$115 Million Later: Why Risk Built Everything

Summary

Podcast Summary: "$115 Million Later: Why Risk Built Everything"

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Determined Society with Shawn French
• Host: Shawn French
• Episode: $115 Million Later: Why Risk Built Everything
• Release Date: June 16, 2025

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of The Determined Society, host Shawn French engages in a deep and revealing conversation with Tanner Chittister, a renowned CEO, entrepreneur, and author who has built an impressive empire, crossing $115 million in sales within six years. Tanner shares his extraordinary journey from a disciplined athlete to a successful entrepreneur, emphasizing the pivotal role that taking risks played in his monumental achievements.

Early Life and Athletic Background

Tanner Chittister's story begins with his early years as a dedicated athlete. Introduced to the gym by his father at the age of 12, Tanner immersed himself in sports, excelling both academically and athletically. His rigorous training regimen—often dedicating up to six hours a day—illustrates his unwavering commitment and discipline.

Tanner Chittister [06:24]: “When I was a 14-year-old kid, I would do three hours of lifting, three hours of running, three hours of basketball because I was a two-sport athlete.”

Despite his success in high school and earning a place in Division 1 football, Tanner's athletic career was marred by severe injuries. Multiple shoulder surgeries and a persistent discouraging mindset from medical professionals led him to reassess his future in sports.

Transition to Entrepreneurship

Facing the abrupt end of his athletic aspirations, Tanner found himself grappling with depression and uncertainty. However, a pivotal meeting with a mentor altered his trajectory. The mentor, recognizing Tanner's potential, introduced him to the world of business and online marketing.

Tanner Chittister [21:06]: “He said, if you agree to go back to church, I'll mentor you at my home office. You can come in every day and quit school.”

This decision marked the beginning of Tanner's entrepreneurial journey. Although initial attempts, such as selling a low-priced fitness program, were unsuccessful, Tanner's relentless pursuit of knowledge and improvement laid the foundation for his future success.

Challenges and Setbacks

Tanner's path was fraught with challenges. An early accident left him hospitalized with a concussion, leading to a period of memory loss and uncharacteristic behavior. This incident resulted in unintended weight gain and strained relationships with loved ones.

Tanner Chittister [03:19]: “I woke up in the hospital. I had a massive concussion, and I was ordering Uber Eats every day for every meal without remembering it.”

Despite these setbacks, Tanner remained resilient, channeling his experiences into personal growth and maintaining a steadfast focus on his goals. His ability to navigate adversity underscores the episode's central theme: the indispensable role of risk in achieving success.

Breakthrough Moments

Tanner's breakthrough came when he leveraged the skills he acquired through door-to-door sales and online marketing. By refining his sales techniques and embracing the power of paid advertising, he achieved remarkable financial milestones.

Tanner Chittister [30:30]: “When I figured out paid traffic, I knew I was gonna be rich. If you can run paid traffic profitably, it's over. You've won.”

Within a short span, Tanner scaled his business from making $10,000 to $50,000 a month, and eventually reaching the $115 million mark. His strategic decisions, such as investing in paid traffic and expanding into consulting, were instrumental in this exponential growth.

Scaling the Business

As Tanner's business flourished, he diversified his ventures, adding services like Elite Ads and expanding his portfolio companies. His dedication to consistently delivering value and his ability to adapt to changing market dynamics were key factors in sustaining his success.

Tanner Chittister [37:27]: “We went from 1 million to $10 million. It literally happened.”

By focusing on character, beliefs, and skills, Tanner built a resilient and scalable business model. His approach serves as an inspiring blueprint for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to navigate the complexities of building a multi-million-dollar enterprise.

Philosophy on Risk and Success

Throughout the conversation, Tanner emphasizes the significance of embracing risk as a catalyst for success. He draws parallels between his personal experiences and broader philosophical insights, advocating for a mindset that prioritizes growth over safety.

Shawn French [39:14]: “There's a one massive word that is hanging over this. It's risk.”

Tanner references the book Who Moved My Cheese? to illustrate the inevitability of change and the importance of taking decisive action in the face of uncertainty. He argues that the potential rewards of taking risks far outweigh the comfort of remaining in a stagnant state.

Tanner Chittister [40:15]: “If you leave a job and it doesn't work out, or you do a thing and it doesn't work out, you can always go back to the thing that you hate.”

His philosophy underscores the idea that personal and professional growth stems from stepping outside one's comfort zone and daring to pursue ambitious goals, despite the inherent risks involved.

Conclusion

Tanner Chittister's journey is a testament to the transformative power of risk-taking and perseverance. From overcoming athletic setbacks to building a $115 million business empire, Tanner's story offers invaluable lessons in resilience, strategic thinking, and unwavering determination. His insights serve as both inspiration and a practical guide for listeners aiming to achieve significant personal and professional milestones.

Tanner Chittister [50:24]: “I want to do stuff that makes me proud for no other reason than that. And it just so happens that a lot of stuff that makes me proud is super difficult, which makes sense. Like, extraordinary lives are built off difficult things.”

Notable Quotes

• Shawn French [00:00]: “There's a one massive word that is hanging over this. It's risk.”
• Tanner Chittister [03:19]: “I had a massive concussion... I was ordering Uber Eats every day for every meal.”
• Shawn French [39:14]: “It's risk. You either risk what you risk and have that big outcome and that big payoff, or you risk not doing it and never knowing.”
• Tanner Chittister [40:15]: “If you leave a job and it doesn't work out... you can always go back to the thing that you hate.”
• Tanner Chittister [50:24]: “Extraordinary lives are built off difficult things.”

Key Takeaways

1. Embrace Risk: Taking calculated risks is essential for achieving extraordinary success. Remaining in a comfort zone limits potential growth and opportunities.
2. Resilience in Adversity: Overcoming personal setbacks and challenges can strengthen character and drive, essential traits for entrepreneurial success.
3. Continuous Learning: Investing in personal development and acquiring new skills are crucial for scaling a business.
4. Strategic Scaling: Diversifying business ventures and adapting to market changes can sustain and amplify success.
5. Mindset Matters: A determined and growth-oriented mindset enables individuals to push through fears and uncertainties, leading to significant achievements.

Final Thoughts

Tanner Chittister's story is a powerful reminder that success is often the result of courageous decisions and relentless effort. His journey from a disciplined athlete to a multi-million-dollar entrepreneur exemplifies the essence of The Determined Society: overcoming obstacles, turning challenges into opportunities, and continuously striving to become the best version of oneself. Listeners are encouraged to apply these lessons to their own lives, embracing risk and maintaining unwavering determination to achieve their goals.

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Stay Connected

For more inspiring stories and impactful conversations on personal development, business, and entrepreneurship, subscribe to The Determined Society with Shawn French on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts. Follow Shawn French and Tanner Chittister on their social media platforms to stay updated with their latest insights and adventures.

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This summary encapsulates the essence of the podcast episode, highlighting Tanner Chittister's remarkable journey and the critical role that risk-taking played in his success. Through engaging narratives and insightful quotes, listeners gain a comprehensive understanding of the principles that drive extraordinary achievements.

