← Tom Bilyeu's Impact Theory
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- [00:01]
Tom Bilyeu
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- [00:31]
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- [01:01]
Tom Bilyeu
You're listening to the Impact Theory podcast, your source of empowering ideas and actionable techniques from the world's highest achievers. Join host Tom Bilyeu, serial entrepreneur and co founder of the billion dollar brand Quest Nutrition, on a journey to unlock your potential and realize your vision of success. Welcome to Impact Theory Foreign. What is up, everybody? How we doing? We are coming to you again and for the last time from Bora Bora, which I'm very sad to report we head back home tomorrow and but it has been an amazing trip. Thank you guys so much for joining us. And we are about to get into it with some questions. Yeah, let's dive in. Forgive me. Reaching for the tasty beverage here.
- [01:49]
Lisa Bilyeu
No, go for it. All right, so let's just dive in. First question. So Joe Cross wrote into Impact Theory League and asked them if you could ask Tom to help you with one thing, what question would you ask? So thank you, Joe, for starting that conversation.
- [02:05]
Tom Bilyeu
Yes, very cool.
- [02:06]
Lisa Bilyeu
That's awesome.
- [02:07]
Tom Bilyeu
And what's up, everybody? Joining the feed right now. We see you, Paul. Andrea. How you doing? Welcome.
- [02:13]
Lisa Bilyeu
Ah, Andrea.
- [02:14]
Tom Bilyeu
Oh, wow.
- [02:15]
Lisa Bilyeu
You're doing it in the Greek way. That's why.
- [02:17]
Tom Bilyeu
Okay, so wait, am I being punished for the Greek way?
- [02:20]
Lisa Bilyeu
Well, it's half anyway, half English.
- [02:22]
Tom Bilyeu
Does he say it?
- [02:23]
Lisa Bilyeu
Andrea?
- [02:24]
Tom Bilyeu
Really?
- [02:24]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yeah.
- [02:25]
Tom Bilyeu
Wow.
- [02:26]
Lisa Bilyeu
My cousin, by the way, in case
- [02:27]
Tom Bilyeu
people want to watch and I mispronounce.
- [02:29]
Lisa Bilyeu
Wow.
- [02:30]
Tom Bilyeu
Elias in the house.
- [02:31]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yeah. Shout out from England. What's up, Nick? Okay, so back to this Joe Cross. Thank you so much for starting that conversation. I think that's awesome.
- [02:39]
Tom Bilyeu
That is awesome.
- [02:40]
Lisa Bilyeu
And if you haven't already joined Impact Theory League, you should absolutely get up on it. And if this is bringing you value, please, please share.
- [02:49]
Tom Bilyeu
That would be amazing.
- [02:51]
Lisa Bilyeu
Is that what you think it is? In case people didn't know, he used to be my film school teacher.
- [02:56]
Tom Bilyeu
There we go. Yeah. So you know, you know all about that.
- [02:59]
Lisa Bilyeu
I talked, I was taught. Well, nice lifetime of education right here.
- [03:02]
Tom Bilyeu
Yes, very true.
- [03:03]
Lisa Bilyeu
So Andrew Kipley actually responded to Joe's question. And I really, really like this question. Thought, like, I think a lot of people struggle with this. So here we go. Something has been bothering me lately. It produces a lot of great content that inspires me, Tom, inspires me to work hard and never get. Give up, to get what I want, to achieve my dreams, to fulfill my goals and to be the person I want to be. But the obstacle I find myself constantly running into is that I don't know what I want. And regarding the whole identity thing, I don't know who I am, who I want to be and. Or who I should be. I've dealt a lot with mental health issues, as some of you know. So maybe it's just me, but then again, maybe it's not. I'm curious, does anyone else have trouble clarifying these goals and desires? I feel like if I knew exactly what I wanted, I'd work my ass off and just go get it. But I don't know if I could ask Tom anything. I think I'd ask, how does one figure out what one's life mission is? I just feel lost sometimes. Impact theory has given me the motivation and mindset to achieve my goals, but I don't know what my goals are.
