Andy, I got a new account that's gonna change our lives. Like, I was sending you little. Just. Just for my own sake, rather. You ever seen them or not, you know? Yeah, you. You. And I'm not trying to say you were like my main push. You know, my family was my push. You know, I had my. Had my babies. That were my push. But, yeah, you help keep my mind fortified, man.

[B]

Well, brother, you know, that makes me happy to hear, and I'm glad that you put in that work ahead of this. You know what I mean? God has a weird way. God has a weird way of testing us. And. And I think that's what you're dealing with here. You're dealing with a big test.

[C]

That is. So. I'm like, how the. Is this what happened to me? I fight, I train, I teach, I help. I do so much with, like, I'm active, you know, Like, I love Jiu Jitsu, I love Muay Thai. I train all the time, brother, you're gonna get back my legs away.

[B]

Hey, brother, you're gonna get back to that. That's going to come back. That's all gonna come back, bro.

[C]

I'm. I'm staying optimistic, man.

[B]

Yeah, well, and especially also, bro, remember, we're entering an age of technology where they're able to do some really amazing. So, yeah, it's. You're lucky this didn't happen 20 years ago. Yeah. Yeah. So.

[A]

So what?

[B]

Do you have a actual question or is this just you dealing with this?

[C]

You know, my question was how do I manage my team from a distance? How do I take care of their concerns and their struggles and their. Because they're afraid to call me, and then they're not as good as me. I'm not saying I'm the best in the world, but.

[B]

No, they need your leadership.

[C]

I. And I need to be there. I'm. I am the one, you know, and this whole. This whole. I made this. And I know I've messed up more ways than they'll ever know. I tell them all the time. I up more Wheels than you'll ever fix. Yeah, let me help you, because I've done. Mate, I didn't have anybody to help me. I had to make the mistakes. I had to eat the. I've had to be yelled at by managers, kicked off lots. I've been there, done that. And I don't need y' all going through it, because now y' all represent me. Let me be your guide. And then these jokers are still feeling like, oh, I'm getting better. So let me try to do it without calling dear mother, I'm gonna get there and smack the out of you. Well, because now they're up.

[B]

Okay, let's. Let's put this in a different context. Okay? Let's say that you. This wasn't the situation, all right?

[C]

You.

[B]

You weren't forcefully removed from your business, and let's say that you didn't have an ability to be on site right now. What would you do to manage the business remotely? And by the way, lots of people do this. And I'm going to say this to you because this is something that all leaders and founders struggle with. I actually think this has less to do with your accident, and I think it's more to do with a growth lesson of understanding that other people are capable and other people can be great at what you do. And sometimes when you're a founder of a business, you've done so much of the. That you think that you're the only one that can do that. And then what ends up happening is you end up accidentally stunting the growth of your business because you're not leveraging the. The skills of the people around you, because if you don't let them go out and do things, then they never develop. Right? It's like a kid. Like, if you protect your kid from everything, how do they ever learn? Right? And so this is a leadership lesson that I would take advantage of for you, and I would use this time. Because, dude, I. I believe that you're going to be back. I. I just do. I can hear it in your voice. Use this time to cultivate your remote management skills and allow them to develop without you and give them a little Runway to sort of develop. Because what will happen is they will develop, they will get better, and then you'll have a better business because of it. And it's hard to do that. It's hard to do that when you've been on the edge of losing your ass all the time because you're like, oh, fuck, if we make this mistake, it's gonna Screw up our whole business, or if we do this, it's gonna mess everything up. And that's just not true. The truth of the matter is, is that when employees make mistakes, as long as you own them and as long as you make it right, they customers generally are tolerable to that.

[C]

Right?

[B]

So. So I would think about this less that, like, I can't be there because I'm injured and they're gonna everything up. And I would think about this as a leadership opportunity for you to make your business a real business. Because. And what I mean by that is a real business isn't the founder doing everything and then the other people helping. That's not. That's not a real business. The real business is you're up in the fucking. Because we all have a role, okay? And this is how I communicate my role to our team. My role is we're all in a boat, and we're all trying to get somewhere together. And right now, there's five of you in the boat. And so you got four people rowing the boat, and your job is to go up in the bucket on the top of the mast and. And say, okay, guys, we got to go a little left or we got to go a little right. And that's just as important of a role as the guys row in the boat, because if they row without that direction, they're going to crash the boat into some. So.

