How John Briseno Went From Addiction and Jail to Multi-Millionaire Sales Leader

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex

Episode: How John Briseno Went From Addiction and Jail to Multi-Millionaire Sales Leader
Host: Paul Alex Espinoza
Guest: John Briseno
Date: November 24, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode features a candid and deeply inspiring conversation between host Paul Alex and sales leader John Briseno. John shares his remarkable journey: from growing up as an undocumented immigrant in poverty, to battling addiction and spending time in jail, to ultimately transforming his life and becoming a multi-millionaire in high ticket sales. The discussion revolves around the power of belief, resilience, and acquiring the right skills to "level up" personally and financially.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. Humble Beginnings & Family Sacrifice

Timestamps: 03:44–06:01

• John recalls immigrating to the US as a child and the family's struggle: "We shared a room. I mean, I'm talking about a family of five living in a room. Not a one bedroom, bro, in a room." (04:00)
• Deep respect for his hard-working parents, especially his father who took on any legal job available, often working three to four jobs at once.

2. Early Life Mistakes & Self-Reflection

Timestamps: 06:21–07:59

• John admits to a youth of poor decisions, including selling drugs and getting involved in illegal activities.
• Openness about not being ashamed of his past: "Now it's like, nah, bro, that's part of the story. We keep it real." (06:43)
• Highlight on the importance of learning from others' mistakes: "Learn from somebody else's mistakes so that you don't have to go through the pain." (02:57)

3. The Spiral of Addiction

Timestamps: 09:04–10:09

• John describes how opioid addiction consumed his life, leading him further into crime and eventually to jail.
• His struggles intensified when his supplier was arrested: "I lost my supplier, right? So I was screwed at that point, bro, because I still had the habit, but I no longer had the financial means." (09:22)

4. Jail, Immigration, & Rock Bottom

Timestamps: 12:25–14:42

• John recounts being put on an ICE hold due to his undocumented status. Initially, he was cocky he could beat any charge, but this time reality set in: "A week goes by, and I realized I'm not figuring it out. This is real." (14:29)
• Simultaneously battling withdrawal and anxiety: "That was the first time in my life I ever experienced what at the time I thought was a heart attack. It turned out to be a panic attack, bro." (15:10)

5. Family Sacrifice & Getting a Second Chance

Timestamps: 21:05–23:10

• John's mother urges him daily not to self-deport while in jail, encouraging him to wait for a potential out.
• Immigration officer grants John the right to fight his case, but only after his family scrapes together $15k cash bail—his father even sells his truck for John's release.
• "Buy my dad that pickup truck that he sold to get me out—that was my driver." (23:10)

6. The Real Aha Moment: Transformation Sparked by Crisis

Timestamps: 24:11–26:28

• Even after his release, John relapsed into addiction until the birth of his son, Johnny, who was born with a serious brain condition.
• John credits divine intervention and a deep promise to change as the catalyst for his lasting transformation: “God is real. He's got my back. He always has. Now it's my turn to do something about it.” (26:28)

7. First Steps in High Ticket Sales

Timestamps: 27:27–33:10

• Fitness becomes John’s first step in building discipline and keeping promises to himself.
• Lands a 100% commission-based sales job selling e-commerce coaching—despite his parents' warnings about jobs with no guaranteed pay.
• Inspirational moment: discovering his teammate Chad’s $12k weekly commission proved big earnings were real and achievable. “That changed my life because now it’s believable.” (30:44)
• John quickly rises to the top, training others and earning significant income for the first time.

8. Challenges in Business and Mindset

Timestamps: 36:07–40:08

• Office politics and cut commissions push John to strike out on his own.
• Early failures: Team members who promised to join him in his new venture bailed last minute, forcing John to rely on his brothers as dialers.
• Despite the rough start, John’s team generates $90,000 in the first week.

9. Building & Scaling His Own Operation

Timestamps: 40:49–46:03

• Transition from telephone sales to leveraging digital marketing and brand building around 2020, inspired by observing others in the space (“If these 20-year-olds can do it, so can I…”).
• Leaves e-commerce as risk and regulatory changes escalate, pivoting to what he truly knows: teaching high ticket sales.

10. Why High Ticket Sales: Teaching Others & Values

Timestamps: 46:03–46:47

• John identifies sales as the “best business” for most because it requires low upfront capital and can be done anywhere.
• Emphasizes working on one’s self as the best investment, not just chasing business ideas.

11. Building a Sales Academy & Helping Others

Timestamps: 47:10–52:01

• John’s approach to students: teach belief first, then sales skills, then real practice.
• Provides job placement for those who finish his program, with a focus on ethical offers and even opportunities in Spanish-language sales.

“If you don’t believe it’s possible, it’s never going to happen.” — John Briseno (48:44)

12. Defining Success & Paying it Forward

Timestamps: 54:14–56:06

• John's most fulfilling client story is helping someone from a similar background—a struggling addict, broke and hopeless—become a top sales earner and team leader.
• Focus on changing mindsets and instilling belief being even more important than just teaching sales scripts.

13. Motivation, Discipline, and Vision

Timestamps: 57:57–61:27

• John’s secret: “I’m hardly ever motivated. What I am is disciplined.” (58:24)
• Current mission: Build the "Salvage" brand as a global force for helping people transform through mindset, health, and sales skills.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Learn from somebody else's mistakes so that you don't have to go through the pain.”
  — John Briseno (02:57)

• “When I was in jail, I said, God, get me out of this and I'll never do it again... That for me was the moment when I realized, dude, God is real. He's got my back. He always has. Now it's my turn to do something about it.”
  — John Briseno (24:11, 26:28)

• “That changed my life because now it’s believable.”
  — John Briseno, upon seeing top sales commissions (30:44)

• “If you don’t believe it’s possible, it’s never going to happen.”
  — John Briseno (48:44)

• “I'm hardly ever motivated. What I am is disciplined.”
  — John Briseno (58:24)

• “Once you make the decision to do something, that means no other possibility should exist.”
  — John Briseno’s advice to listeners (68:51)

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Power Segments with Timestamps

• John's Immigration Story & Early Hardships [03:44–04:44]
• Addiction & Hitting Rock Bottom [09:04–16:14]
• Divine Intervention & Realization [24:11–26:28]
• First Big Sales Epiphany [30:39–31:30]
• Starting His Own Sales Business [39:46–41:23]
• Building Ethical Sales Training & Placement [47:10–52:01]
• Best Client Success Story [54:14–56:06]
• Discipline Over Motivation [58:19–58:27]
• Mission & Future Vision [60:16–61:27]
• Final Words of Encouragement [68:51–69:46]

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Tone & Takeaways

• Real and unfiltered: Both Paul and John speak candidly about hardship, mistakes, and the grind—maintaining an honest, motivational, and at times humorous tone.
• Practical and Tactical: The episode is packed with nuts-and-bolts advice for aspiring salespeople, new business owners, and anyone looking to change their circumstances.
• Focus on Belief, Commitment, and Discipline: Ultimately, John’s message is that real change starts with belief and relentless commitment, not just tactics or opportunities.

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Closing

Words to Level Up:

“Believe. That was what I lacked in the beginning…I’m not going to give some big old motivational... Bro, believe. Fire. Believe.”
— John Briseno (69:46)

Find John Briseno:
Instagram: @RealJonBriseno

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Host Paul Alex’s final reminder:
“Leave a five star review… we are here to level you up. Bring great stories, great guests, just like John…Let’s build together. Let’s grow together. And most importantly, let’s level up.” (69:46)

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This summary highlights the full arc of John’s story, the actionable lessons in sales and life, and the episode’s authenticity and energy for anyone seeking real, relatable motivation and strategy.

Transcript

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[John Briseno]

I wish I would have seen a video of somebody just like me who was a drug addict, illegal immig in and out of jail. Nobody believed in him and now has made millions of dollars. When I was in jail, I said, God, get me out of this and I'll never do it again. Every day of my life I thought about voluntary departure and I saw an ad. If you're hungry and you're motivated, we don't care what your background is. Every team had a whiteboard with their numbers written on the side right next to Chad's name. There was a $60,000 and it's 20% commission. That's 12 grand. Is this real? That was a week I become number one in that company. I even beat Chad. I've done it for these guys for the past five years. I can do it for myself. Figured out how to get some leads. I figured out what my cost be. We end up doing like $90,000 that week. That for me was the moment when I realized, dude, God is real. He's got my back. He always has. Now it's my turn to do something about it.

[Paul Alex]

Hey, guys, this is Paul Alex. Welcome back to the Level up guys. We have a phenomenal interview. Now, if you're a sales guy or you're an aspiring beginner in sales or. Or possibly you don't even know what you want to do in 2025, guys. Well, I'm going to be talking to a very good friend of mine and our guest on this podcast. His name is John. And John has a very, very dynamic story where he went from actually being in jail to not knowing what to do. Okay, how many of you guys right now don't know what to do? Whether you're in college, you just got out of jail, or possibly you're looking for a career change. Well, this is going to be the interview that you guys are going to want, tune into and actually share with your family and friends, okay? John got into the high ticket sales. He's been in the sales game since 2013, guys. Okay? Majority of us, we, we haven't even started. I think we've only had about like five years in the game, dude.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, right?

[Paul Alex]

But John, welcome to the show, brother.

[John Briseno]

Hey, bro, I appreciate it. I'm so happy to be here, Doug. Hey, you're the man, bro.

[Paul Alex]

No, dude, I, I'm, I'm happy that you're here, man. Like we were saying, guys, this is the last interview that we're doing here at the Miami location, so. What an honor, dude. It's going to be a good one.

[John Briseno]

Hell yeah, it is.