- [04:09]
Tom Bilyeu
So it is not just you. This is probably a variation on the question that I get asked the most. And it all boils down to the following. You don't discover who you are. You develop who you are. You don't discover your passion. You develop your passion. Like none of that stuff is handed to you at birth. And I think that's what people are expecting. Like, they're. They think of it as like an archeological dig that they're going to go inside, they're going to like, get some, like, little brushes and stuff and like sweep away the dirt and finally see, like who they are. But at the end of the day, the way that it works and the reason that we want to create the content that we want to create is because the process is a building process. You decide who you want to become. It's literally a decision. And to make that decision, I would say it's really about consuming content. So Going out, read books. Find things that pique your interest. I won't say inspire, because it doesn't even need to be that hardcore. Find things that pique your interest. So I will just tell you that in many ways, my life is a reflection of that first book that captured my attention, which is ironically, because I'm finishing the series on this trip. The Gunslinger by Stephen King. And the ethos of the gunslinger, a guy who. Wow. I am literally realizing this in real time. So, you know, my obsession with living by a code. The whole fucking series is about this guy that has a code that he lives by, and it dictates all of his actions and he has to teach it to other people. Whoa. So finding things. That is a little freaky is a
- [05:37]
Lisa Bilyeu
book like that in the first one. Are you just realizing that now?
- [05:39]
Tom Bilyeu
I'm just realizing now, like, the depth of the similarities to the core of my existence. So be careful what you read. But I mean, so really, like, I read this, I'm like 12 or 13. That concept resonated with me so much that little did I know that that planted a seed which has continued to bloom and blossom. And that's. I mean, when I really think about why I feel like I owe Stephen King such a debt of gratitude, like, that's one of those things.
- [06:08]
Lisa Bilyeu
Gotta guess, Stephen King on the show.
- [06:10]
Tom Bilyeu
A hundred percent. So the point of that being that the reason that we want to create, the content that we want to create is that is a process by which people build this notion, David Foster Wallace's notion of this is water, right? So we all construct our water, that belief system that is so ubiquitous, we don't even realize that it was constructed. And that's the terrifying part. People think that this is just the way that life is. Like, everybody should live by a code, right? And not doing the work to realize that was actually a brick that I placed because I read this book and it resonated with me because up until that point, and sadly for a very long time after that, like, my code was so nebulous. Like, and everybody needs that thing that allows them to make a decision, do I do this? Yes or no? Right? And so we talk a lot about mission. People get that, I think, like, having your why, that big thing you're trying to do. But again, it's all going to crumble because they're going to say, but I don't know what my mission is. I don't know what my why is. So encountering a lot of content, encountering a lot of people that resonate with you, having mentors, people that you look up to. This is why it usually starts with the parents and siblings, is it's just naturally, the people that you look up to because of proximity, they're older than you. And so that's where a lot of these foundational beliefs come from. And that's why people think that it's all solidified in childhood, which it's not. But those are the times where it happens seamlessly. You're literally a vacuum that you don't have anything. Nature abhors a vacuum. So you take the belief systems that are just around you. They may not be wise, they may not be ones that help or serve you. So you encounter Nickelodeon cartoons. And I'm really becoming obsessed, by the way. Literally, on this trip, I don't know why I thought about it so much. On this trip, we're going to have a massive kids division. That's going to be like a huge thing for us. It has to be.
- [07:51]
Lisa Bilyeu
So I've gone in for that since quest.
- [07:54]
Tom Bilyeu
It's like, impacting. It's like I said to you yesterday, I can question you, but it's like the old saying, you can run, but you'll just die tired. So I'll just start. Whatever you say. I'm just going to start doing it right away so I don't have to hear, ladies and gentlemen, so you're. You need to build those bricks. So whatever those are, it's going to start with an interest, something that piques your interest. You're going to begin to build it into a code that you live by, a mission that sits at the center of your existence, the framework by which you're going to build your identity. But it is a building process. It is you looking at things very simply and saying, do I want that to be a part of me? Yes or no. And so everybody knows my obsession with identity, and it comes down to identity. So one of the pieces of my identity is everyone should live by a code. Like, you should have a code. And it should be very. At least in your own mind. Because I, oddly enough, I would have a relatively hard time, like, writing down. It's so. God, this is a weird way to explain it, but it's the image that comes to my mind. In fact, here's much better. It's like the root system of a tree. Like when you really get under a tree and look at all the roots and how they're so intertwined with the soil and that there's really almost no difference. And that's what gives it its stability? It's so like, branching and intertwined with everything that it's. It is very difficult for me anyway, to put words around all the things that I believe I could give you, like the few sort of major offshoots, like the 25 bullet points, which are essentially the core of my code. But then giving you all the tendrils, that gets a little more difficult. But that's what you have to build. You are constructing very consciously that root system. But it is a building process. And once people realize you're actively doing something, you're making choices, you're building, stacking bricks like that. That is the process. It's not uncovered.