Transcript

[Shawn French]

For everybody watching and listening, there's a one massive word that is hanging over this. It's risk. Like, dude, I respect the shit out of you, man. Thanks, man. 115 million.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah. There's a book out there, if you guys have not read it. It's called Humu My Cheese. There's three mice in a maze and every day there's food that's dropped into the maze. And after a while the food stops coming, they start to starve and they start debating what they should do. Two of the mice are like, hey, like, we should stay. Maybe the food's going to come back. And when the third mice is like, the food hasn't been here in a few months. If we don't leave, we're gonna die. And they're like, yeah, but what if we leave and we die? He's like, we're gonna die anyway.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

He's like, we have to leave. It's now or never, baby.

[Sharp French]

Sharp French. What up? This one. Luck. I let the pain inspire me. I put my all in. Everything I'm doing up until it's done, I'm me for the entirety. I put it in overtime. I be working Just know I'mma go for mine cuz I earned it. They watch and I know it's time I confir a whole society Determined Determin.

[Shawn French]

What'S up, everybody? Welcome back to another episode. This is the Determined Society. I'm your host, Shawn French. Before I introduce today's guest, I want you to go subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, follow us on all the socials at the Determined Society and at the Sean French S H A W N. And lastly, if you get something out of this episode, you know, somebody that can gain a ton of insight or some inspiration from it, please send it to them. So today I have an amazing, amazing CEO entrepreneur from elite CEOs. He's an author and he crossed a hundred million dollars in sales in six years. And he had a goal at 22 to become a millionaire by 27. And at that time, at 22, he only had $2,000 net to his name and he absolutely hit that goal. And he's an amazing individual. Tanner, chitister, welcome to the show.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah, thanks for the intro. That was. I. I should carry you around everywhere. It was amazing.

[Shawn French]

Yeah. Can you carry me around everywhere?

[Tanner Chittister]

I mean, I might need to.

[Shawn French]

Me too. I mean, seriously, I could be your hype guy, be like, man, let's do this.

[Tanner Chittister]

It's pretty good hype, right? Appreciate that.

[Shawn French]

It's nuts, man. Like I, I, you know, we've had interaction over the years and, you know, finally got to meet you in person today. And, yeah, it's, for me, it's really neat. Like, as I started my journey looking at people because, like, you didn't really know, but, man, I looked up to you, man. I looked at you.

[Tanner Chittister]

Everything built.

[Shawn French]

I'm like, this dude's dope, man. One day, maybe I can interview this guy. And here we are four years later.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah, look at that. That's cool.

[Shawn French]

You know, appreciate that manifestation, bro.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah, there you go.

[Shawn French]

And you're more handsome in person.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah, I'm a little, A little fluffier than I us right now, but I appreciate that.

[Shawn French]

Dude, if that's fluffy dog, like, for.

[Tanner Chittister]

Me, it, like, I'm just usually super shredded. And so, like, I'm still trying to get rid of the Uber Eats. Demolishing.

[Shawn French]

Interesting story. Well, good thing. So. Oh, you're probably triggered by the XL I brought you today. It's like, damn this bastard.

[Tanner Chittister]

No, you're good.

[Shawn French]

Oh, my God. So, dude, so like, you mentioned the Ubereats, man, right? And. And you're a very shredded dude. You know, you built your business on the backbone of fitness, right? And always shredded. So, you know, I think a lot of people can relate to setbacks and, and gaining weight. You know, I've recently lost £30 with the help of Jeff Delaney and my buddy Josiah Novak. And, you know, so I understand that, but you had an interesting reason why you got so fluffy, right?

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah.

[Shawn French]

Why don't you share that story with the audience?

[Tanner Chittister]

Sure. So, yeah, very interesting. So usually I get up for the gym, you know, 5:00am, sometimes 4:30, but, like, use 5:00am, give or take. And I live in downtown Miami, so where I'm at driving is. It's just pointless. And when I say pointless, I just, I think it's a waste of time. So I had three cars, got rid of those, was Ubering a lot. And then one of my buddies, who knows if he had it out for me, he said, hey, bro, you should get a scooter. You know, you get a scooter, drive it to the gym, and. And I was taking it to the gym, and it all was well. And then the gym moved locations. Okay. And when it moved locations, there's this small set of train tracks that you have to go over. And so I was scootering super early in the morning. You know, anyone's. No one's barely awake. And I saw the train tracks, and I thought, you probably should get off and walk that was a thought. And then I just said, ah, fuck it. You know, like in my head I'm like, ah, it's fine. So I'm going about 20 to 25 miles an hour and next thing you know, I wake up in the hospital. I mean, that's the first thing I remember. No, don't even remember it that well, to be honest with you. And I had a massive concussion, so I fell, hit my head, looked like I just went 12 rounds of Muhammad Ali. And I had about a two week period, like January 10 to 24, because people had to tell me where. I don't remember anything. And they're showing me videos and pictures and all this stuff, and I don't really have a recollection. The doctor said that's partially what can happen. But what they did say is I was ordering Uber Eats every day for every meal. And so I actually looked at my Uber Eats app and it's. I mean, I could show you. It's. It's absurd.

[Shawn French]

Let me live vicariously through you because this is very. This is exciting to me.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah.

[Shawn French]

What were you ordering? I know you order a ton of donuts.

[Tanner Chittister]

Pull it up, dude. Yeah, pull. I mean, it was bad. Let me, let me go in here and just like. I mean, they have a picture of me eating an ice cream cake for breakfast, you know, so let's go.

[Shawn French]

For breakfast.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah, for breakfast.

[Shawn French]

That's living life, bro.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah. So let's go back a couple weeks. Okay. Chipotle, Smash Bros, Mama Restaurant. Salt and straw ice cream. May Crazy Bloom. The Salty Donut, the Meltdown, ihop, Dunkin La Social. And that was right there. That was three days what I just.

[Shawn French]

Solicited off do the Salty Donut in midtown, though.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah.

[Shawn French]

So good.

[Tanner Chittister]

Skinny Louie, Fireman Derek's Bake Shop. And you got to remember, These are probably 50 to 100 bucks a pop. It's good. Midtown Creamery, Papa John's, the Salty Donut, Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone Creamery. I mean, dude, it's crazy what I was ordering.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

And so you know what was crazy, what was funny is, you know, two weeks go by and then I finally start, you know, just having more of a memory, I guess you could say. And I looked in the mirror and it was fine, you know, but I was like, wow, like I'm 15 pounds heavier and I'm still trying to get that weight off right now because usually I'm like 190. I'm like 6 2ish and I'm like 1 93ish.

[Shawn French]

OK.

[Tanner Chittister]

Right now I'm probably 2 10.

[Shawn French]

Okay.

[Tanner Chittister]

And so it's not. It's. It's technically not bad, but just to my standards, what I'm used to.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

And, yeah, that was my. That was my Uber Eats journey and weight loss journey is. I. I don't remember it. And so it was the vacation that I don't remember. Unfortunately, I didn't get. Yeah, I had all that food and I don't remember. And they. My friends and family were telling me that they would say, like, hey, man, maybe you should have something healthy. And I was like, nah, f you. Like, just. I was just like, I'm doing what I want. And, yeah, they said one of the side effects of a concussion, you can just be aggressive and, like, you lose some inhibition. And so I. I equate it probably, like, if I was, like, severely drunk, maybe that's how I was acting. Like. Yeah, whatever. Like, you know. And so long story short, I don't remember much, but it was kind of funny to get that insight after.