[Paul Alex]

So. So, John, for the people that don't know you, tell us who you are, brother.

[John Briseno]

Well, I'm just John, right? That's how I saw it for a very long time. Right? But man, I'm somebody who was able to change their life. A lot of it was by mistakes, right? Making the mistakes. And you know, they, they say that cliche saying, learn from your mistakes. And one day it hit me, that's bullshit, right? Learn from somebody else's mistakes so that you don't have to go through the pain. And so, you know, once I realized, man, I've already been through the pain, I found a way out. Let's see if we can teach others how to do the same shit, you know? And so that's what, that's why we're here today, bro. Because we're trying to, we're trying to spread the word.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. Trying to spread the word and help people level up their life.

[John Briseno]

Right? A hundred percent.

[Paul Alex]

Cool, man. So what, what is your humble beginnings, man? How was your childhood? I guess growing up with your parents and your family, bro, I gotta say.

[John Briseno]

First of all, shout out to my parents because they're the best parents in the world, man. My mom and dad gave everything for us, but, you know, they just didn't have the right information. You know, when we first moved to the. We shared a room. I mean, I'm talking about a family of five living in a room. Not a one bedroom, bro. In a room. Yeah. You know, for sure. So I watched my dad work three, four jobs to get us out of that room. And it took years, but he one day did it.

[Paul Alex]

What was he doing for a living, bro?

[John Briseno]

My dad did everything he could do, bro. You know, construction, he was making marble for a little bit for like the bathrooms. Just anything he could do. He worked at Chuckarama. Like, my dad didn't discriminate, bro. Whatever he could do to make a buck legally and ethically, he did it. He was just a hard working, hard working man, bro.

[Paul Alex]

You know what? Latinos, especially in the United States, man, I would say we're one of the most hard working.

[John Briseno]

I agree.

[Paul Alex]

You know Americans out there, man. For sure, for sure. So you came into the States? Did you come into the States? Were you actually born here or.

[John Briseno]

I was not.

[Paul Alex]

You were not. So at what, what age did you come into the States?

[John Briseno]

Well, you know, the way I, the way I remember it when, when I came is because we moved to Utah and the Bulls and the Jazz were in the NBA Finals for the second time. So it was a 98. That's why I remember the year. I'm horrible with dates.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

But I remember because of that.

[Paul Alex]

That's phenomenal. I love that. And you probably reflect back on that like. Damn. Time flies, right?

[John Briseno]

Yeah, it does, man.

[Paul Alex]

So, okay, so your family's in here and as you're going as a teenager, let's talk about that. What are your parents? Are they telling you, work hard, go to school? Are they telling you, hey, stay out of trouble? How are you as a teenager?

[John Briseno]

Yeah, I mean, my mom and dad, like I said, they're great parents. They just didn't have the right information. Right. Based on society. Yeah. Go, go to school. You know, you have better opportunities than us because you get to go to these good American schools. So pay attention. Get a job. You know that safety, right?

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

That's what they were teaching me. And, and telling me the problem that I started seeing at a young age was as much as I love my dad and respect him more than any man I do in the world, I knew I didn't want that to be me, bro. Because I remember my dad having to go to bed at 7pm so he could get up at 2am to go to work.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

And I'm thinking, fuck, is that what life is for real? Because I didn't want that.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[John Briseno]

You know?

[Paul Alex]

Right. Yeah. He, he had to go ahead and sacrifice a lot of his time to do the work and work for someone else.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, bro. Right, yeah.

[Paul Alex]

So going through, let's say, high school, for example, when was the first time.

[John Briseno]

You had a job, I actually started working early, bro. So in high school, I realized I. I wanted something different, bro. I made all the stupid mistakes that young kids made, man. I started selling. Started selling dope, you know, that's fine, man.

[Paul Alex]

Everybody has a pass. Everybody goes through a season.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

We don't discriminate.

[John Briseno]

You know what. What's crazy, bro, is at one point I was, like, ashamed to talk about it. Now it's like, but nah, bro, that's part of the story. We keep it real, you know, it's.

[Paul Alex]

Powerful and people respect it, man. You know, it was. It took me a very long time to even go on social media, bro. Yeah. Because a lot of my family, a lot of my friends, they would always be like, oh, you're going to be a little influencer or you're going to be a little tiktoker, Right?

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

And, you know, I'm 37 years old, man, so at the end of the day, it was very uncomfortable for me.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

And then, you know, as I went ahead and progressed. It's a contact sport, right?

[John Briseno]

It is.

[Paul Alex]

The more reps you do, the better you get.

[John Briseno]

Exactly.

[Paul Alex]

So as you. As I talk on camera and now have a podcast, dude, I just come more open and open and open and open. I just don't even think about, like, oh, what are people going to think?

[John Briseno]

Exactly.

[Paul Alex]

People are going to think what they're going to think, right?

[John Briseno]

Yeah. Whether you perfect it or not, they're still going to have their.

[Paul Alex]

Either way, they're going to have their opinions about you. So you got into a little. Couple situations as a kid.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Did you end up going to, like, juvenile hall or anything like that when.

[John Briseno]

You were a kid, Bro, I used to be. I used to say that I was just completely blessed because I had a lot of very close calls and always found a way out of it. Yeah. You know, I was just. I was a scrappy. I was a scrappy dude. Right. I found ways to manipulate my way out of situations. And, you know, at the time, I used it for. For not very good things, but I think that's the skill set that allowed to be where I'm at today.

[Paul Alex]

Being creative.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, bro.

[Paul Alex]

You know, thinking outside the box.

[John Briseno]

Right.

[Paul Alex]

Using your limited resources to go ahead and get what you want.

[John Briseno]

Exactly. Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

That's why I tell people, man, sometimes there's two different types of entrepreneurs, John. There's entrepreneurs that like us, we've been through the mud.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, right.

[Paul Alex]

We've been through the mud. We've been through Bad situations. We've probably been through like a critical incident in our life with dramatically changes you, bro. You have your back against the wall. You're like, oh, bro, I got to change.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, right. Y.

[Paul Alex]

And then you have the other type of entrepreneur, which there's nothing wrong with the guys when I say this, but the other type of entrepreneur is they're in a good environment, dude. You know, they got raised in a, in a family, possibly of entrepreneurs or business minded people, and they're like, hey, we love you. You could do great things. And they end up going do great things.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Right?

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, but those are usually the two paths here.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Right?

[Paul Alex]

So I always like to hear both sides for sure. So, John, so with that being said, let's transition now more into. I know you in. Right before the podcast you mentioned. Hey, dude, you know, I. High ticket sales saved me.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, it did.

[Paul Alex]

Once I got out of jail. Let's talk about that. Are you okay with talking about that?

[John Briseno]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Paul Alex]

100. So let's talk about the situation, man. What, what, what type of situation ended up getting you in jail, brother?

[John Briseno]

Well, bro, it was everything that I was doing, man. I started making good money when I was selling the. The illegal stuff because I've always been a people person, right. And it got to the point to where, you know, the weed didn't hit me. I wasn't really ever an upper type of guy. So I started using pills. Yeah, the oxy's.

[Paul Alex]

Yep, yep.

[John Briseno]

And I got super hooked on the oxy, bro. And that's when my life really started spiraling out of control. You know, I didn't even care about the money anymore. It was about getting my fix, right? How do I get the next pill?

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

And you know, that type of shit doesn't last forever, bro. And what, what people known as their connect, you know, my connect ended up getting. Getting popped and getting a pretty, pretty heavy sentence. So I lost my supplier, right? Yeah. And so I was screwed at that point, bro, because I still had the habit, but I no longer had the financial means to get my habit. Right. Right. So I made all the stupid mistakes that you could think of, bro. And at the time, my kids were already born. So that's what makes it even worse.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

But I've spoken to hundreds of entrepreneurs, and one thing I consistently see them struggle with is their sales process.

[Paul Alex]

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[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

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[John Briseno]

Extra value meals are back. That means 10 tender juicy McNuggets and medium fries and a drink are just $8 only at McDonald's for a limited time only. Prices and participation may vary. Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska and California. And for delivery. I was just not. I wasn't on the right path, bro, you know.

[Paul Alex]

And how old were you during that time, brother?

[John Briseno]

I was, bro. This was between the age of 18 to 25.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, you're a young guy. Yeah, you're a young guy. And you know, I always tell people this, man, my 1820 fund, I wasn't thinking about anything.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

You know, I was a nightclub promoter, bro. So I was a big networker. I was having fun. Yeah, I was making my money. But I had no mentor. I didn't really have guidance. I like you. My parents, they worked very, very hard.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

But the thing is, how they're going to tell me if they never, you know, they never had that type of money.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, they never been there before.

[Paul Alex]

They haven't been there before. So they can't guide you.

[John Briseno]

Exactly.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

So.

[Paul Alex]

So you get into a little situation and then how long do you end up going to jail?

[John Briseno]

So here's the crazy part, bro. And looking back now, I realized, bro, I was always good at communicating. I just didn't know I could make money like it, right? Because I couldn't afford attorneys. Nothing like that, bro. I can't tell you how many of cases I represented myself and fucking one, bro. Yeah. Like, I could have been a. An attorney, right? But somehow I did it. So I got cocky. I was in, and I was in and out of jail, bro. Like. Like that. And I got cocky because I started to learn the law. Like, hey, this isn't a felony. So I know I'll be out that. Whatever, bro. And I. I won't. I won't forget it, because it was my birthday, bro. I get. I have court, but at the time, I had so many courts that I always forgot the dates, right? So as I'm walking out of this court, it was my birthday. Yeah. I had court on my birthday. I'm walking out of court, and the officer tells me, hey, Mr. Briseno, apparently I had a warrant for my arrest. It was just a bench warrant. Nothing. Just. I just missed another court.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

So I'm thinking, that's all good. You know, it's just a bench warrant. I'll. I'll have my mom bail me out. No big deal. And as I'm sitting in the jail cell, bro, the officer calls my name, and he tells me that I have a phone call.