- [09:37]
Lisa Bilyeu
So assume he's sitting here right now watching. What are the tactical steps, let's say five, in order that he would actually need to do to figure that out. Like, would you write things down? All the things I love doing. Then going through and going, does this. Like, what's my.
- [09:53]
Tom Bilyeu
Probably not. Like, there's. There's even. I am weirded out sometimes by my own mind. There's. There's a sexual excitement to this. And just like, I wouldn't approach sex with. Do you remember the friend saying, 1, 2, 3, 4. Like, that's a. It's a funny joke.
- [10:14]
Lisa Bilyeu
It's true, though. So why.
- [10:16]
Tom Bilyeu
It's. It's really not. Look, if you need that as the starting point, fine. But, like, you don't want to be in a dance competition going, 1, 2, 3.
- [10:25]
Lisa Bilyeu
But you always start there, right? Amateurs always start there.
- [10:28]
Tom Bilyeu
All right, perfect.
- [10:29]
Lisa Bilyeu
What is your starting point?
- [10:30]
Tom Bilyeu
I'll stop running so I don't have to die tired. I mean, the starting point is what I was saying. So you want to consume a bunch of content.
- [10:39]
Lisa Bilyeu
Okay.
- [10:40]
Tom Bilyeu
And that content can be an. Ideally, quite frankly, is in the form of mentors, people that you can look up to, people that are the idealized version or as close as you're going to get. Look, everybody is human, but somebody that is living some approximation of your idealized life.
- [10:58]
Lisa Bilyeu
So he seems to be doing that with impact there in regards to consuming all our content. And it. He's really open to.
- [11:03]
Tom Bilyeu
But we're failing him massively.
- [11:05]
Lisa Bilyeu
Why are we failing him?
- [11:07]
Tom Bilyeu
Because we don't put out any traditional narrative content. And when you want to start talking about getting to the sex appeal of the thing like that, this is. And thank you for the metaphor. This is the 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. Right. All this talking, it's very immediate, which is wonderful, and it's so awesome for a Beginner. But it. We are not tapping into emotion and that you can sort of feel us groping for that. By the way, if you're watching the impact quotes, that's me trying to go, I need there to be emotion in some of this. I need it to, like, catch you. I need it to give you the chills in a way that the more manually stuff, and I mean, like, instruction manual stuff that we do when it's all verbal. But I don't think this gets into people's subconscious until we give them characters that they can admire and really internalize.
- [11:55]
Lisa Bilyeu
Okay, so we're failing him. So once we do more content or go out.
- [11:58]
Tom Bilyeu
And so now here's the scary part. The reason that our studio needs to exist is there's nobody that has. They only make empowering content, but they do it in the traditional narrative format, which to me is shorthand for emotionally impactful, memorable. It, like, gets into the culture and carries on. So there's no one that's doing that where I could say, go watch their stuff. It's always on the money. So, like, I could never tell you, oh, go read Stephen King. It's not always on the money. Right. There's nobody that I can pull, point you to and say. And that's why identify the hole in the market. Fill it. Right. I mean, that's like, yeah, exactly what we're doing. So we are failing him. But anyway, you want to consume content, you want to start figuring out what your code is. You want mentors, digital, or in reality,
- [12:49]
Lisa Bilyeu
just who draws who you're drawn to. Yeah, okay.
- [12:52]
Tom Bilyeu
Yeah. And I would say that the ultimate. And this is like my answer to, what would you do if a magic genie showed up and gave you one wish? Like, to me, there's one sort of core principle that you should look to in anybody that you decide that you're going to follow, look up to whatever. And that is, do they empower you?
- [13:10]
Lisa Bilyeu
Okay.