[Shawn French]

It's wild. It probably impacted the people that are closest to you, right?

[Tanner Chittister]

Oh, yeah, 100%. Yeah. You know, they were. They were worried.

[Shawn French]

Yeah, I know. You know, your girlfriend was, like, having a moment, you know. You know, you guys had.

[Tanner Chittister]

She. Yeah, I feel bad for her because she said. She said I wasn't being very nice to her. And I even. Even recently, this was like a. Yesterday is. I've been really busy since I got back, like, quote unquote, in health, and I'm still recovering, technically. So this week was crazy. Like, every single day this week, I've been working probably 16 hours. Like, I wake up, I work all day, I go to sleep, like, dead serious. And she. She just said, like, I wasn't being as nice as I usually am. And she said a comment where they said, like, some of the side effects can be like, you know, longer term is, you know, your personality changes. And, like, I'm a little worried you're not gonna get back to, like, your sweet self. So, yeah, like, for her, my mom, or like, even one of my friends, they. I think they just kind of got the worst version of me. And the funny part is I always tell them I don't think I could handle the worst version of me because I'm pretty. I'm pretty belligerent. Like, I'm gonna say what I say, and it's like, if you don't like it, I don't care. And I'm not usually like that with people, but in those cases, I could Totally understand. They show me and pictures and I honestly was like, yeah, I mean, if, if, if I was taking care of me, I probably would have left type deal.

[Shawn French]

But you know what? And I want the audience really tune in on this. Like, there's going to be moments that you're not your best self. Right. And, and like, and a lot of times, but a lot of times, like I've been like that and not. I didn't have an excuse. I just had a lot of trauma, a lot of depression and, and you know, lack of confidence in, of that nature. Now, I wasn't yelling at people, but like, I wasn't my best self. Right. So it's all kind of, I guess I don't want to say relevant, but it's all, it's all kind of equal. I mean, you had a, you know, a severe head injury.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah.

[Shawn French]

And so the people that were taking care of you, like your friends, your mom, your girl, while that's hurtful, they know and they talk like, yo, this isn't Tanner. Yeah, this is not him. You know, but, you know, listening to these stories and listening to your mom and listening to your girl, how have you dealt with those emotions of like, man, like, I was being an ass.

[Tanner Chittister]

Well, the first time I noticed is I took, I took my girl on a day and she was telling me about it and I was like, what are you talking about? Yeah, you know, and I actually, I actually had no idea. She's like, well, you were like doing this. You're doing this. She's like, do you remember? I was like, oh, yeah. And she started showing me stuff and it was just more shock. I said, I'm so sorry, I just don't remember. Yeah. But I genuinely didn't remember. And so it was more. I remember when I had it, I wasn't super upset at myself. I, it was because if I, if I remember. Sure. But I didn't. I was just more in shock that.

[Shawn French]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

I've never experienced. This is the first time my entire life, obviously, that I've done something that I don't remember. You know, it almost felt like short term Alzheimer's. Right. Dude, they were just telling me stuff and I said, are you. What are you talking about? And she even said that was the second time she told me. I've already told you this before. I said, when, baby, you know, men don't. Yeah, yeah. I was like, when did you tell me this? So I felt bad from that sense because I think I was putting them through a lot more. And I didn't realize it. And then when they show me, I just was in shock because I didn't remember. And. And that shocked me that I didn't remember that I hit the ground so hard that I didn't remember my actions for a couple weeks. Yeah.

[Shawn French]

You know, it's wild we've talked about this, you know, prior to recording, but, like, you literally are lucky to be alive.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah, they were saying that. We were talking about that today. In fact, you know, I. I don't know. I don't read too much into that in the sense of, like, I live, so maybe I'm supposed to still be here. But I remember thinking, you know, I'm really proud of what I've accomplished, so if I had died, I would have been okay with it.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

Which most people can't ever say. And so that. Actually, that is probably one of the most positive feelings I've ever had, is to sit there and go, you know, you could have died. And that makes you look back and reflect on your life. And I sat there and thought, like, obviously, I'm not perfect, but in terms of my effort, my effort was perfect. And that's. That's really all you can do in terms of, I think, having a fulfilling life is. Did you do your best at all times? And as far as I know, as far as I've looked back at my life, like, I've tried consistently to just be the best version of myself, dude.

[Shawn French]

I can look back at, you know, when I got my journey started four years ago, just, like, coming into an acquaintance of you, you know, seeing social media, I can see how you would come to that conclusion, man. Right. It's like, okay, like, well, you've built everything that you said you were going to build. You know, Gentry even came along for the ride, and you got him involved, too, right?

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah.

[Shawn French]

So, yeah, you know, you're a leader of leaders. You know, I mean, like, this is truly what you've done, and you've helped so many people create sales in their lives to where they can be successful and change their whole outcome. Right. I want to ask you, though, because, like, I look at things and I'm like, dude, if I were to die today, I would not be okay with it. There's another. There's an added level. Right? So, like, for me, I have three children, right? And why.

[Tanner Chittister]

Oh, God.

[Shawn French]

So you know what I'm saying, dude? So, like, for me, like, I'd be like, oh, my God, my young babies are gonna grow up without a dad. It's like, while you're super content. It's a different perspective, right?

[Tanner Chittister]

Sure.

[Shawn French]

But like, I, I oftentimes get so scared and paralyzed and sometimes. And honestly, dude, like, I'll be driving down the road and thinking about this and I'll cry. Like, like a, Like I will be in tears, dude. And I ain't afraid to admit it. You know, I've had people look over. I'm like, just don't look at me. I'm like, fantasizing myself dying. And like, what is my. Is my youngest gonna even remember me?

[Tanner Chittister]

Like, yeah, I mean that I think. Yeah, that makes sense because you're not just living for yourself anymore. You have other people to worry about. I, I guess, like, for me, you know, I got siblings, I have parents, but overall, like, I'm living my life. Yeah, they're in different cities and stuff like that. But I, I could definitely understand that. But I still think if, you know, if you don't have control over something. Let's say I was in that situation. I still would try to at least look at what did I do. Everything I felt I could, could do. Because I think where regret stems from is when we look back and go, I could have done better. I should have done this, I should have done that. I should have tried harder. I should have bought that thing. I should have done, you know?

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

And for me, like, I, I don't think I've had a lot of opportunities in life where I've really missed. I've made mistakes, for sure. I've made. I've messed stuff up. You know, not everything's gone perfect, but in terms of my effort, like, I've never, I've looked at my life and I feel like I've taken the risks that I've wanted to take. I've tried to do the things I've tried to do. I, I put in the time. Like, I, I do the things I say I'm gonna do. Like, I don't have too many regrets.

[Shawn French]

I love that. So it's awesome, dude. Like, hey, absolutely. Like, when you look at it like that, it's. You can only do what you can do in this life. Right. So let's get into the. So we. We've covered everything that you're going through right now, and this show is about overcoming obstacles and turning them into opportunities.

[Tanner Chittister]

Oh, there you go.

[Shawn French]

And.

[Tanner Chittister]

No.

[Shawn French]

And dude, like, no. This thing you went through.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah.