[C]

Right.

[B]

So, you know, I. I think you need a little bit of a perspective switch here to help you get through this challenging time and understand, like, do you feel good about your three employees?

[C]

Well, can I. Can I explain what I've been doing since I've been able.

[B]

Absolutely.

[C]

Out of ic?

[B]

Yes, sir.

[C]

So since I've been out of icu, I've been able to communicate, and we've developed a weekly group meeting on FaceTime every Friday. And we've been reviewing the schedule and reviewing trials and tribulations, but every day, I've been talking to each of them individually for a good 15 to 25 minutes a day. And I think I've been helping them overcome their own, you know, personal limitations of me not being there and encouraging them to. To take control of their roles and. And responsibility and accountability. Because accountability was the biggest issue with. With my. With two people, mainly. And I think that me being here, they're. They're having to kind of pull this. This confidence that they didn't really have or I think were able to even see. But now they're having no choice because I'm not There. But I've been able to. To talk to them in another way and lead them and give them some serious pep talks, telling them to get out of their own fucking way. Some of them just are in their way, not, not believing in themselves or thinking things are going to go one way because a text message from a client or just the most, you know, ridiculous stuff. But I feel like I've been able to talk to them differently. And then the fact that they thought I died, but I'm here, it's like they don't want to bother me. So now I'm forcing them to bother me like I need them to because they don't know what they don't know. And I don't want them to think that they know things or they're. That I can help them with. Right. So it's been. It's starting to. To change and it's been getting to the point to where they're. They're getting more accepting of me still being able to help them and they don't have to do it on their own. But the skill set just not there for. For mainly my. The guy that's taking over my painting. I was the lead painter, always trying to find someone to paint, but nobody really wanted to take the position because they were happy where they were. So now he's kind of, you know, trial by fire. He only had a couple lessons with me and he is stepping up. And this dude, I love him to death, but he has a hard time with criticism. And the other team is kind of like putting pressure on him and he doesn't know how to handle it. My wife is very stern. My wife has got one of them, like, fuck you attitude. She's hard to deal with. That's why me and her get along so well. But she don't get along so well with everybody. And she's not necessarily a leader. She's there to get the job done and go. And she sees other people fucking up. She's going to call you out on it. And that's why I need to be there to put the fires out.

[B]

Well, you got somebody that will hold the line for you while you do the teaching, right? You know, dude, when I went from. When I went from. So if you've been listening to MF CEO, you probably know that back in the early days, it took me a long time to open up our second store because we didn't think anybody could operate it. We thought they would steal. We thought they would fuck everything up. And all of those things did happen. But yeah, they don't happen now because when I went from the two stores that we had to six stores and literally over the course of 30 days because we, we took over another business, I couldn't, I couldn't physically be in the stores with everybody very similar to you. All right? Now, I wasn't, you know, hurt or sick or I just couldn't be in seven, six places at one time. So I had to. And to be honest, what you're doing is kind of what I did. I would meet with them once a week. We met Monday mornings at 9 o'. Clock. And then throughout the week we had, you know, I had call, I would call all the managers on a regular basis, talk to them, work with them, and then every Monday they would bring their, you know, their lessons and we would go through them and I taught them all in a group because, you know, if one guy has to learn something, then there's probably someone else that needs to learn it too. And so the, the system that you've created is very similar to the system that I ran to scale out supplement superstores and learn how to lead without actually doing the work. And, you know, for you to grow that business, brother, I actually think this is kind of a blessing. As weird as this sounds for you.

[C]

You're not the first person to tell me this.

[B]

Yeah, brother, because listen, you don't want to be the guy painting the wheels forever. You can't run a business that way. And dude, because you care so much, what would it actually take for you to stop painting the wheels if this hadn't have happened?

[A]

Right, right, right.

[B]

You would have been doing this for another 20 years. Because you're like, no, I know.

[C]

I was trying to get away from it, trying to get my team team to step up.

[B]

But now, but now, now you're forced to. You don't have an option.

[C]

You're not wrong.