[Paul Alex]

Okay.

[John Briseno]

I'm like, wait, I have a phone call. I thought I was supposed to call out.

[Paul Alex]

Right?

[John Briseno]

Right. But when I pick up the phone, it's an immigration officer letting me know, hey, due to your illegal immigration status, we're gonna place you on an ICE hold, and you're not getting released.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

You're gonna stay put. Yeah. And that's the moment when. Yeah. And not even right away, bro. This is how naive and cocky I was. In my mind, I was still thinking, yeah, whatever. I'll find a way out of this one, you know, Because I always did.

[Paul Alex]

Well, I'll. I'll give you your flowers on this one, brother. Because that's almost like an entrepreneurial, I would say, strategy. Right. That I see a lot of entrepreneurs have.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

That's a very specific mindset. Not a lot of people have that.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Because there's a lot of people. If you were to tell the average person, hey, you're about to get put on ICE and you might get shipped out.

[John Briseno]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

They'll start panicking.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Over here, you're like, okay, I'll figure it out.

[John Briseno]

Figure it out. You pivot, I'll figure it out. Exactly. But then a week goes by, and I realized I'm not figuring it out. This is real. This is real. I'm not figuring it out, you know, And I'm calling my mom and my wife at the time.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

You know, I'm calling, and I'm like, hey, why aren't you guys getting me out? They're like, dude, the attorney says there's no way out. You got to wait for immigration to come see you. And, like, you know, every day of my life, I thought about voluntary departure because I just. I was going through withdrawals, bro. That's what really made it worse.

[Paul Alex]

So on top of being hold. Shitty situation. I mean, you got kids, man. You got a family. Your parents can't get you out, so they're stressing.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

And then you're going through.

[John Briseno]

Going through withdrawals.

[Paul Alex]

Did anyone else know that you were going through withdrawals?

[John Briseno]

Yeah, bro. And nobody. Nobody gave a. Really? Yeah. At least in the jail cell.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

My mom knew and my wife knew.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

And they know what? They've seen me go through it before, so they're worried, right? You know, they're. They're reading online that people die from withdrawal, so they're. They're. They're panicking, bro. And, you know, I'm panicking. And, you know, that was the first time in my life I ever experienced what, at the time, I thought was a heart attack. It turned out to be that it was just a panic attack, bro. I felt like I was dying about the die. Yeah. I legitimately thought I'm d. Yeah. So that I. I think that's what made it the worst, is that the fact that, you know, not only am I not in control of the situation, but now my body aches, my mind's all messed up. I feel like I'm dying. I'm just going through these crazy, insane withdrawals. And that's what made it worse for me.

[Paul Alex]

Absolutely.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Now I can only imagine, man. And I. And I've been there, you know, I've. I've suffered a deep depression. Like, I'm not gonna say majority of my life, but more towards my late 20s, going into my 30s.

[John Briseno]

Right. Okay.

[Paul Alex]

And I didn't even know I was going through depression, man. You know, Latinos, mom, they're gonna be like, hey, mom, depressed. What? You what?

[John Briseno]

Depressed. Get covered. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Paul Alex]

That's what happened to me, bro. I was like, how come I don't want to get out of bed? How come? They're like, you're not depressed, man. Get up.

[John Briseno]

Go right up.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, but no, man. When I was going through that, I remember I was going one Day I was going into the gym and all of a sudden my. My chest, it just.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, dude.

[Paul Alex]

I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. And I was like, is this it?

[John Briseno]

God, yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Is this what, I'm going to die?

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

But it was massive, massive anxiety, bro.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

I was having a panic attack.

[John Briseno]

That's crazy, huh?

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Because.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, when they told me it was a panic attack, I was like, man, I'm not a little bitch. I'm. Exactly. Yeah. What do you mean, panic? So it was hard for me to accept, bro. But even after I got out of jail, bro, for years I suffered with crazy panic attacks. Yeah, yeah. And I had never been through that in my life, bro.

[Paul Alex]

So you still go through that from time to time?

[John Briseno]

I actually do, bro.

[Paul Alex]

You know what? You need to talk to a friend of mine, dude. He. He actually fixed me like six months ago. If you guys were to look at me, I'm gonna give you guys a copy of my books. But on my book, I look like a completely different person, bro.

[John Briseno]

Really?

[Paul Alex]

I was 50 pounds heavier.

[John Briseno]

Wow.

[Paul Alex]

So the number one thing that. And I'm not trying to get this into a fitness thing, but we could talk about fitness changed my life, bro.

[John Briseno]

You know what I'm saying?

[Paul Alex]

But. But last year, in 2024, bro, I was something too. Like, I was going through it all, bro. Like, I was, man. I had people take money from me, I had people sabotage a business from me, all types of shit. So I was going through it, bro, and I was just eating. Eating like crazy, right? And you know when you're so focused in your business, that's all you care about?

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Right. So you let go of everything else and you lose yourself.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

So then I was 50 pounds heavier. And then I go to my boy that I actually known from San Diego, and he's this six three, 280 pound, like, muscle head. Like, he's straight bodybuilder, but he fixes people. When I say fixes people, I mean he optimizes you, okay? So he goes and he's able to look at your blood work, and he's like a mad scientist, okay? So the number one thing he told me is just like, your gut is out of control, bro. He's like, you need to fix your gut. He says your gut is actually connected to absolutely everything in your body, from your teeth to your mind, bro. So that anxiety that you have.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

More than likely it's going to be.

[John Briseno]

A gut problem problem, bro. That would be amazing. So.

[Paul Alex]

So I'll connect you with him.

[John Briseno]

Definitely do, bro.

[Paul Alex]

All you got to do is just take a test. It's like blood work.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

He'll analyze it, and then he just sends you the right supplements, and you're.

[John Briseno]

Good to go, bro. Yeah, that would be amazing because, dude, sometimes I still think, like, man, this is a weakness of mine, bro. Like, it actually just happened not long ago. I was talking to my. My. My friend and cameraman Tato about it, bro. Because I was at the gym, and it just hit me. But, you know, like, you, bro. And. And I'm still trying to recover from it. I had people steal from people, sabotage my business as well, to where I ended up in lawsuits, bro. And I'm talking, bro, like, they stole millions of dollars from me, which is crazy for me to even say that I was in a position to lose millions. But it cost me a lot, bro.

[Paul Alex]

Of course.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

It cost me a lot. And pain. Yeah. And I'm not one to give up. So everybody kept telling me, bro, just scratch that business and start from. Just start over. And I'm like, but that's not me, bro. I'm not a quitter. I'm gonna. I'm gonna find a way out of this. And, you know, thank God, bro. You know, we're. We're still going. But it's been hard for me to recover from that because, you know, some of these lawsuits still trickle in from all the. That they did. Like, not even.

[Paul Alex]

But the thing is. And we could get into that and, you know, in a little bit, but more than likely, the. The scenario that I usually see of entrepreneurs, especially in the online space.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Is. Is typically, let's say, if you're the attractive character.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Or if you're the face of the company and they're like a vendor or they're. Or they're a back end, like, let's say equity partner. And they don't do their part, like, fulfill.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Or they go ahead and they drop the bag.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Guess who ends up holding the bag?

[John Briseno]

You.

[Paul Alex]

So everybody's looking at you.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Like, we did business with you.

[John Briseno]

We didn't do business with them. I don't know who that guy is. Exactly.

[Paul Alex]

And it happens. It happens, and it sucks, man. And unfortunately, you know, this is why I always tell people. As good as you were with going ahead and negotiating with lawyers, bro.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

I always tell people, you got to make sure you look at those contracts.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, bro. You got to protect yourself 100%.

[Paul Alex]

You got to protect yourself and always tell people, man. Especially with vendors nowadays, because I Deal with a lot of vendors, dude. We have them sign individual contracts for liability because that's just the way the space is, man. Especially when you're dealing with thousands of people. And I'm pretty sure you're dealing with thousands of people, especially being in the online space for that long.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, yeah.

[Paul Alex]

So what ends up happening, man? Because I want to know the end, bro.

[John Briseno]

So what ends up happening? Check it out, bro. Shout out to my mama, man. Because every day. Every day, I'm thinking about self deportation, and I'm calling my mom and I'm telling you, meaning this is it. Like, I'm signing. I'm signing. And my mom. Every day, my mom convinced me, just one more day, mijo.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Just.

[John Briseno]

Just. Just one more day. Think about your kids. Diana's about to have a baby. You know, my third kid was on the way. So every day, she talked me into. Just one more day, bro. One more day. And finally the day comes where immigration finally comes and picks me up and talks to me. I'm talking like, bro, I missed my hope.

[Paul Alex]

The.

[John Briseno]

My wife, full pregnancy, right? Finally the day comes, man, and they. They take me to another building, completely different building, and they come interview me. Well, first, I sat in a cell for hours, and they just came to interview me. That's it, bro. They came to talk to me. And at the end of the conversation, the guy said, you know what? I like you. I'm gonna let you fight your case without being deported. So, not that. Yeah, right. Crazy.

[Paul Alex]

Thought he was playing a joke.