[Shawn French]

You know, the short term memory loss, you know, the blurred vision, you know, the Tourette's towards the people that you love the most. Like, you're gonna come out better for it. Right. Like you're lit. It's part of your journey. It's part of the things that we talk about that along the way that make you the person that you're gonna be ultimately. Right? Right. So it's going to serve you if you let it and you will. But dive, let's dive into. What the audience probably really, really truly also wants to hear is like, dude, you've built an amazing empire.

[Tanner Chittister]

Thanks.

[Shawn French]

Like, walk them through it, dude.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah. So I, I didn't grow up with anyone in my family, been an entrepreneur, so that was never something on my mind. In fact, I got bullied a lot as a kid. And then at 12 years old, my dad turned me on to the gym. And so my entire purpose, from 12 to probably 22 years old. The same way I attack business, I attack, I attacked athletics partially. That was because when I got into the gym and I started lifting, I excelled at sports. People started stopped messing with me. I got, you know, compliments and I said, man, like this sport thing, there's something to it. And I pushed as hard as I could. I remember I was 14 years old. I still look back and I, I'm amazed at some of the stuff I've done because I look back at a 14 year old kid and I want to be on varsity so bad that year that I would do three hours of lifting, three hours of running, three hours of basketball because I was two sport athlete at the time. And that's all I did the whole summer as a 14 year old, which is not normal. And I remember I made varsity and I just started, I had these things start happening in my life where I said, man, I can do anything. I can, you know, it was like, I don't, I know he's in trouble right now, but Sean Combs or P. Diddy, he has a video out there where he's like on the phone, it cut stories on the phone. He's like, yeah, thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. And then he like slams the phone down. He got some big deal done and he's like, what's next? He's like, what's next? He's like, I can do anything. Like, he's like, what's next? Like, and, and I kind of had that attitude about age as a kid. So I played Tom, 22 years old. I, I get a lot of injuries in college. High school was fine, but when I got to college, you know, being 225 in high school, you're big. 225 in college, you ain't big for what sport?

[Shawn French]

Football.

[Tanner Chittister]

Football. Football. Yeah. And so when I got to. I played Division 1 football by. And the linemen there were £300 across the board. So I. I shredded my shoulders. I had labrum surgeries. Your labrum is pretty much like a clock. So one was. Eight out of 12 was ripped. The other one was, I believe, six out of 12. So I had to replace both my shoulders. And then I rehabbed and I came back. And the day I came back, I tore him again. And that was when I said, bro, like, this isn't worth it. This isn't going to happen for me because I. It was six months of recovery, and I would train and I would train harder than any person. I put. I. I put a candle to any person. Like, I train harder. There's no way.

[Shawn French]

Dude, this is so dope. Because here's the deal. You didn't. I didn't know that you were a Division 1.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah.

[Shawn French]

Footballer.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Shawn French]

Did you know I played baseball at LSU?

[Tanner Chittister]

No, I didn't.

[Shawn French]

Division 1 basement college series.

[Tanner Chittister]

That's. That's better, by the way.

[Shawn French]

No, it's not.

[Tanner Chittister]

Save your bodies. No, save you.

[Shawn French]

Yeah, seriously, I don't. Yeah, but, like, I also had shoulder.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah, baseball is super common.

[Shawn French]

But. But, like, for me, dude, in high school, I was bullied until everybody's how good I could throw a baseball.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah, it's. It's like, it's a. It's a. It's a little bit of a cheat code. And for me, when I saw that, and because I grew up in Texas as well, that's where I grew up. It's like, if you're keen on the castle at football, you're. You're the king.

[Shawn French]

You're the man.

[Tanner Chittister]

You're the man.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah. I was captain. I was captain my high school football team.

[Shawn French]

Like, I was.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah. So when that was done, I started just going to school. And I would say for three months, it was fun because 12 to 22, my entire life was sports. So the way I attack business now, people might hear 16 hour day, they're like, yeah, whatever. Like, I actually will do it. So in athletics, I was working crazy hours because I was going to school. And then I would usually do between four to six hours of athletics a day. And I. And the reason was, like, I just wanted to be the best I could be. And I thought. My dad told me, he's like, look, you're an average white boy. He's like, you gotta freaking bring it, bro. He's like you ain't, you don't have enough talent, you know?

[Shawn French]

Wow.

[Tanner Chittister]

And that was my mindset too, because I saw some very, I played with some first round picks.

[Shawn French]

What position were you?

[Tanner Chittister]

Linebacker.

[Shawn French]

Linebacker.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah. I was even bigger. I was like, I was like, I was fluffy, don't get me wrong. But I was like 235, okay. I was big. And I played with Ezekiel Onslaught. First round pick, fifth pick in the draft. I played with Randy Gregory, he went to the Cowboys. He actually would have gone higher in the draft, but he could have stopped smoking weed. And I played some very talented. Damian Williams, he played for the Chiefs for a while. I don't know if he's still running back there, but some very talented guys who went in the first or second round, like, so these were very talented athletes. And when sports ended for me, you know, I was doing petroleum engineering. I had a 3.9 and everything was fine. But I just remember getting so depressed thinking, man, this is it.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

Like, this is the next part of my life. And I hated it.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

And so I remember one day I sat down at lunch with, it was a mentor. And he, at the time, I didn't even know he was a mentor. He was just a friend of my dad's. And he asked me to lunch. And his whole reason he asked me to lunch is because, you know, my parents raised me very religious and I wasn't going to church, so he was actually trying to get me to go to church. And we just started talking though, and he said, hey, dude, what's your goals? And I said, I want to make a frick ton of money. And he said, why? And you know, I grew up, my dad was a teacher. Not that my dad was one of the hard. To this day, I actually give my work ethic to my dad.

[Shawn French]

That's awesome.

[Tanner Chittister]

But he was a teacher. My mom stayed at home. There were seven kids, you know, so there, there wasn't a lot of extra. It was pretty much like, hey, like, we're gonna provide the basics for you. You guys gotta get everything else. And so when I said, he goes, oh, dude. He's like, well, you know, there's way better ways to make money than having a job. I was like, like what? You started a business? And I, at that time, the mechanics of business didn't make any sense to me. I mean, I, I, we were sitting at Subway and I was like, I don't know how to get the stuff, how they get the worker, how. I had no idea how business worked.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

So long Story short, he said, hey, if you agree to go back to church, I'll mentor you at my home office. You can come in every day. And quit school. And so for a couple months, I wrestle with that because the semester was almost done. And so I wrestled with, do I quit school or do I stay in school? Because I had a year left to graduate. And pretty much everyone was against it. My family was against it. My parents were against it. Like, they weren't. Don't get me wrong, they weren't like, oh, my gosh, if you do this, you're so stupid. But they were kind of like, it's probably not a good idea. My girlfriend at the time threatened to leave me. Her mom was like, yo. Like, we're. We don't support this. So it comes down to the day, and I was actually gonna transfer to Texas A and M, which is one of the top engineering programs.

[Shawn French]

Oh, absolutely.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah. And I remember I was talking to him, and then, you know, they're like, so, yeah, like, are you coming this semester? And I said, one second. And I paused and I looked at my mentor, and I said, like, I'm just going like this. And he knew, like, what they were asking. He's like. He goes like this. He's like, don't do it. Don't do it. And I remember I got back on the phone, I said, hey, I'm not coming this semester. And it was like, you know, that person didn't care, but they were like, okay. And then the call ended.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

And I hung up the phone. And I remember looking at him, and.