- [13:10]
Tom Bilyeu
And if they do, awesome. And if they don't, absolutely 100% go in the opposite direction. And that unfortunately captures a lot of people's parents, because most people, their parents will take them to a certain point if they're really good, and then not be able to take them any farther. And that's like, the really good ones.
- [13:27]
Lisa Bilyeu
And.
- [13:27]
Tom Bilyeu
And then most people sort of fall shy of that. And then you've got people in damaging relationships with their families. And so it's just, you have to find somebody beyond that sort of immediate circle that you were handed and really find something great. Building all that this is so, like, I'm. I don't know if this is freaking me out so much because I happen to be reading the book right now, but all these concepts that Stephen King talks about in his book, this whole notion of katat, which is like, the group of people that you put together that are like, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. But he's got a much cooler way of talking about it, which is Kate.
- [14:00]
Lisa Bilyeu
Anyway, so look around you, who you're with, who you're spending your time with. Okay, then how do you then get, like, even deeper with that? Like, with the little things of, like, what you enjoy versus, like, what's a hobby versus what you're truly passionate about to give, dedicate your life to?
- [14:20]
Tom Bilyeu
Well, again, that's. It's something that you're going to build, but it's a question of do you want to build it? So going back now to more manually stuff, you want to go read instruction manually stuff. I should say that read the 25 books in order that I've put. They are to me, what you have to do to your mindset to understand, like, what bricks make sense. Also, those books contain a ton of the bricks that you're going to need to really build a strong foundation. On. Angela Duckworth's book Grit talks a lot about. Because it's the process of gaining mastery in an area that you're interested in that will reveal to you whether it's something that you want to do or not. But here's. That's all Angela Duckworth. Now here's the. Actually, that's a mashup of Angela Duckworth and Cal Newport. In fairness, the real trick in there is you have to figure out, am I lazy or do I really not care about this? And that's why, like, one of the things that I think I want to be a gift that I give to people. Cause I have never heard anybody talk about this. And I will tell you right now that the hardest thing to overcome as an entrepreneur is boredom. That's it. Like, it actually isn't fear and people. That's why people don't start. But starting, like, starting isn't the thing that scares me. That's sort of the initial filter that, like, weeds a lot of people out. No question. But then why do whatever the just absurd amount of businesses fail? They don't have the skills. Okay, but why don't they have the skills? Right. Get to the root of the problem. They don't have the skills because they they couldn't fucking push through all the boring shit. Like, they couldn't when it just sucked and it was lame and it was boring and they wanted to go party with their friends, right? Like, when I. The number of people that I hear that say, I sold my 20s to be successful, I'll just tell you right now, 100%. I sold my 20s and most of my 30s to be successful. Somebody wrote to me in DM and was like, I've been doing this for almost a year. My friends are having fun and they've got better jobs. And, like, my life sucks. Like, what do I do? And I was like, quit. And I didn't say that, but basically quit. Because, dude, I did this for, like, 16 years before I had any sort of success. So if you're not, like, push beyond what anybody thinks is reasonable. Like, until people are like, you're out of your fucking mind. Like, you're selling your entire. What are you doing? Like, you just haven't even begun.
- [16:39]
Lisa Bilyeu
And don't you think trial and error? Like, but that.
- [16:44]
Tom Bilyeu
So that's exactly what I'm talking about. So is it that I'm lazy? Because the trial and error is. I think I like it. No, I don't. I think I like it. No, I don't. But here's the problem. The no, I don't is almost certainly boredom. It's hard. It doesn't make you feel good about yourself. It's boring. Like, all of those things. Because here, and this is another one which may actually be worse than boredom because you suck at it, because you're awkward. It makes you feel bad about yourself. And now you really stop because you want to do something that makes you feel good. The only things that make you feel good are the things you're already good at. Your skill set's already taking you as far as it's going to take you. So if you, like, go back to the things you're already good at, then. And that's why, like, I hackle. Like, I get what people are saying, play to your strengths. It's a very powerful technique. But don't state, like, here's what I'm already good at. You've got to go. I get, like, magnified wins. There's a force multiplier for me from my natural wiring here. But you still, like the. The amount of energy and time to get better that you still have to put in that is in the extreme. Like, you've got to go so hard. It's still going to be all the same things you've got to push to where, yes, you may have a force multiplier in this area. You've got to get to the part where you're stumbling, awkward buffoon and then get good at that and then push yourself to again where you're a stumbling, awkward buffoon and push yourself again. Like, that's that process. And I'm so terrified that in the trial and error process that you're talking about, people give up because it's not fun anymore. But the vast majority of the stuff isn't going to be fun, like, by its nature. Like, that's what you have to be willing to fight through. And here's here. Ready? There's no magic answer. There's nothing that you love so much that you're going to think, oh, my God, like this. There. There are people who are like that, but I actually think that they have, like, deficiencies that will manifest in other ways. So let's talk about Kim Peek, the guy that they base rain men on. He did not have a corpus callosum. So the two halves of his brain couldn't communicate. He. He could not function as an adult by himself, but he was somebody that could just laser focus, like, this is what I meant to do. Like, he could memorize two different books at the same time. At the same time.