[John Briseno]

I. Bro, I couldn't believe it, you know, but insane. I think what did it for me, bro, is that I think he just saw me kind of be and just wore down. And I just kind of told him, like, look, man, I'm here because of me, my mistakes. I up. So whatever's got to happen, just. I'll figure it out. You know, I told him about my kids, and, you know, at the time, I wasn't married yet, but I had a US Citizen girlfriend who was pregnant. So I just. I didn't. I just said it as a joke. I was like, man, I should have just married, but I'm scared of commitment, you know, Just jokingly saying that, bro. And he's like, you know what? I'm gonna let you stay. Just fight your case. So I'm not a citizen, but they're letting me fight my case, right? But then here comes the. The shitty part, the. The twist. He's like, but you got to pay this bail, and it's cash only. When it's immigration. There's no bonds. There's nothing like that, bro.

[Paul Alex]

How much was the bond?

[John Briseno]

It was only like 15 GS, bro. But for my family at that time, bro, that's like life savings.

[Paul Alex]

I know that's life savings for a.

[John Briseno]

Lot of people, bro. So my dad ends up selling his pickup truck to get me. Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

So your dad goes all in, man.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, my dad goes off, bro. Yeah. Shout out pops, too, bro. I'm telling you, I got amazing parents, bro.

[Paul Alex]

So that's amazing.

[John Briseno]

That's why to me was always my goal to take care of them. Of course. Buy my dad that pickup truck that he sold to get me out.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, that's huge.

[John Briseno]

That was like my drivers in the beginning.

[Paul Alex]

And that's. That's a great why. Yeah, that's a great way. I have a very similar why. You know, my mom had told me when I was about to be 30, and she's like, I thought you were going to retire me already.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

You know, it was always like, why'd you tell me that? You know, it pushed me even harder to go ahead and. And get out of what I was doing. But. Okay, so you end up getting out of jail.

[John Briseno]

I did. Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

You're like, hail Mary, I'm back.

[John Briseno]

I'm back.

[Paul Alex]

So what ends up happening there? What was that aha moment where you were like, okay, look, I got to change.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, Something change. And see, and here's the. Here's the A part to. To everybody, to the audience listening. You have to just do it and just go. Because you got to keep your promises. Because what happened is when I was in jail, I said, God, get me out of this and I'll never do it again, bro. The day I got out of jail, I got high. Like, I just went through all this, bro. Like, I. I got out of it. I've already been through the withdrawals. There's no more withdrawals. And my dumbass goes back and gets high again, bro.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

And so for the next year, I fell right back into it, you know, and it was really when my son Johnny was born. He was born with a condition called hydro syphilis when there's too much fluid in the brain. And the way we found out was because I'm a liar and an. So this is how I know God was. Was. Was there, bro. Because I had another court. My wife's pregnant at the time, and she tells me she's got a little pain in her stomach. Nothing major, but I use that as an excuse to get the hell out of court because I don't want to be in court no more. Right, right. So when I leave the court, the public defender calls me and says, dude, the judge isn't happy and wants you to bring back a doctor's note.

[Paul Alex]

Okay?

[John Briseno]

So I'm like. So now I tell my. My girl, like, babe, will you please go to the doctor for me? Just so I can get a doctor's. No. She was mad at me, but she's got my back, too, you know, Ride or die. She goes to the doctor, bro, they do an ultrasound, and they find out that the kid has hydrocephalus. And they said, you got to go into emergency C section right now.

[Paul Alex]

You got to make it happen.

[John Briseno]

Then they explained to me what it was. You know, you and I, we naturally drain our fluids. My son wasn't. So they were telling me, look, it's most likely. Usually we catch this at five months, right? She's almost due. It's possible that he's brain dead. It's possible that he'll never. Yeah, bro, like, they told me all the worst case scenarios. And again, bro, I remember just kind of thinking to myself, this is my fault, bro, because I asked God for another chance. Told him I wouldn't do it again. He let me out, and I did it again.

[Paul Alex]

So you're thinking God's punishing.

[John Briseno]

Bro, I. I swear to you. I know this sounds cliche, but I. God talked to me that day, bro. I talked to God, and I know he heard me, because I just remember breaking down, bro, just telling God, like, look, man, just. I know I said this before, but I swear, don't let my son pay the consequences for me, bro. Yeah, bro. Johnny's 13 years old today. Smart as hell, you know, Funny little dude. Loves basketball like his pops. And like, bro, that wasn't supposed to happen, you know, but he. He did. He made it out. That for me, was the moment when I realized, dude, God is real. He's got my back. He always has. Now it's my turn.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

To do something about it.

[Paul Alex]

And what year was that?

[John Briseno]

That was 2013-2013-2013-2012 is when he was born, right? By 2013, I finally got started getting my. A little bit better. Started making a little bit of money.

[Paul Alex]

Okay, so that critical incident happens. Yeah, and that is a critical incident. It's a lot critical incident. Because for everybody. Everybody wants a healthy baby.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, right.

[Paul Alex]

That's the only thing when people are asking me, like, hey, do you want a boy or girl? I was like, look, as long as the baby's healthy. But, yeah, I would want a boy. But no, I was like, as long as my baby boy is healthy, that's all that matters. So you go through that critical incident, you're like, all right, things gotta change. Walk us through the actual steps on how you figure out about high ticket sales. Because that's 2013, bro. Let me think back to 2013, man. I was going through a career transition at that time. Time. So I wasn't even. Man, I think I was still on MySpace.

[John Briseno]

Okay.

[Paul Alex]

I was still on MySpace.

[John Briseno]

Yeah. Yeah, bro. I mean, so. So was I. I mean, just. Just to clear things up, I got into high ticket sales in 2013, but I was not on social media.

[Paul Alex]

I was.

[John Briseno]

I was just a closer working for another company. Okay, as a closer.

[Paul Alex]

Okay.

[John Briseno]

As a setter at first.

[Paul Alex]

So.

[John Briseno]

So.

[Paul Alex]

So what was the first company? What was the opportunity? Like, what were they offering? So how did you find out about it?

[John Briseno]

Okay, great, bro. I love this, man. So. So check it out, bro. So first I realized, okay, I got to do something now, right? Because my son's healthy. First of all, it started with fitness with me, because I'm like, dude, I'm a loser. I don't know what to do. I'm a loser. I'm a drug addict. Well, I realized that fitness was a good way for me to at least start keeping promises to myself.

[Paul Alex]

Discipline.

[John Briseno]

Yeah. And I was just a skinny bro. Like, if you met me back then, you would have thought I had cancer.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Wow.

[John Briseno]

Because I didn't eat food, bro. Like, because I was told that oxy's hit you harder on an empty stomach. So I took that to heart. I want this to hit me harder. So I didn't eat.

[Paul Alex]

I'm a sacrifice food, bro.

[John Briseno]

I looked sick, bro. So the fact that I even look the way I do today, bro, is insane. But, yeah, bro started with fitness. And then very quickly, within a matter of weeks, I started feeling better about myself, you know? So now I'm like, hey, now it's time to go for the to help wanted ads. Because I was always kind of a hustler. I was flipping on ebay. I'd buy a broken cell phone, sell it on ebay, like, whatever. That's how I was getting by. And it's time to look for a job. And I realized, man, I've already worked at every warehouse company here in Utah, and they've fired me. What am I gonna do? And I saw an ad, bro, about commission job only. Like, if you're hungry and you're motivated, we don't care what your background is like, huh? I'm hungry and I'm motivated. Let me just get them.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, yeah.

[John Briseno]

And then, you know, they. They hired me on the spot. Because you don't get paid unless you close a deal. Yeah, Right.

[Paul Alex]

That's it.

[John Briseno]

I was worried about it at first because those are the exact jobs my mom and dad always told me to stay away from from.

[Paul Alex]

And why. Why they say that?

[John Briseno]

Because there's no guaranteed income, right? Air quotes, guys. There's no guaranteed income. Income in commission jobs and commissions.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, yeah.

[John Briseno]

And so that's. They always told me to stay away from that, but that was all I could get at the time, right? So I remember the first day I walked in, bro, and what we were selling at the time was E commerce, coaching, okay? Teaching people how to make money on ebay. And I was like, hey, this kind of fits me. I'm flipping shit on ebay. I know what I'm talking about. So I was like, all right, man, fuck it. Let's just give it a try. I got no other choice. Plus, everybody was hounding me about getting a job. So I just wanted to say I got a job. Like, leave me alone, you know? And I remember the first week I was there, Monday, Tuesday, it's just training. And then Wednesday, they finally take us out to the sales floor. They introduced me to who my team leader is. And every team had a whiteboard with their numbers written on the side, what their revenue or their volume closed was for the week. And I'll never forget, bro, because that moment changed my life. There was a gentleman by the name of Chad Huntsman. Chad, rest in peace today. But right next to Chad's name, there was a $60,000, and it's 20% commission. So I did the math in my head, and I'm thinking, well, that's 12 grand. Is this fucking real?

[Paul Alex]

And was that like a week?

[John Briseno]

That was a week.

[Paul Alex]

That's fire. Yeah, bro.

[John Briseno]

That changed my life because I never met anybody who ever made more than a couple GS a month, let alone 12 grand in a week. And that's what, for me, made it. It's real. It's believable. Yeah. And so I remember that, bro, like it was yesterday because I. I did the math in my head and I'm like, dude, I. I gotta have done something wrong. It can't be 12 grand in a week, right? Sure enough, it was, bro. From that moment on, bro, I wish I would have been put on Chad's team. Unfortunately, I wasn't But I always saw who was the top guy and I always listened to what they were doing. That's it, bro. Because one thing I did not like about this company. Thank you. They gave me my shot. But, bro, the two days of training was trash. It really was. After that, they don't train you. You're on your own.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

You just smile and dial.

[Paul Alex]

That's it.

[John Briseno]

If they got money, set them up for the closer. That was the training for real.