[Shawn French]

He'S like, how did you feel at that moment?

[Tanner Chittister]

Oh, bro, I was scared shitless. I mean, because everyone besides him told me not to. The only reason I think I did it, too, is I wanted to believe him. I wanted. I was like, I so bad did not want to go to school. Like, I was like. I was like, this gets me out of school. This is a, you know, get out of jail free card. Great.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

And so he started teaching me everything about marketing. In fact, he's married to one of Russell Brunson's cousins.

[Shawn French]

Get out of here.

[Tanner Chittister]

That's that. So he taught me all about the click funnels world. That's how I got in that he starts teaching about opt in pages and websites and all this stuff. And I was trying to sell a very cheap fitness program. It's 47 bucks. The rapid Muscle System. Now, it didn't sell, but everything to build a product and sell it, I learned. So, I mean, that's A huge amount of information. And probably. It's probably like a year. So at the end of the year, I'm not making any money. And so I make the excuse. I say, oh, well, like if I have money, like I make money. The reason I'm not making money is I don't have money. You know the common excuse.

[Shawn French]

Sure.

[Tanner Chittister]

So I said, look, dude, I appreciate everything. Done. I'm gonna go up to Utah. My family's up there. I'm 24 years old. I want to meet a girl, whatever, and da, da, da. So I go up there and I start doing serving. And then I meet a guy who does door to our sales and they start selling me on, you know, the door to door sales. Oh, you make so much money. You're not. And that's not true. That's not true. But. But I started doing door to door sales. I sold for a company up there called Alder, which is a competitor to Vivint. Vivint's pretty well known, so people know who Vivint is. And I was selling security alarms and we went down to Alabama and I sold security alarms six days a week, pretty much 12 hours a day, including travel time, four hours of travel, two hours there, two hours back, usually eight hours of work. And I sold for the next nine months.

[Shawn French]

Wow.

[Tanner Chittister]

And I did the math and I knocked on over 21,000 doors probably.

[Shawn French]

So I want to. Can I. Can I back up this?

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah, sure, yeah.

[Shawn French]

Because I just feel like there's so many great things and the audience is listening, like, oh my God, I want to bring this. I want to tie it up for them because it's all. This shit's so fucking powerful.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah, sure.

[Shawn French]

So what I want you guys listening and watching is to latch onto this, this massive aspect of it. As a young athlete, he was working 16 hours a day doing whatever you could right, to get the edge, whether it was lifting, running, et cetera. And he brought those principles into business. Now. And as an.

[Tanner Chittister]

As a form, I didn't have a college just for everyone listening, like, I didn't have a college life. So most of the athletes, the reason they fail, this is my personal opinion, because I played with athletes and they get the you're an idiot stigma is because after practice, which is six hours, and after you've been in school for eight hours, the last thing you want to do is more work. And I would usually then go do two to three hours of homework. Most of the guys would go hang out with girls.

[Shawn French]

That's what I did.

[Tanner Chittister]

To be frank, to be frank, like, I much would have rather. Yeah. With girls, but I was so disciplined to the sense of I want to have straight A's and I want to be a good athlete. And so that's kind of the route I went.

[Shawn French]

See, that's it. That's the point. Thank you for interjecting. That's the point. I was the guy that went. Hung out with girls.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah.

[Shawn French]

Baseball player.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah. Most of the guys. And we'd have tutors. So the tutors would do the homework or pretty much like even if they didn't do it, it was like they pretty much baby feed the answer. But so what happens is with mult athletes is in college, they get A's on the homework, they'll fail the test, and the test is what gets them to see passing. Great.

[Shawn French]

Exactly, dude. And so like the point is, is that you were able to take that discipline and the daily disciplines. Right. In order to move that ball forward for you. And you took that and you've done it inside your business. Because I've seen things from you, man. Like, I paid attention, bro. I've been teaching over the years. You know, it's like, what if you sent 30 dms a day? What's the close. What's the. How many people do you get on a call? What's your close ratio? Could you make 10 grand? Probably.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah.

[Shawn French]

Right. But that's how it starts.

[Tanner Chittister]

Sure. Yeah. It just starts with that first step. And I, I think also just from a young age, like, my dad just worked so hard, but he was a teacher and like, so my dad, if I look at him and I was describing him, my dad is one of the hardest workers I know. He just doesn't know how to make money in a better vehicle. And I took that from him. Though. I like the hard work ethic I really took. So long story short, after I start doing order sales night, after nine months, I'm a savage. Like, I didn't. This is a silver lining, right? Because at the time I'm going like, I've been out of school for two years now. I'm not making any money. I was calling my mentor saying, hey man, I think I'm gonna go back.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

I was about to turn 25 and the worst thought I could think of was being a 25 or 26 year old loser. And I'm like, bro, no girls want to date me. Like, I'm broke, I got no money, I have a shitty car. I was like, like. And I wasn't dating at the time either because I Didn't even feel like I had anything to offer.

[Shawn French]

Sure.

[Tanner Chittister]

So long story short, we finished the summer and when we finished the summer, you take like a little break. I was going to do year round sales because I didn't know what else to do. So they moved out to South Carolina. And I see an ad that says, how to start your online fitness business. Now, I was not familiar with online marketing or coaching.

[Shawn French]

What year was this? I'm sorry, what year was it?

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah, dude, this was shoot, 2000, like 16 or 17. Okay.

[Shawn French]

Like, I mean, at the inception of it.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah, this is the beginning. Yeah, beginning, right. So I see an ad that says how to start online fitness business. And I was not big on social media. I was not big with like coaching or consulting. I didn't even know that was a thing, to be honest. I was just this whole industry, no idea existed. So I click on the ad, I get on a call, I get high pressure sell like, hey, if you don't buy today, you never can buy. And I'm just eating the whole thing. I remember I had 2k in my bank account. So I put a thousand dollars down. I had a thousand bucks left. I got a credit card. I didn't have a credit card yet. So I was 24, 25 years old, had never gotten a credit, got a credit card for. It was literally five grand. And I paid the 4K and I got in the program. Okay. So again, the program. And I just say, hey, I'm going to do this as hard as I can for the next two months before summer sales start and see if it works. And if it works, great. And if it doesn't, I'll either stick with summer sales or go back to school or whatever. Right. So I get in and the guy, the guy's personality didn't really gel with me. Like it was very hypey. And I'm not a hypey guy. I'm like, tell me what I need to know. Like that, like, let's say Andy Elliott. Like, all respect to Andy Elliott, but like the, the militaristic screaming, I'm just like, bro, I, I will kick all your asses. Just tell me what I need to do. I don't need no hype.