[B]

Yeah. So this is a really good opportunity for you to evolve your leadership skills, which, this remote leadership, that, that is a, that is probably one of the most valuable skills that you have to have in order to scale your business. So, you know, I, I actually, you know, as shitty as the circumstances are, I think long term for your business, this is going to be really good for you.

[C]

I can see that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

100, man. Garrett, dude, we appreciate you, bro.

[B]

Hold on. Do you. What else is, what else is going on? Is that, is that pretty much this the issue that you're dealing with?

[C]

Yeah, you know, it was. I had a lot of team issues and I don't have a big team. So I was feeling like it was me, not my team, and I was trying to take accountability for everything. And then I started to feel like I was taking responsibility for too much of their. Their flaws. And now that this happened, I feel, you know, all of them have come to me individually and expressed me that they wish I would have. They wish they would have taken me up on all the opportunities that I've given them to learn more and build their skill sets. Because I've constantly want, literally, to build my skill sets. Like, I became a tig welder, it took me three years of practice because I'm a slow learner. But in order for me to become a tig welder, I bought. I had to buy the equipment. I found a welder. I'd offered him jiu jitsu lessons, and he gave me welding lessons.

[B]

That's awesome.

[C]

It took me three damn years to get good at it before I can even touch a customer's wheel. So I didn't make money right away.

[B]

Right.

[C]

I'm trying to explain to these guys, it's not about making money right away. It's about learning the skills to make money in the future. You're building value into yourself.

[B]

That's right.

[C]

I want to build value into you, man. It's not that I want you to stay below me. I want you to come above me, brother. I want. That's right up to where we can. We can rise. And they're like, this is your business. You have you. And I'm like, no, man, this is our business.

[B]

That's right.

[C]

This is going to be what brings our families to that next level. But I need you just as much as you need me right now. And that was my struggle. And it took me almost dying for them to realize that. And it's like, no, no, no, no.

[B]

No, no, no, no, no.

[C]

I don't know.

[B]

No, no, no. It took you almost dying for you to realize that.

[C]

I just don't know.

[B]

Well, I do. You're in a good spot, bro. You're. Listen, aside from the physical things that you're dealing with and the mental things you're dealing with, I think this is going to be great for your fucking business. And I think. Here's the thing, and you're already doing this, but to anybody else listening, this is very important. You don't want to give your team the idea that this is fucking going away. All right? You know, Garrett's not throwing a fucking white flag up and saying, hey, our business plans are not happening. In fact, I've had a lot of time to think about this, and we're actually going to expand and do this and this and this.

[C]

We are.

[B]

Okay. There you go. So you're. Dude, I think you're in a really good spot. I think this call is just confirmation of what you already know. And I really think. I think you're already doing all the correct things. And had you not called in here, you would have figured this out on your own anyway, so. So, bro, you know, this just comes down to what you're already doing, and just keep doing it.

[C]

Yes, sir. And I'm going to continue to do everything I can. And we're getting into powder coating and. And it's one of the most demanded services that my market lacks. And we just got the powder coat and booth built. And unfortunately, then I get into this accident. But we were in the motion. You know, the ball is rolling.

[B]

Yeah, it's still rolling.

[C]

Take a little bit of a pause just to get me back to the shop and get the, you know, people in the right seats. And it's. It's gonna. We just. We just got the paperwork signed on a house. You know, we've been living in a camper since 2019 to build this business with my family. I got three kids, and it was like a step down of what we were used to. And, you know, it's been a challenge. My wife is a really, really conservative person. She doesn't like to spend money, so she got real comfortable. We were supposed to live in the camper for only two years, three years max. We've been there for six. So it's like, I can't go back to a camper, babe. She's like, oh, well, our plans were to save up more and do more, and now it's like, well, we got to make a move. And you guys want to hear something absolutely insane? She finds a house on Garrett street off of the street where I got in my accident.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[C]

The house was set up by a health care taker, an in home health care taker that took care of people at her home. She completely modified both of her bathrooms to be handicap accessible to, like, the furthest degree. And we just signed the paperwork on it today. I signed it through the email. I didn't get to go look at it, but I signed the paperwork and then the seller just accepted it and signed their end, and now the ball is rolling. So when I get out of this place, I'm going to be rolling my ass into a new house.