[Paul Alex]

So you. You're basically, you know, trying to make as many contacts as possible and you were trying to go ahead and persuade them.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

At that time.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Do you remember how the pitch would go?

[John Briseno]

I remember exactly.

[Paul Alex]

Lay it down, bro. How'd the pitch go?

[John Briseno]

So check it out, bro. The pitch was simple. Hey, Deborah, this is John. I noticed you just purchased a program to learn how to make money online from home. How's that going for you at this point? They're frustrated, bro, because I haven't figured it out. Well, Deborah, that's exactly why I'm calling you. We're actually looking for just a select few people that we can pair up with one of our experts to work on a one on one basis so that we may guide you, hold your hand, walk you through the entire process. Does that sound like something that would benefit you? Oh, absolutely. Excellent. Now, Deborah, I got to be honest with you. We don't have enough coaches. So this is a qualification process. We can only work with the select few. All right? And right there, now they want it because they're like, I just. I just got them all excited about working with an expert, but now I'm taking it away, right? Yeah, yeah, exactly, bro. So, yeah, I mean, I remember the full pitch, bro. I really, truly. I love that. Yeah, I love that.

[Paul Alex]

That shows that you were very passionate about it.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Okay. So from there, you end up getting your first role in sales. You start getting momentum. You start learning from the best guy, which it's good mindset that you have, bro, because some of the most successful people, I always ask like, hey, how did you learn to become successful? I did. I just copied the most successful person I know.

[John Briseno]

Exactly. Right.

[Paul Alex]

And that's a cheat code. So from there, what ends up happening next?

[John Briseno]

So from there, bro, I start crushing. I become number one, that company. I even beat Chad, you know, which was a huge, proud moment for me. So now they're giving me a team. Right now I'm training guys and I'm earning overrides. My life changed, bro. Right. Because now I'm Making big money, right? Several hundred thousand dollars a year. For somebody in my family, that's like, wow.

[Paul Alex]

What does your family think about that?

[John Briseno]

Oh, bro, my. My mom, like, the first year, they're like, would you. Well, at first, they're like, what are you doing, mijo?

[Paul Alex]

That's what I say, man. Because, like, when I started making, you know, a little bit of coin, people around me, they were like, are you selling drugs?

[John Briseno]

Like, what are you doing, ex, bro. But, I mean, remember, I can't even blame my mom and dad, right? Like, I. I did all those things. I made all those mistakes. So, yeah, at first it was like, what are you doing, mijo? Like, for real, what are you doing? Yeah, you know, and I just kept telling him, mom and dad, it's. It sells. It's. It's a real role. It's real. I mean, today, bro, like, you know, thank God I was able to pay my mom's house off. I finally bought my dad that pickup truck he sold, you know, so now they're proud of me. But at the moment. At the time, bro, it was. It was really hard to. To show them that, hey, this is not the natural path that, you know, but it's. It's working.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

You know, and it's there. And it's there.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

It's possible.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, it's possible. And I think that's. That's what we all lacked in my entire families. We didn't know it was possible because we had never seen anybody do it. Right? But after some time, I brought my brothers on. They made a lot of money, right? So that's when I realized that I could really, really do this, bro. But to answer your question, what happened, bro, is I started crushing it. And there was another guy there who was, like, kind of competing with me, but not really, because that fool couldn't compete with me. But that's when the office politics started, okay? Right.

[Paul Alex]

Okay.

[John Briseno]

And they cut my. My overrides. And, like, all this weird happened, which today, now that I'm a business owner, I don't understand why somebody would be so dumb to do that. Like, I'm a producer. I'm loyal. I show up. I don't give any problems. And you're gonna.

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[John Briseno]

Screw me over. Right? Like that. That never to this day, it doesn't make sense to me, bro. But I'm glad it happened.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

Because that's what pushed me to go do my own thing.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. Cuz I was gonna say, usually people, they stay loyal.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

When you treat them right.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

You know, some of the best guys that been with me for the past four years now, from, you know, my. One of my first companies to now, like my third company, they stay with me because I treat them right. You know, I take care of them like they're my brother or sister. And, you know, I share my vision with them. Like, hey, look, we keep doing this. This is what's next for you. Oh, yeah, right. And then you accomplish. You're good at that word. So they ended up doing you dirty, dude. Yeah, they end up doing you dirty and you know, getting into your finances and that ultimately impacts your life.

[John Briseno]

It impacts my life.

[Paul Alex]

So how long were you with them? Them from?

[John Briseno]

I was with them for about four years.

[Paul Alex]

Wow. So you for. That's good, bro.

[John Briseno]

When I say I'm loyal, I'm loyal to a fault sometimes.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, bro.

[John Briseno]

Like, I'm loyal.

[Paul Alex]

So at this time, before you transition to go do like your own thing or to the next venture, what year is it now?

[John Briseno]

It's 2018.

[Paul Alex]

So 2018, we're right before. I mean, you still got maybe like about two years before COVID happens, but 2018 is a great year to be in that space. Yeah, I remember. The reason why I remember this is because back when I was in law enforcement, I was, I was dabbling and looking online and I would see a lot of e commerce guys.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

They started blowing up. They started, you know, name for themselves in the online space. I was like, what's going on?

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

You know, what is this? And start listening to the podcast and you start seeing people, you know, promoting it more. So what ends up happening next, bro?

[John Briseno]

So what happens is I started looking in, trying to figure out, okay, where do they get their leads From. Because that's everything. I mean, you know, bro, client acquisition, Client acquisition. So that's the first thing I did is, okay, how do I get leads, right? And then I finally started talking to the right people, bro. I figured out how to get some leads. I figured out what my cost was going to be for leads. But this is how naive I was when it came to business, bro. Like, I'm a badass closer, but I had no fucking clue how to start a business, right? I literally bought my first batch of leads, okay? Spent almost every dime I had on them. Because unfortunately, when I first started making money, I wasn't smart. I spent it right, living a good lifestyle. Yeah, bro. So now that it's time to go off on my own, I don't have enough money for marketing, but I know, I know I'll make money because I know how to do this business. Like, I've done it for these guys for the past five years. I could do it for myself, bro. I bought my first batch of leads. And first of all, before I left, I. I talked to my team that was there, and I told them, look, I'm leaving, okay? If you guys are down, I'm. I'm setting up shop. They all said they were down, bro. So I'm, like, excited. I go get an office, I go get cubicles, I get laptops, I get the phone systems. Back in the days, we used void phones because I didn't even know what a CRM was. Yep, bro. Come that Monday, nobody shows up, bro. They all left me hanging, and I just spent all my money, bro, and they left me hanging. So that's when I hired my brothers. Yeah, they'd never done sales before, but I need help dialing through these leads. I can't call all these leads by myself. So I hired my brothers, bro, and they suck. They never done it before, right? And I'm under pressure now because I just spend all my money. Everybody's going to realize I'm a fucking failure. I shouldn't have quit. So I'm under pressure, bro, And I'm like, look, just get him on the phone. Hand them over to me. That's it, right? And, bro, we end up doing like $90,000 that week in. In revenue. That changed my life forever, bro, because now, now I have enough money to keep buying leads. And, you know, little by little, I started making a name for myself in the industry, bro. And then now, now these guys want to come work for me. And I told them, no way, I don't need you anymore, because you bit me. You hurt me, bro. Yeah, you hurt me. Like it wasn't even just. Yeah, yeah. So, you know, and thank God we made it happen, bro. But, oh, what I was saying is how naive I was. Okay? I bought my first batch of leads, we get our first deal, and then I'm thinking, wait, how the fuck do I collect the money? I didn't even realize you needed merchant accounts, none of that stuff, bro. Like, that's how dumb I was.

[Paul Alex]

But I don't think that you were dumb, dude. I just think that you weren't informed.

[John Briseno]

I was not informed.

[Paul Alex]

And you know, for a lot of people out there that are listening to this, this is the, probably the first time that you're going to be actually opening the eyes to a lot of people. There's gonna be a lot of people out there, you know, because my audience, it ranges, dude, everywhere from first responders to nine to fivers, to, to absolutely everybody, dude, that is looking for an opportunity. Right? So just the fact, hearing your story, it's very inspiring, bro.

[John Briseno]

I appreciate it.

[Paul Alex]

It's very inspiring. I love hearing, you know, the rags to riches stories because everybody comes from different backgrounds, bro. So you took your brothers and then you're able to train them up.

[John Briseno]

I was able to train them up, bro.

[Paul Alex]

And they became good.

[John Briseno]

They became very good. They became my top guys.

[Paul Alex]

And then what were you guys actually selling when you started your company?

[John Briseno]

So when it was the same services, what I did is I, I found out how they did fulfillment, right. And I reached, I. They actually used a third party company for fulfillment.

[Paul Alex]

Got it.

[John Briseno]

So that's when I realized, well, this is easy. All I got to do is sell.

[Paul Alex]

So essentially you're, you're a more of marketing, you're a broker, but then you do the initial onboarding.

[John Briseno]

Exactly, yeah.

[Paul Alex]

And then you hand it off. The fulfillment does the customer service, they.

[John Briseno]

Deal the rest of, they deal with it from there. Yeah, okay.

[Paul Alex]

Okay, that makes sense. And then how long were you doing that offer?

[John Briseno]

I did that offer up until 2020, bro. 2020 came around and then a lot of stuff happened with lead providers. There was no longer easy to get leads. The cost per lead went up, up. And that's when I started thinking, well, there's got to be, I mean, like you, I see these social media guys, they're making money, they're generating leads on social media. Why can't I? Yeah, you know, and that's how I started in the online space, bro, was because like I said, bro, the, the negative always somehow leads to Something good if you are aware, right? And you look for it. Because I could have just given up right there and said it's time to go do something new. But.