[Shawn French]

I, I don't, I can't even go there with him.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah, right. So, so some people like that. It's just not a fit for me. So long story short, I, I get annoyed and I say, guys, like, I go to the coach, I'm like, dude, look, just tell me what to do. Just Just tell me in basic terms what to do. I don't need all these fricking hype videos. Yeah, okay. Raise your price from 47 bucks to 1500 and then get them on a call. And I said, that's it. Like, in my mind at $5,000 at the time was, you know, 50,000.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

So I get it. I was pissed in the sense, man, you're telling me I paid you all this money? That's what you're going to tell me. Okay, but. But I said, I have nothing better to do. I have nothing to lose. I already spent the money, so I got to figure it out. Yeah. So I start reaching out to people on my social media. I start booking calls, and I get the person on, I close a 2k sell, and I'm like, holy shit. Yeah, I get another guy on, I close a 2k sell. I'm like, holy shit. Then I raise the price. I'm like, I close a guy at 3K. Like, oh, my God. I close another guy 3K. So I make 10 grand. And this is like, within a week. And keep in mind, I'm going from summer hot, you know, door sales in Alabama, 98 degree heat. Sweating. Like, you're sweating so much, I would actually. You start getting like. You couldn't even use baby powder because you chafe.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

Like, you chafe on your legs and stuff. And so in a week, I made 10k in my underwear in AC. Like, I remember closing up. So I call my parents and I say, mom, Dad, I figured it out. All right, Alyssa, I'm gonna come home. Let me know what a fair amount of money is for rent. And I'm gonna take all the money and put in the business. And my dad just. My parents were super cool. They've always been supportive of whatever. Even if they didn't think it was going to work, like, they still supported me.

[Shawn French]

Yeah, make your own decision.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah. They're just like, you're dumbass. Right? But my parents are like, okay, like, as long as you're not, you know, pillaging and plundering and, you know, doing crazy stuff, doing drugs, you can live here. And they're like, well, let's just stay here for a thousand dollars of rent. And I was like, okay, great. That's. That saved me two grand a month. So I drove across the country. I actually closed a deal in the car while I'm driving. I remember it was actually probably the best deal I've ever done because I closed this guy 2,500, pay in full. And I was Driving. Like, I was trying to get the PayPal thing. It was super dangerous.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

Anyone listening? Don't do this. But I'm trying to, like, get PayPal to work while I'm driving. I can't. So I pull over and I close him. And the second he hangs up, I'm just like, yeah, mother ever. Like, I just screamed.

[Shawn French]

Yeah, you're jazzed up.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah. I'm like, I cannot believe. It took me two years to get to this point. And at the time, I almost felt, man, I wasted two years. I was this close the whole time. But there were all those silver linings there, because the reality is, if I hadn't done door, door sales, if I hadn't learned how to build a product and the sales and all that stuff, when this moment happened, I wouldn't have been prepared for it.

[Shawn French]

But you can't even appreciate the success if you haven't gone through the shit.

[Tanner Chittister]

No, but it's also silver linings. Like people think. I used to think, oh, if I hadn't done that, I would have gone there faster. That's not how success works. Success failure is the requirement to success. And so not figuring it out in the beginning, all those skills got me ready. Because when I got here, I think success is three things. Characteristics, beliefs, and skills. I was building character and beliefs. I just didn't have all the skills. So as soon as I had all the skills, it was game over. Because it's like I had all three. Yeah, right.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

And so anyways, I go home and I just lock myself in the room. My dad would see me once every two weeks, if that. And I remember at the time, he was kind of like, oh, bro, like, what? But I was so determined not to go backwards that I was sitting there all day. And all I did at that moment is I would message everyone on my social media. When I ran out of that, I would reach out to people on IG hashtag. So I'd type in, like, Fit Mom, Fit Dad, Fit spo, whatever. And I would make sure that all I did all day was like, set calls, book calls, handle my clients. And before you knew it, in a couple months, I was doing $50,000 a month. In fact, I was messaging so much, I actually. I don't know if you can see on came, but I would get arthritis right here in my thumbs, typing from the typing. And the doctors were like, yo, what are you doing? They're like, you got to get off your phone. I was like, no. Like, I can. I was like. I was like, I Can, like, this is how I make money. But because that was happening, I realized, yo, I got to figure out paid traffic. Like, I can't. I can't be doing this for the rest of my life. This is killing me. It was actually like, I was getting sick. I was working so much that the only time my parents would see me is when I would eat. And my parents were happy in the sense that, man, this kid isn't causing us any problems. There would be some other parents. I would joke with my parents, like, man, I'm sorry, your son's home. And they're like, my son's making money, dude.

[Shawn French]

My son's killing.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah. So, long story short, when I got to $50,000 a month, I realized, okay, this isn't going to work for me long term. So I went back to 30 grand on purpose. Like, I just messaged a little less. And I used those hours to hire coaches and learn ads, and it took me, you know, 50 grand. And right before my fifth coach, so I went through four coaches, and, you know, for. For one reason or another, we can get into it. They didn't work. And it wasn't because of me, though, which is rare. Most people listening on this podcast, it is your fault. But in my case, I was doing 10 times the work. And I'm going, man, like, if this isn't working, like, it's not me. It's like, it's something about the process. So I remember my dad sat me down. He goes, you know, son, you've made, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars. He's like, you'd actually be further ahead if you just didn't pay these coaches. But I remember thinking, no, no, no, dad. Like, this isn't sustainable. Like, I have to figure out a better way to get consistently Jen. So, one. Once we did that, or once I did that, it took me, you know, that fifth coach. And I was running webinars, and I was doing kind of the traditional marketing, and it wasn't working. And I remember I. I texted that coach. I was pissed. And I just said, dude, mother, like, mother, F this. F this. Like, you told me you were different. You were the same. And, like, looking back now, I think I should have given some grace, because now that I've consulted, it was like, 50% my fault. 50% their fault. Like, they. They were doing. They. Like, they were doing the work. But what they were showing me just wasn't working for me. And because I'd had so many coaches already, I was just, like, done, right? Yeah, dude, come on, bro. Like, yeah, give me the juice. So he calls me and he. He basically said, either, like, do the work or shut up and we'll refund you. And I remember when he did that, I felt challenged. And, you know, my personality and being an athlete, I was like, all right, F you, mother. I was like, I'll show you. All right. Yeah. I was kind of like, all right, I'll show you.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

Chip on your shoulder.

[Shawn French]

That.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah. So what had happened is a lot of the ads I had been running, I've been running through Many chat, manychat. For anyone who doesn't know, at the time, Facebook messenger wasn't what it is now. It was. You couldn't really run ads to messenger like you can now. So years ago, I use something called Many Chat and that just thing in Many Chat as the activation tool. So someone would click on the ManyChat link and boom, Facebook messenger open. So all my leads that I'd been running ads to $20,000 worth of ads were in Facebook Messenger. And I was like, I just start following up with everyone. I was like, hey, this is Tanner. What's your goal? Here is. And in that week, I made $18,000 off three grand. And I like. And before, I was making a one to one ratio on my app. This is pointless. And then that week, I made $18,000 off the account. And then that was when I. I actually sat in my room and I went, if you watch on camera, I was like, holy. I. I'm gonna be rich. Like, that was the moment I knew I was gonna be rich. Because if you can run paid traffic profitably, it's. It's over. No, absolutely. Game over. It's like going. It's like being viral or being famous like Mr. Beast. It's like, it's over. Yeah, you've won. So the second that happened, I just doubled down and I doubled down, and at the end of the year, I'd done over a million dollars. So I got my Click Funnels plaque, right. If you're familiar with Click Funnels. Russell Brunson. Yeah. So I get the plaque, and I go to the award ceremony, and I, like, stand on stage and, you know, and a flood of trainers start hitting me up because they're like, oh, this Tanner Chittister guy. Like, he built a million dollar business that wasn't consulting, right? And so because of that, I started consulting trainers. And that year was great because when I started console these traders, it was like, at first I said no. And the reason I said no is, you know, I didn't want to be scammy. I was like, oh, f. Business coaches, they just overcharged, and most of them haven't built real businesses.