[B]

Yeah, that's fucking awesome. And by the way, in a few, you know, in a short amount of time, you'll be remodeling that kitchen in that bathroom and doing those things because it's going to be too low for you and you're going to be annoyed with it, so.

[C]

Right. Well, it's mainly just the bathroom.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

The kitchen. Beautiful. It was remodeled to fit her, not the people she was caring for. Yeah, but the bathrooms, it's insane because I would have never guessed that in it, you know, the universe is with me giving me a house on Garrett street for. With a handicap home, you know, I don't.

[B]

Listen, as weird as it sounds, I think this was supposed to happen, bro. I think you're gonna. I think. I think you're gonna look hard to.

[C]

Digest, Andy, you know, I. I know, bro.

[B]

I know it's. You know, this is not the same thing, but when I got stabbed in the face and my face was all fucked up and swollen, like, it took me quite a long time for me to understand that this was going to be a good thing, not a bad thing.

[C]

And I know that lady in the grocery store changed your whole perspective, bro.

[B]

Instantly. Instantly. And that's going to happen for you, too.

[C]

I need my lady in the grocery store. That's what I need.

[B]

Listen, you're going to. You're gonna figure it out, dude. A hundred percent. It's fresh, bro. It's fresh right now. That happened two weeks ago, three weeks.

[A]

Ago, even been a month. Yeah.

[B]

So the fact that you're alive and the fact that you're out and you're already thinking about this, bro, most people wouldn't do that. It's. It's.

[C]

Yeah, the community keeps telling me, like 90 of people would have been broken. And I'm the only. I'm the. I'm the anonymy. I'm the one. I'm just hit the statistic that's showing the. That I'm nothing but success driven, you know? And I hear these words from all these people behind me and, you know, makes me tear up because you don't really know who's got your back. And a situation like this comes and I had so many people come into the hospital. Damn nurses thought I was a celebrity. You know what I told nurse I did for a living? Told her I give rim jobs best around. They didn't know how to handle that. My mom had to go in there and be like, boy, you better stop.

[B]

Well, it is true.

[A]

Yeah, you do.

[C]

I give the best rim jobs around. And I know you get A lot of stuff sent to you. And I've heard you say you got a pallet of stuff in the, in the, in your, in your warehouse and you let the guys kind of have it. I've sent you some, a bunch of my rim job stickers and a hat and a shirt. And I sent you my product when I first made it because the only reason I made that product is because of you. And that's just legit. I have a clean, shine protect dress for your wheels and I do a system and every time a customer comes and leaves my shop with the wheel repair, they get a lifetime warranty and they get every two, pretty much every six months, they get a free cleaning on their wheels. They come back to my shop and I clean, shine, protect and undress. You know, and not even just the one wheel I did, I do all four wheels. So the customer continuously leaves my shop with value and then again they continuously come to me. And I can always reevaluate and I can let them know if they need any other services done. And you know, I keep the relationship strong. And a lot of those were, you know, installed in my, in my process through listening to you as you developed your stuff. And you know, obviously 2012 is when you started your MF CEO, but I picked it up in 2019 and it was a, it was a game changer for me, man.

[B]

Well, brother, I mean you. The most important thing about what you just message is what you just mentioned was the story that they tell after they leave there, right?

[C]

Yeah, I got, I got 571. Five star Google review, like the smallest company in our market.

[B]

There you go, bro. You're fucking doing it, dude. And this ain't gonna stop you from doing it at all. At all.

[C]

No, nothing can stop me. I have never quit tatting on me. So when I feel like quitting, I know I can't. So that's just the way it is. I can't quit. This is not allowed.

[B]

Nope, you are.