[Paul Alex]

But not you, man. And the reason why I say not you is because you've been in different situations, even though it's not business related, where you. How do you get yourself out of a pinch?

[John Briseno]

Yeah, exactly.

[Paul Alex]

So, like, remember in the very beginning when you said ice had all your hold and you were just like, oh, man, I will figure it out.

[John Briseno]

I'll figure it out.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Right?

[Paul Alex]

But it's the same thing in business for a lot of people. You know, some of the best operators I, in my opinion, are the operators that are able to intake information and analyze it and be like, yeah, there's a fire around me. But you know what?

[John Briseno]

We'll figure it out.

[Paul Alex]

You know, so it's, it's, it's good. So 2020 happens and then you start looking to social media. You see what I see in 2020. I mean, I got in the space in April of 2020. That's when I bought, like my first course, read my first book. Yeah, Russell Brunson, all that Jazz. And I think a lot of people did. A lot of people did. It was like the gold rush at that time. So that ends up happening. And then what. What exactly in digital marketing do you do in order to help your company scale?

[John Briseno]

Okay, so what. What I started doing, bro, was I just started building a brand.

[Paul Alex]

Okay.

[John Briseno]

I started building a brand. I was like, well, let me get people to get to know me, you know? And that. That started to work. It started to work.

[Paul Alex]

Did you buy a course? Did you follow a mentor?

[John Briseno]

Well, you know what's crazy, you mentioned Russell Brunson. The way I found out about him is his lead was one of the leads that I was purchasing from lead providers. I had no idea who Russell Brunson was. Like, nobody did back then. Really, bro. Bro, he was just some guy from Idaho. He was a lead provider. So it's crazy. That's how later on I found out. But anyway, yeah, looking at what they were doing, I'm like, funnel, like learning all these words and I'm like, all right, bro, well, let's. Let's figure it out. And I actually didn't buy a course, bro. What I did is I went through YouTube University, bro.

[Paul Alex]

I love that.

[John Briseno]

Just YouTube and everything that I could, bro.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

How do you build the brand? What type of content should I be making? And then that's how everything kind of happened, bro. And then I started seeing all these guys doing the E Commerce space and I'm like, they're like 20 years old, bro. There's no way they know more than I do.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

I've been doing this since they were in diapers, I'm thinking in my mind, you know, of course. And so that's when I really started going into it, like, hey, let me figure this out, bro. Let me really figure this out. And then, you know, we, we did very well, bro. Unfortunately, the E Commerce space wasn't going to be a long term business for me. I quickly realized because, bro, Amazon started changing policies, Walmart started changing policies. A lot of headaches, Lot of headaches.

[Paul Alex]

A lot of shutdowns with, you know, stores and all.

[John Briseno]

Yep.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. So that ends up happening. And how long do you end up doing the E Commerce venture for? From 2020.

[John Briseno]

From 2020, bro. I only did it for about a year and a half. Two years. Two years. We had a good two year solid run, bro. But you know, I have ethics, bro. And I just started seeing that like, man, the likelihood of these people actually succeeding online is not.

[Paul Alex]

You don't want to be a scammy Cor.

[John Briseno]

Exactly, bro.

[Paul Alex]

I got you.

[John Briseno]

Exactly.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. And I respect that, man. Man. So you end up getting out of the space, then what happens?

[John Briseno]

So then I'm thinking to myself, well, what am I going to do right? Like now what? So we did the fitness and mindset thing and that was very fulfilling actually, bro. Like, because I saw people transform their lives through fitness just like it did for me. But then what I quickly realized is once they were done and mentally, and now they look good, now they, they feel good, like, okay, well what's next? Now how do they make money now? How can I help them make money? And bro, I remember just like looking at everything, real estate, looking at this, and I'm like, but dude, I'm not an expert in those things. Things. And then it just kind of hit me like, bro, how did I make my money? Yeah, sales.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

I was able to build teams, train people who also made money, right? I mean, bro, I've trained seven figure earners. That's a skill set.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

And so that's when it finally hit me, bro. Like, I'm gonna show other people this skill of high ticket sales, right? And show them how to make money like that. Because it's something you can do from anywhere in the world. You can do it remotely. You don't have to have a ton of money up front to start a business, right? So now when people ask me like, yo, what's the best business to get into? No, bro, work on you first.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

You are the best investment that you can make. Not a business, not crypto, none of that shit. Focus on you, build you, and then we'll get into teaching you skill sets. Skill sets is the number one thing, you know, because once you got the skills, bro, you'll figure it out.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, absolutely.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

And I agree, man. And I always say that to people, it's just like, dude, once you learn this.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

You'll know exactly what to do over and over. Exactly what you did.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

You know, you, you went through three different ventures.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

And then you were like, you know what? I could teach this.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

And that's what I tell my guys. I was just like, dude, eventually, you know, when you guys get older and you guys want to start your own companies, bro, I've had people do that. Hey, Paul, you know, I'm a part ways because I want to start my own thing.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Do what you do, player.

[John Briseno]

Congrats, bro.

[Paul Alex]

Congratulations. Right?

[John Briseno]

I got you. Yeah, cool.

[Paul Alex]

So you launched that like around 20, 22.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

And then you've been doing high ticket sales since then.

[John Briseno]

Yeah. Yeah, bro.

[Paul Alex]

Okay. I love that. So what would you say is a couple good characteristics, okay. That makes someone who is a beginner. Okay. A great salesman?

[John Briseno]

Characteristics? Well, number one, they got to be willing to learn and unlearn.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, Right.

[John Briseno]

Those are the two things that I really look for, bro. Are you will, are you open minded and teachable? And are you willing to unlearn some of the bad information right now? Yeah. If you got those two things and you're motivated. I'll teach anybody how to make money with high ticket sales, bro. Literally. I don't care if you're an extrovert. I don't care if you never talked to anybody on the phone. Like, I know I can do it because I've done it. Yeah, Right. And I got the testimonials to back it up, you know, So I just, I don't care, bro, that you've never done sales. I don't care that you don't think you're good looking. I don't care that you don't think that don't matter. Are you open minded, teachable? Are you willing to unlearn the bad information? Right. And are you serious about making this happen? If the answer is yes, of those three. Let's go.

[Paul Alex]

Ready to rock.

[John Briseno]

We're ready to rock.

[Paul Alex]

I love that. What would you say? Okay. The process Is if, let's say someone who has no sales experience comes and they're like, hey, John, I want to come work with you.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

What.

[Paul Alex]

What is the exact process that they go through with you? Do not only they learn. They learn the training from you, but do you also do any type of, like, job placement?

[John Briseno]

100%, bro.

[Paul Alex]

Is that. Is that what it is? So walk us through the process. How does that look? Look like?

[John Briseno]

Well, first of all, bro, once let's say somebody signs up, right, they. They don't learn sales right away. And I'm going tell you why, bro. The first thing I teach them is what made me realize, holy, this is awesome, is when I saw Chad's numbers. So the first thing I do is I turn them into believers.

[Paul Alex]

Okay.

[John Briseno]

Because how can you accomplish something that in the back of your mind you don't believe is possible?

[Paul Alex]

That's powerful.

[John Briseno]

Forget about it.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

If you don't believe it's possible, it's. You're never going to get there.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

So let's make you a believer first. Right. Then from there we get into sales training, bro. And the sales training is really like, it's not one of those 90, 100 days. And then you get on the phones. Nah, bro, you ready to make money tomorrow are. And if you're not afraid, tomorrow we can start hitting the phones, baby. Right. And I got you. I actually, you know, basically it's. It's free for people who join with me, bro, because once they hit a certain number, like, bro, your investment is 100% refundable. Yeah. It's only there. So I know you're serious, bro. And once you hit a certain threshold, I'll give you back your money, bro, because now I know you're going to be successful at this. And that's what I want. I want people to be successful.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

You know?

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. And then how do you go ahead and place someone at a job once they've. Do you certify them? Yeah. So you do certify?

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Okay, great. And then how long is usually the process? Like, what's your average person that goes into a program with you? How long does it usually take them to get certified?

[John Briseno]

They're usually certified, bro, as long as they go through everything properly within 30 days or less, bro.

[Paul Alex]

That.

[John Briseno]

Dude, that's good. Yeah. Yeah. That's a quick turnaround. And I guess I wouldn't say they're certified, but they're ready to get on the phones, bro, because I believe you're gonna learn better that way. You can watch all the trainings, here's how you handle this objection. And it's all memorized. But when it actually happens on a live call, all of a sudden you blink. What did I learn?

[Paul Alex]

You got to be smooth.

[John Briseno]

Exactly, bro.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

So that's why. Exactly, bro. So that's why I have him just start that way, bro. Because it's like you said in the beginning, we were talking about it. It's repetition. It is. You got to do it over and over and over and over again. That's how you're gonna master it.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, bro.

[John Briseno]

You could throw any objection my way, bro. And I've, I've heard them all that just right away know what to say. It's not that I'm a great salesperson, is that. It's the repetition.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. You have the level of confidence based on your experience that you've already done.

[John Briseno]

Amen. Exactly.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, that makes sense, man. And then as far as job placements go. So how does that work?