[Shawn French]

It's true.

[Tanner Chittister]

So, long story short, I start coaching people on this because there's a line out the door. Like, you guys got to remember, I'm 25 years old. I had 15 people and who would pay me 10 grand. So I was like 150 grand for, like, to just show you what I did, I was like, okay. So I started doing that, and I pretty much equal the businesses out because the fitness business was doing, like 120. And this business got up there pretty quick, like, almost instantly. And I just said, okay, like, I see more potential here. So I went all in on the consulting. And that year, that was. To this day, that's still the craziest year of my life. I think it was 2018, 2019. We did. We went from 1 million to $10 million.

[Shawn French]

That's insane.

[Tanner Chittister]

It was like. It was like Grant Cardone. Yeah, he's like. He's like 10x 10x. Right?

[Shawn French]

Literally happened.

[Tanner Chittister]

It literally happened. And because that went so well and we got more awards, more people outside of fitness started asking me for help. And then we went 10 to 15 million. And then at 15 million, we started adding in other divisions, like elite ads, which, like, because what we did is we said, hey, what do our clients want? And it was a bunch of done for you services. So we started adding those in, and that added another 10 million. So we went from 0 to 25 million a year in four years. And then, you know, I've been doing that ever since. And now I have more portfolio companies. I have other ventures I'm doing now because I want to expand. Like, this isn't. I don't want to, like, die. And people are just like, this is what Tanner's known for in my. This is just not what I want to be known for. And. But just looking back, what's crazy, and I'll end on this is just I. To this day, I made 115 million, right? And if I'd been an engineer, I would have made in six years, 600 grand. And so the opportunity difference and cost is $114.4 million. And that is mind blowing. Now, granted, not all that's profit, right? Sure. Let's say 30% profit, even. It's like the amount of money that I made, it's so much different. It's crazy. And I think a lot of people go through life and that. That actually reinforced to me to keep working hard, because I think a lot of people go through life and they don't work hard or they don't try, or they don't try to go for their goals. And so when they die, then they find out, oh, if I had just done these things, maybe I would have had this life. But they never know what they're living because they never tried. I look as if I had gone down that path to be an engineer. I'd be sitting here right now, maybe made 6, 700 grand, have a decent family life, whatever. And I never would have known that the other life, an opportunity for me would have been what it is now.

[Shawn French]

See, that's the thing, though. And for everybody watching and listening, there's a one big outline, just. Just massive word that is hanging over this. It's risk. You either risk what you risk and have that big outcome and that big payoff, or you risk not doing it and never knowing.

[Tanner Chittister]

Like.

[Shawn French]

And I just really feel that, like, dude, I respect the shit out of you, man.

[Tanner Chittister]

Thanks, man.

[Shawn French]

Like, now that I'm actually sitting here in front of you in person, I'm like, like, damn, dude, I wish I would have made it work with you like, three years ago, four years ago. There's still time. Yeah, there's still time, right? Yeah, but, but, but the thing is, is, like, you don't know everybody's journey. You don't know what people are thinking. But the fact that, dude, $115 million.

[Tanner Chittister]

And to answer, to go off your point of risk, something that really changed my perspective on it. And I think part of what helped me push is I didn't perceive it as risky. And here's why. There's a book out there, if you guys have not read it. It's called Humu My Cheese.

[Shawn French]

And I've heard about that one.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah, it's a good book. And so the summary of the book is the whole book's about mice till the very end, right? And you find out right at the end what it's about. And so there's three mice in a maze, and every day there's food that's dropped into the maze. And, like, as you're reading the book, you don't really know, like, what's going on. You're kind of like, okay, it's kind of weird, but long story short, these mice are eating, and after a while, the food stops coming. And so these mice, they start to starve and they start debating what they should do. And, like, two of the mice are like, hey, like, we should stay. Maybe the food's gonna come back. And when the third mice is like, dude, you know, the food hasn't been here in a few months. If we don't leave, we're gonna die. And they're like, yeah, but what if we leave and we die? He's like, we're gonna die anyways.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

He's like, we have to leave. So long story short, that mice leaves. That mouse. Excuse me, leaves. And he goes through this, like, hard journey, and eventually he finds food. Long story short, right? And then he goes back one day, and those two mice are gone. It doesn't say they died or anything, but you can kind of infer.

[Shawn French]

Yeah, sure.

[Tanner Chittister]

And then, right at that point, the author comes in and goes, this is how stupid humans are. And I was like. And the point he was trying to make is he goes, if you leave a job and it doesn't work out, or you do a thing and it doesn't work out, you can always go back to the thing that you hate. So, like, in those mice, it's like, let's say you go out and risk it. He's like, you're probably gonna die staying here if you go out and you die anyways. Like. Or if you go out and you risk dying. He's like, you would have died here. And he's like, worst case, you can go back. Like, you can literally decide to turn around and go back. And that really gave me a lot of comfort because I thought, man, if I fail at this thing, I can always go back to school. And even. Even though I'll be embarrassed that I'm 28 or 29 or 30. And my mentor said. He goes, you know, Tanner, he's like, you're the best part of your life. And I said, why? He goes, bro. He's like, when you start having a girl and you start having kids, he's like, your tolerance for risk is going to go way down.

[Shawn French]

It's hard, bro.

[Tanner Chittister]

Because he's like, now you're affecting other people. He's like, it's hard right now. He goes, if you go out and you get that job, you're doing 100 grand a year, and you meet a girl, there is zero percent chance she's gonna allow you or want you to go back and start a business, because she's gonna. They have a certain lifestyle they're used to. And so he goes, right? He's like, it's now or never, baby. And I just was like. I got like. I just remember thinking, I gotta do it.

[Shawn French]

Then yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

And so just to give that perspective for people listening, because I understand it's scary. I understand there's risk. But when. When you all think about it, too, like, one of my friends, you guys will probably know who it is. But he always says, you know, we're gonna die. Like, one day you're gonna die. Like, nothing's a big deal. You're gonna die. And he's right. And so sometimes what happens, too, is when I'm having a tough day or something's happened, I'm like, ah, whatever. We're all gonna die.

[Shawn French]

That's fine.

[Tanner Chittister]

Whatever. And whenever he actually sent me a picture one time, he is a picture of the galaxy, and it showed Earth, and there's a little arrow, and Earth was like, this big. I love this. Yeah. It's just.

[Shawn French]

That's just perspective.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah. And I remember when he said that, then it's like, if we're all going to die and it doesn't really matter, and for. For the grants, in the grand scheme, maybe most people won't remember us or what we did. Then it's like, there's nothing else to do than just let it all hang out. And that's given me a lot of perseverance because. Because the bar still resets. Like, people will hear my story, and they go, oh, Tanner, must not get nervous anymore.

[Shawn French]

Like, bro, it just.