[C]

You know, can I say one more thing? I know y' all gotta wrap this up, but I just gotta say one more thing to Andy because you at. You had a question a couple years back and it was about the loss of a loved one and how to deal with it. And your response was that you couldn't answer him and you couldn't give him a response because you've never dealt with that. But in 2019, my father passed away and that was really hard listening to your show. And you know, obviously I was listening to the older stuff and I wasn't caught up yet. But, you know, your personal excellence is the ultimate rebellion and aggressive patience. And all those. All those factors is what kept my mind from. From losing reality. Losing grip with reality. No. It's a little hard to talk about, but when my dad died, I started kind of losing it, but I had cheap. Got my business rolling again in Florida. And I'm an MMA fighter, like I said. But I took a fight immediately soon as he passed, and I fought one of the toughest dudes coming out, man, and I beat him. And I took him to a decision, but I beat him. And it was one of the most overwhelming, like, accomplished moments of my life. And. And you. You gave me the perspective to keep pushing through that just by living through the personal excellence and not allowing myself to be taken over by emotion. So I needed you to know that. I even sent you a video explaining this back in 21 or whenever that question was asked because you said you didn't have the answer. Man, you had the fucking answer, brother. You. You. You fucking. You had it, bro.

[B]

Well, I appreciate that, brother. You know, I've actually, you know, Alex or Mosey is one of my really good friends, and him and I were talking about this. His. His mother recently passed away. And, you know, your dad. Your dad would not want you to sit around and feel sorry for yourself. Your dad would not. Yeah, right. So, like, when we think about, you know, my. My answer would be different probably now in that, you know, I know for me, if something were to happen to me, I certainly wouldn't want all of my family and my friends and everybody to, you know, feel bad. I would want them to go live their lives and do good things and. And. And become the best that they. They could be in that honor. You know what I mean? And so my perspectives changed a little bit on that. And I appreciate you pointing that out, dude. It really. It means a lot to me. And ultimately, you know, we're all going to deal with those things and we're all gonna. We're all gonna have hard times. And, you know, when people. When people leave us, I. I don't think anybody that leaves this world wants the people that love them to feel bad about it. I really don't. So there's that too, you know?

[C]

Yeah. 100. I carry the legacy of my father everywhere I go.

[B]

Yeah, that's the best thing you could ever do.

[C]

You wanna know something? I'm at the same rehab facility he was at after his surgery, and he lived two. Who. He lived quite a few years longer than they expected him to live. And I'm at the same place that got him walking.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

After his surgery. And I'm.

[B]

I'm.

[C]

I'm gonna be walking, man.

[B]

I know it. I know it.

[A]

All right.

[B]

Yeah, brother. Anytime, bro. Stay strong, dude. You got this. You know your business. I think you're in a really good spot. Just keep doing what you're doing, and it's going to evolve, and it's going.

[C]

To work, and that's absolute wheel repair and Orange City, Florida, guys, that's. It's awr wheels on Instagram. I do everything I can for that. That business is so much a part of me, it's ridiculous. And like you said, I got to get away and let it do its own thing. I got to watch it tick like a clock and not be super saturated in it, and I've been ultra consumed by it, and now I got pulled away, so now I have an opportunity, and I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity and continue to build from a distance, and I. And I'm confident that I will.

[B]

I know you will. I'm confident in it, too, so love it, bro.

[A]

Gary, appreciate your time, bro.

[C]

Yeah, man, I appreciate y' all more than you know. Thank you for the extra.

[B]

You're welcome, brother.

[C]

All right. Y' all have a great day.

[B]

All right. You too.

[A]

That's awesome. He seems, like cool, dude, man. I like to shake his hand.

[B]

Hey, man, you know, these. It's forcing him to evolve, and that's. That's the thing. You know, most people would sit around and say, oh, my life is over, and now I'm stuck in this chair, and, you know, I can't do anything. And, dude, that's just not the truth, you know? Does it suck? Well, it's definitely not ideal.

[A]

Right, But. Right.

[B]

I mean, talking to him. I mean, let's be real, dude. I. There's no way Garrett's getting away from the wheel business without being forced to. Yeah, it's not happening. Which is ultimately going to stunt his ability to lead. So it's. He's being forced to go from working in the business to working on the business, which is what every founder eventually has to do to scale. So outside of the physicality that he's dealing with, you know, it's. It's actually a really ideal situation for his business.

[A]

Yeah, dude. Dude, I love it, man.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, guys, Andy, that was three.

[B]

Yep. All right, guys, we will see you tomorrow on cti. What is it?

[A]

I think.

[B]

Don't be a hoe share the show.

[A]

Went from sleeping on the floor now my jury box froze up bowl up stove Counted millions in a cold bad.

[B]

Bitch booty swole got her own bank.

[A]

Row can't fold, that's a no head shot, case closed.