[John Briseno]

So how that works, bro, is I only work with the select few gurus, and I don't even like using the word gurus. But that's how people recognize people on social media, right? Like, there's only certain people that I work with because I got to know what you're selling is real. First of all, it's gotta help people. Right? And if it doesn't, I won't mess with you. But I, I have enough people who always contact me for high ticket closer, and I have a ton of leads, bro, that I could always place them with me. Right? So that's just how it works, bro. Like, once they're ready, I have over, I have a lot of team leads, a lot of teams. Right. So we can always place people. There's never a lack of that because now we reach the point where, you know, I understand how to generate the leads, I understand how to get the traffic to come in. So now it's just a, we need more leads. Let's up the spend. Yeah. Like, it's all good. We can do this, you know, and we got enough social media subject matter experts. That's the word. Not gurus. We have enough subject matter experts, bro. We also do it in Spanish, which is crazy, bro. Like, dude, that's great.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, I feel like that's a, that's a, A void in the sales industry. There's not enough Spanish speaking programs out there.

[John Briseno]

There isn't, bro. And so I, I want to make sure that we blow that side up, bro.

[Paul Alex]

Absolutely. Absolutely, man. And I know you will. And you're already doing it. So with that being said, man, what would you say? Okay, right now, if somebody was looking into a. Let's say, because I know you use the word guru, but a subject matter expert in sales, how could they validate that somebody's the real deal, man?

[John Briseno]

You know what, unfortunately, bro, that's tough today because people are really good at fake.

[Paul Alex]

It is, it is. But would you tell somebody like it's like, how would you tell somebody to do their due diligence?

[John Briseno]

I mean, at the end of the day, bro, I would say, look, just look them up online, man. But don't believe everything you see online, right? But just be, be smart about it, right? Get to know the person. Get to know, you know, what is their real experience. I promise you, if they're 17 years old, they're not a high ticket sales expert yet. Like, come on, man, they just started closing deals last week.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Weak.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, you're not an expert until you've gone through losses and overcome them. Anybody can make money once, right? Can you overcome the, the headaches and redo it again, bro? That's an expert, in my opinion. I know a lot of people who got, I don't want to say lucky, but I know a lot of people who made a lot of money, bro. Ran up a big old bag and lost it all, and they've never been able to recover. That's just, you know, right place, right time, type of scenario. Right, right, right. So that's how I look at it, bro. In fact, today when I'm looking at mentors, you had to at lost at some point in your life if I'm going to hire you, bro, because sometimes that's just what it is, bro. You got to learn not how to lose, cuz you don't want to be a loser. But it's going to happen, bro. If you play big enough, something will happen.

[Paul Alex]

With every new level, there's a new devil.

[John Briseno]

Exact, bro. I love that. Hell yeah.

[Paul Alex]

It's true though. It's true. And it really, you know, when you go through those seasons, man, it really tells what type of character you have, what type of person you have, right? If you're able to go ahead and think and be like, you know what? It'll be all right, we're gonna go ahead and get over this, right? So let me ask you, man, tell us about one of your best client, like either mentees or clients success story. What hits you in the heart, bro?

[John Briseno]

What hits me in the heart, man, is. Is somebody just like me, bro. Drug addict didn't have very many opportunities. Nobody believed in this kid anymore. He actually couldn't even afford the program.

[Paul Alex]

Wow.

[John Briseno]

So. But this is why I had to get off the phones, bro, because I'll accept everybody, man, once you get everybody opportunities, I'm like, oh, man, this poor guy. Let me just help him out. But then that's. This is not profitable that way. So, you know, Know. But, bro, this is when I was still answering my. My own DMS and getting on the phones with people, right? So, anyway, I decided to give this guy a shot, bro. Just. Just give him a shot. He was going through a divorce battle over a custody battle with. With their daughter, bro. Lost their home, okay? And just the drugs, bro. The drugs drag him down. It's why he was getting a divorce. First thing we did, bro, is we worked on them, right? Because. Because it's. It's a mindset thing. And I know this for a fact because I was that negative kid at one point in my life. Anyway, long story short, bro, the. The. The dude's in amazing shape today. He's actually one of my team leaders. Has over eight guys on his team now. Is earning overrides, bro. Like, you know, he. He. He closes multiple millions of dollars a year, bro.

[Paul Alex]

I love that.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, I love that. And he had never done sales before, bro. You know, and so he didn't believe that he was going to be able to do it. In fact, when I first brought him on and we had our first session, he's like, I don't think this is for me, bro. I'm like, why? I just don't want to have to sell anything. Well, then, bro, come on, bro. You're gonna have to sell something if you want to be successful, bro. A product, a service, something. So it's just funny, bro. I still give him about that. He's like, bro, remember you almost quit.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

You're so damn lucky that I'm a fighter. And I don't let people quit that. Yeah, especially because you didn't even pay me, homie. So, as a matter of fact, I'm gonna send you an invoice now.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

Hey, I'm gonna send you an invoice now, Adam. But nah, bro, it's just. It's just funny to me that one hits me the most because I didn't have to help him. I could have given up on him, and he finally hit the point in his life where now he believes in himself, bro.

[Paul Alex]

See, that's the game changer here in life, you know, you gotta. You gotta Go into fulfillment, bro.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Because let me ask you something, man. Man, you bought all the toys, right?

[John Briseno]

I have, bro. Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

You taking care of your wife, you take care of your parents. You. You paid off your mom's house. You paid all. You bought the pickup truck back for your dad, right? When he helped you in a bad spot, you've been able to go ahead and, you know, live life by design. Yeah, that's what I like to call it.

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[John Briseno]

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[Paul Alex]

So what keeps you going now, bro? Because I had a lot of conversations with a lot of entrepreneurs yesterday. I did like, like, four interviews back to back to back. And with a couple of them, they were like, yo, you know, I hit a plateau, bro.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, so.

[Paul Alex]

So they were asking me for advice, like, well, how do I get out of it? And I was just like, to be honest, the only way I'm able to get a plateau, man, I got to do something new, you know? Cuz my mind's always like, I'm a. I'm a fire starter, bro.

[John Briseno]

I'm a visionary guy.

[Paul Alex]

So I'm like, all right, we got to go to a new idea, right? But for you, what's. What's. How do you get that. That drive, bro? Because eventually, I mean, we're not going to be motivated every day.

[John Briseno]

Every day. Exactly, bro.

[Paul Alex]

You get used to it.

[John Briseno]

In fact, you got. You. You want to know a secret, bro? I'm hardly ever motivated.

[Paul Alex]

That's real.

[John Briseno]

What I am is disciplined.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

I'm not motivated, bro. I got zero motivation, bro. If I could lay in bed. And you will. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Paul Alex]

But if you got things to do, you'll get it done.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, I'll get it done, bro. So what keeps me going today is That I know for a fact that anybody can change their life, bro. And I feel like I just have to, to reach more people, bro. That really is what it is. In fact, I have meeting with, with my, with my two camera guys here, bro. And we have to reach more people. Yeah, that's the goal. And they know that. The goal is more people. We have to reach more people. Even if they don't exactly attention, bro, they don't have to buy something from me. If you do, I'll. I promise I'll give you my all. But just make them aware of the possibilities, bro, because, because I go back to that young John B. Bro, and I wish I would have seen a video of somebody just like me who was a drug addict, illegal immigrant, in and out of jail, nobody believed in him, and now has made millions of dollars, takes care of his parents, right? Like, bro, I would have loved to have seen that because it would have made me a believer much sooner, right? I'm 38, bro. I turned 39 this year.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Year.

[John Briseno]

I love that, bro. I wish that 20 year old John B. Would have had somebody to look up to, bro.

[Paul Alex]

Oh yeah. Oh, yeah. And. And it happens, man, you know, sometimes we have to go through our seasons and we have to go through that experience.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Because. Because even myself at that age, I was very hard headed, bro. Completely different person than I am today, man. And I. And I probably transformed like three, four times, bro.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

You know, I always say that, especially now in my 30s, man, with, with having the wife and the, and the kid coming on the way and, and everything, man. But, but what are your future plans, bro? What's your vision for the future for the next, you know, three to five years.

[John Briseno]

So the next three to five years, bro, I want everybody to know Sal, Sal. Sal is the brand.

[Paul Alex]

I love that.

[John Briseno]

So that's really the mission, bro. I. When people hear the word salvage, I don't want them to think savage nothing. I want them to think, oh, salvage. That's that brand that helps people get in shape, helps people build a strong mindset, helps people make more money.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Money.

[John Briseno]

That's that brand that'll change your life if you commit and put in the work.

[Paul Alex]

I love that, right?

[John Briseno]

Like, bro, that really is it, man. Like, I want people everywhere, all over the world saying, like, bro, salvage. Yeah, I'm a salvage, bro. I changed my life. I don't know, bro. I just, I, I truly see it, but not just that I see it, but I almost feel like an obligation to do it, bro. Because, bro, if you had you met me eight years ago, you would have never thought I'd be sitting here with an AP on my wrist and doing podcasts with Paul Alex and doing millions of dollars. Nobody would have thought that.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

You know?

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

And so that's why. With more reason. Because I know there's a lot of people out there just like me, bro, who are lost. They're broke financially, they're broken mentally, but they got potential.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

They just need a little bit of belief and a little bit of guidance. That it.

[Paul Alex]

Are you guys doing YouTube yet?

[John Briseno]

We. Yeah, yeah, we, We. We're starting with the YouTube, you know.

[Paul Alex]

You know, I'm hiring. I'm hiring my own, you know, camera guy to follow me, like, every day. But you know what? I'm thinking back, and I'm taking it back. Old school, bro. You remember Real World?

[John Briseno]

I do remember Real World. Like the vlog style.

[Paul Alex]

Like the vlog style.

[John Briseno]

Yes, sir.

[Paul Alex]

Bro. Like, I'm telling you, man, I was talking to my wife and I was just like, you know what? You know what? I. I need to do that. I have not done, like, everything that we do, bro. We hyper focus. Like, I'm. I'm the type of dude, like, I keep it simple, man.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

In order for me to go ahead and perform, like, when we did the podcast, we started this, like, in early 2024. Okay. And our whole mission, bro, was just to go ahead and inspire people.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

That's it.