[Tanner Chittister]

It just moves. It's like, if I want to start a tech company, I've never done it. Then I get nervous. Or if I want to, like, do this thing, I get nervous. And so it's not that it changes. It's just that you get. I don't think feelings change that much. Yeah, sometimes they can, but I think a lot of times as you go through life, you'll keep feeling the same, you know, nervousness or anxiety or confusion or, I don't know, whatever. But you just are like, yeah, like, I'm going to do it anyways. It doesn't really matter. And so I just say that for anyone listening, that. That, like, you have to have that mindset because a lot of us are so scared of what's going to happen if we fail. And it's like, what you're living right now is exactly what would happen. Like, let it fail. Yeah. And if you're not happy with how your life currently is, you have nothing to lose.

[Shawn French]

That's the biggest failure of all.

[Tanner Chittister]

Yeah.

[Shawn French]

Living in a life where you're just.

[Tanner Chittister]

That's you.

[Shawn French]

Because you're scared to move.

[Tanner Chittister]

And. And. And I. I'll tell you I'll tell you, I have personal experience from failure and not being discouraged, because when football ended, that was a very depressing time for me for a bit. And the reason was from 12 years old, I had a goal to play in the NFL, like, actually playing the NFL. And I got all the way to Division 1. Right, right there. I'm gonna make it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna get there. I'm gonna fucking grind through college. And like, when I went into college, I wasn't highly recruited, but I was like, fuck it. It doesn't matter, all this stuff. And when I had those injuries, I had to. You know, the doctor's like, look, bro, you can keep playing. But he's like, realistically like, you're running out of cartilage and your draft stock's gonna be lower.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

And. Which is true. And so I thought, okay, like, I probably need to walk away. And so when I walked away, I didn't have this, like, shame or, like, regretfulness. And the reason is I felt I'd done everything I was supposed to do. I played with a guy, he was going to go 10th pick in the draft, and he went to the second round and probably lost $10 million, like, at that time. It's probably even more now. But $10 million because he couldn't stop smoking weed. And I'm thinking, well, I'm thinking you couldn't stop smoking weed. And I had major shoulder surgeries. I was like, who. Where would I feel more regret? The weed, of course. It's so stupid, in my opinion. I was like, he would show up to class every day. And this wasn't at byu. This was actually when I was at a junior college. It was called Arizona Western. It was like, one of the top jucos. It was like, last chance. Use one of those. But there it's. It's actually. They shut the team down. I was actually surprised. And he would just show up all the time. Hi. And you guys can find this guy, Randy Gregory. He's like, he's had a good NFL career. He's made good money. And I just didn't have any regret because of that. And that's given me a lot of, I guess, confidence to push for stuff I want, because if it fails, you're. You won't. The thing is, like, you don't want to have regrets. It doesn't really matter what the outcome is. Like, I used to think it did, but it doesn't really matter as long as you do your best. And most people won't See that? And they won't know it, and society won't think that. But when you're on your deathbed, all you're gonna be thinking about is like, did I do my best? You're not gonna honestly give a. What happened? And so, like, even the 150 million in sales, it's not that I made 15 million, is that I did my best. And that's the result of it. So a lot of times when you actually do your best, you can have great results, but the result doesn't really matter. And a lot of people. I know that sounds cliche, but you won't understand. For most people, you won't understand that money isn't everything until you have a ton of money. It's just like, I wish. I remember when I was younger, I'd hear people say that, and I'd say, tie your poor. Yeah, I'm like, you're poor. That's fine.

[Shawn French]

Of course you would say that.

[Tanner Chittister]

And in some cases that's true. But it really. When I hit a million in a month, because I had my eye on that, we hit it 18 months. So when I started, I remember I was like, I'm going to hit a million in a month. I remember Billie Jean was the guy I saw. Billie Jean actually inspired me. He. I don't know if he knows this, but I saw AD with Billie Jean, and I wasn't jealous. I just remember thinking, man, if this guy can do it, like, I can do it. It wasn't. It wasn't like a. But it was just. I was like, if this guy, like, who looks like this and talks like this can do it, I can do it.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

And I remember I hit that goal, and I was. I was living in Miami, so I was still in Miami. I was paying $30,000 of rent a month. So stupid. By the way, don't do that. David Beckham lived there. Kardashian, David Grutman. I mean, I'm talking the. The big of the big. Like, you. This. This is the building, right? And I remember I had this party, so I invited my friends over, and, you know, they fight. A bunch of. No buddies. I didn't know. People I didn't know. And I remember a guy came in, he's like, hey, bro. Like, hi. What's your name? Tanner. Yeah. Cool. I'm John. Whatever his name was. And he said, you know, what are you having a party for? And I. You know, with pride, I was like, bro, I was like, I just hit a million dollars in a month. I go on this, like, spill. And then he's like, cool turns around. And that moment, to this day, I still remember. I remember thinking I was kind of like, you little.

[Shawn French]

Yeah.

[Tanner Chittister]

Like, do you understand what I just said? Like, I just said that I just made Earth. And it was in that moment that I realized nobody gives a shit. And then I realized if nobody cares. And I did something that 99.99% of people will never do. Hit a million dollars in a month. Month. I started to think, man, like, what does that say for Mark Zuckerberg? What does that say for Oprah Winfrey? What does that say? I started thinking of like Barack Obama, Donald Trump, like all these big people. And that's where I, you know, I had to go on a little bit of a self discovery journey. And that's where some people get religious. Whatever. I don't, I don't think I got religious. I think I just got okay with. That's just how it is. And so if that's how it is, then I need to do stuff that I want to do and stuff that's going to make me proud for no other reason than that.

[Shawn French]

Love it.

[Tanner Chittister]

So anyways, I've learned a lot of lessons, obviously, but that's some of the advice that I'd at least like to get out there for people to hear. Because a lot of people, it's not about the money. I really, don't get me wrong, I like making a lot of money. It does provide a great lifestyle. But outside of that, it's not the money. It's just, it's. I want to do stuff that makes me proud. And it just so happens that a lot of stuff that makes me proud is super difficult, which makes sense. Like, extraordinary lives are built off difficult things. And so as I do them and I have success, I get what most people think life's about. And it's not. It's not that it's about that. It's nice to have it. But doing difficult things is really, honestly, like, why I don't have regrets and why I'm proud of who I am. And so it doesn't have anything to do with the result.

[Shawn French]

Dude, I love it, man. Thank you so much.

[Tanner Chittister]

Sorry, that was a whole.

[Shawn French]

No, dude, it was great. It was what it was supposed to be, right? That's what, that's what the doctor ordered today. So audience say, everybody, you know, listen and watch and just please take these, these lessons from Tanner and apply them to your life. Play them how you see fit. Push the envelope, envelope a little bit. If you get nervous, just know it's the right thing to do, right? But the one thing that you never want to do is look back at your life and regret staying in the same place. So go out there and get after your. And until next time, stay determined.

[Sharp French]

Sharp French what up? This one Luck? I let the pain inspire me? I put my all in? Everything I'm doing up until it's done? I'm me for the entirety? I put it in overtime? I'll be working? Just know I'mma go for mine?

[Tanner Chittister]

Cause I earned it?

[Sharp French]

They watch and I know it's time I confirmed it? A whole society determined.