[John Briseno]

That's it.

[Paul Alex]

Just mindset. Just three, five minutes of motivation, bro. So we started off the first six months with, that's it, three episodes a week. And then we're like, all right, you know what? Let's bump it up, up. Because it's the. The. The. We scripted out, dude, and we knock it out in one day to record a month, right?

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Because it's little clips. And that's what you got to think about it.

[John Briseno]

Right?

[Paul Alex]

So then what we started figuring out is we would do a clip a day, bro. But then the way they rank you in the podcast world is they rank you on downloads. So you got to think about it like this, right? If you're doing three to five minute clips and it's good, like, it's motivating, Right.

[John Briseno]

It's real.

[Paul Alex]

It's from you. Then what ends up happening is people are just not going to listen to one. They're gonna listen to, like, 10, 20 of them, bro.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Yeah.

[John Briseno]

Because they're so short.

[Paul Alex]

And that's exactly what happened. So that's the formula. I just gave you guys a Cheat.

[John Briseno]

Write it down. Write it down.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. I told. I told every single guest this week about this.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

They're like, oh, bro, we got that makes. We gotta lock that in.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Yeah, man.

[Paul Alex]

So there was a podcaster by. I don't know if you remember Brian Stewart.

[John Briseno]

I remember hardcore clothes.

[Paul Alex]

All right. I mean, come on, man. It's back in the day.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

You know, but in 2017, I was listening to him.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

I was listening to the Rewire. The Rewire. Yes. Bro. Bro.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Tell you I'm old school, too.

[John Briseno]

Dang.

[Paul Alex]

Dude, I'm telling you. So that podcast changed my life.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Because it kept me optimistic.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

It came optimistic, man. Especially being in a toxic environment where I was at. And I remember I would. I would listen to five, six of them.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

On the way to work our commute. Five to six them. Oh, they say this hits. I gotta save this saying to all my boys and stuff.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

So when Miramilio, I had hired him when I got to Miami two years ago.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

And he was like, what do you want to. What do you want to name the podcast? I was like, the level up. And he's just like, nah, man, it's too basic. I was like, no, no, no, no. I was like, this is gonna be the level with Paul Alex, bro. I was like, and watch. We're gonna do three to five minute incredible increments. He's like, three to five minutes. That don't make sense. Yeah. It's too short. What are you gonna say? I was like, just straight motivation.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

That's it.

[Paul Alex]

Street motivation. And I just copied what Ryan did.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

But Ryan stopped doing it. I was like, bro, if he would have continued.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

I'll do. Would have been number one, bro.

[John Briseno]

Well, you know what happened with Ryan, bro. Shout out Ryan. Because he changed my life too, bro. He just. He had bad partners, too, bro.

[Paul Alex]

I heard.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, yeah, I heard.

[Paul Alex]

Heard some that happened with Ryan, but. Shout out Ryan, dude. Like, bro. I tried reaching out, but, I mean, I get it. He's busy. Why not? He. He can't trust that many people because he's been burned.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

It is what it is. I get it. Right?

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

But no. Yeah, that's the secret sauce, man. So my next move. So you guys know, too, my next move that I'm gonna do and you're gonna start seeing me doing this is I told. I gotta lock in on YouTube, but I'm gonna do it real world style. So I'm gonna do only 30 minutes.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

And it's going to be at like, real deal. Like, you're going to see the real me behind the scenes. Like, right now I got a fitness guy that I'm helping him launch his offer, right?

[John Briseno]

Okay.

[Paul Alex]

But I had to move to Puerto Rico. So right now he's working in the Puerto Rico office right now, right? And I'm like, every day I'm like, yo, how much cash flow you got? Because that's the thing. He needs accountability, bro. He's a smart guy, but he's not disciplined.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, okay.

[Paul Alex]

So my thing is, like, right now, he's on his second month, hitting 30k for the first time in his life. He's like, oh, you changed my life, bro. Blah, blah, blah, right? And I'm like, bro, you guys can push to 300 if you really dial in. Yeah, walk in. Right?

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

So. So my thing is I want to show people the, the real.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Because I'm cussing him out, bro. And he's like, he's like a six, eight, like 280 pound muscle head dude. And I'm like, mike, get your head out of your ass, you. But that's, that's what, that's the reality. But we're boys and he knows that.

[John Briseno]

That.

[Paul Alex]

And sometimes I got to stop myself. Hey, man, I'm not trying to be a dick. He's just like, no, I need this, dude.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

He's like, I need this. People don't see because this shit's not easy.

[John Briseno]

No, it's not.

[Paul Alex]

It's not. It's not easy.

[John Briseno]

It's not easy, man.

[Paul Alex]

For some people, they. They would lose it all, bro. They'll be like, how do you do it? It's just like, bro, I got to the level where I live in the fire.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, bro, I. I expect it, bro, to be honest with you.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, you expect the bad to happen, right?

[John Briseno]

You're ready for it, cuz.

[Paul Alex]

You've been through it.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, yeah, that's real, dude.

[Paul Alex]

But now, vlog style, real world style, where even. Check this out. You guys are gonna love this. You remember in the real world, they would have like little green rooms. Yeah, exactly what I'm thinking about. Because no one on YouTube is doing it. No one on YouTube is doing it. And, and you think about it, I consider us old school millennials. It's just what it is, right? We got kids, we're older. So when you think you bring that concept now to the G generation Z, they're gonna blow their mind. They're gonna be like, man, this shit's fire.

[John Briseno]

Yeah. They've never seen it Before.

[Paul Alex]

They never seen that.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Paul Alex]

You know that. That Red Balloo did? Yeah, bro, that's some old school they used to do at mtv. You remember that? With the blonde girl?

[John Briseno]

Yep. Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

That's all. They're just recycling the same idea. Think about that. Right? So, yeah, man, that's. That's the plan. I'm gonna see how that goes, but it's gonna be good, man.

[John Briseno]

It's gonna go. But.

[Paul Alex]

But.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

When do you guys have a podcast?

[John Briseno]

We do, bro. We do.

[Paul Alex]

Cut it to the three to five increments.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

You'll see.

[Paul Alex]

You guys will blow up.

[John Briseno]

Let's do it.

[Paul Alex]

Look, okay. And just focus on just mindset and sales.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

That's it.

[Paul Alex]

Tactical sales techniques and mindset.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

That's it.

[John Briseno]

That's. We can do that, bro. Easy, bro.

[Paul Alex]

You can. Literally.

[John Briseno]

It's just basically a longer reel. A longer reel.

[Paul Alex]

Think about it like this.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Look, you.

[Paul Alex]

You go ahead, you sit down for, like, two to three hours.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

You script it out and you have AI help you.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

Okay.

[Paul Alex]

Like, you download every single copy PDF you've ever had about you.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, yeah.

[Paul Alex]

And you put it on Chachi pto. You prompt it where you're like, look, make me a 100 scripts that only last three minutes for my podcast. And then refine it. Refine it. You know? You know, do your little. Right. Retouch it. But then you're gonna have a hundred scripts ready to go, bro. And you get a P. Pompter like this. Yeah, this is fire, bro. Next to my laptop.

[John Briseno]

I know. I seen. He was. We were just talking about it when you.

[Paul Alex]

It was fire, bro. It was expensive, but it was fire.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

And then boom. I just knocked him out right there.

[John Briseno]

Yeah. No, that thing's.

[Paul Alex]

You could do reels.

[Podcast Sponsor/Ad Host]

You.

[Paul Alex]

I mean, yeah. You could do so many things.

[John Briseno]

Yeah. No word, bro. Appreciate the game, brother.

[Paul Alex]

You got to, bro.

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

So, John, to go ahead and finish off your. Bro, your story is phenomenal. I love it. What are some words of encouragement that you would like to tell the guests to level up in 2025, whether they want to go on high ticket sales or whether they just want to be like you, bro. You know, to come from literally, you went through the money mud. You went through the trenches. You almost got deported.

[John Briseno]

Yeah, bro.

[Paul Alex]

And now multi millionaire, living life by design. Give them some words to level up, brother.

[John Briseno]

Well, the first commit. Nowadays a commitment is not as solid as what it really should be. Right. Like, once you make the decision to do something, that means no other possibility should exist. Right. If you decided you're going to get in shape. That means no other possibility exists. You're going to get in shape because that's where I lack the most, right? I would make a decision and it really just meant well. Let me try it. No, if you decide, do it. But more importantly, believe. That was what I lacked in the beginning. I just didn't believe it. You hear that? Somebody got rich. Bullshit. They must have scammed somebody. They must have done something wrong, unethical. That's. That's just your lack of belief. Believe you don't believe it's possible. You're never going to have it if you don't believe. So that's really it. Bro. I'm not going to give some big old motivational bro. Believe fire. Believe.

[Paul Alex]

That's the level. Up with John. Guys, guys, leave a five star review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and on YouTube. Guys, we are at 4.5 million downloads for last month. This month, let's get to 5 milli. We're at number one in business on Apple podcast. And guys, because of you, we are here to level you up. Bring great stories, great guests, just like John. Make sure to check out John also. John, where can they find you?

[John Briseno]

They can find me on Instagram at Real Jon Briseno. Real John Briseno.

[Paul Alex]

I love that.

[John Briseno]

B R I S E N O.

[Paul Alex]

There you go. Guys, make sure to shoot him a dm. Let him know what you think about the show. Let him know what you think about his thought process and his journey. He's not gonna blow up now with this new podcast, right?

[John Briseno]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

That'S right. That's what I'm talking about. With that being Paul, Alex, we'll catch you on the next one. Peace.