- [18:50]
Lisa Bilyeu
Can you read, like, two different pages?
- [18:51]
Tom Bilyeu
Yes, at the same time. Because, I mean, this whole thing, we could really spiral off into the corpus callosum and like, how fascinating it is that what your brain is actually doing, shutting off regions, not lighting them up. But anyway, I just don't think most people are like that. I think you pick something and run with it. And I think that there are definitely things that, like, call to you more than others, like filmmaking. But I've spent the last, I mean, however many years not doing film and have at times hated my life and at times loved it. And neither the love nor the hate had anything to do with film. It had way more to do with, did I control my life? Was I pursuing something that made me feel like I was coming alive? But it, like, I loved what I was doing at Quest. Loved. And it had nothing, for the vast majority of the time, had nothing to do with filmmaking. So I think that people, again, they're expecting, like, this love, our love is not something that just feels good always and forever. It's something that we work at. And when it sucks like you, you do the work to go, okay, what's happening to me emotionally that makes this up? I can feel myself. I'll Just keep going on this. We should probably.
- [19:58]
Lisa Bilyeu
I know we've got so many questions, but I really love this topic. We can keep going down it.
- [20:03]
Tom Bilyeu
I mean, it's. It's literally a book. It's sort of the book.
- [20:10]
Lisa Bilyeu
Okay. So lots of questions. Don't know which one picks. I'm just gonna go down the list.
- [20:15]
Tom Bilyeu
Yep.
- [20:16]
Lisa Bilyeu
Thanks for doing this. Is from Chris Welch. Thanks for doing this. What brick do you think people in the IT community will need most that you haven't mentioned yet?
- [20:27]
Tom Bilyeu
So that style of question is. So my wife and I keep lists of questions to ask when we're hanging out together. It's actually really fun. I highly encourage it.
- [20:35]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yeah.
- [20:38]
Tom Bilyeu
When you ask a question like that, I've. There's not like some. I'm holding on to that one thing. You're trying everything that, like, I get, like, I'm trying to put out there. So there isn't anything that I'm holding on to. Um. So, yeah, it. And I will inevitably give the. The. The main brick is really what you're going to gravitate back to. What is the main brick? I'll tell you what my gut is telling me right now, and it's self esteem. And that's the thing that I think a lot of people overlook. You have to make yourself antifragile. Like, you have to build your self esteem around something that empowers. And in our culture, we've all said that, like, pride is bad. No, it's not like you need to be of yourself. You need to feel good about who you are. You need to understand. It's a game of brain chemistry. You need to build it around something. Antifragile. Something that's. Antifragile is not something that's strong or tough because those things are still defined by their breaking point. It's something that truly, the more you attack it, the stronger it gets. So the easiest way to explain that is don't pride yourself on being smart or being right. Pride yourself on identifying the right answer. Always being willing to admit that you're wrong. Okay. Being the learner, that's. That's probably like the universal identity everyone should have. And yet it's one of the most difficult identities to adopt.
- [21:56]
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- [22:26]
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- [22:57]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yeah, it's true. This question is from Peter Staples. Thanks, Tom and Lisa, carrying on from your talk, from you talking about about now regarding finding your why and trying new things.
- [23:08]
Tom Bilyeu
You don't find it. You don't find it this. And this is like you don't find it discovering you develop. You don't discover your why, you develop it. You pull that shit out of thin air. Now, here's where it gets ever so slightly confusing, is that it does start with something that you find interesting and that you didn't create. Like, you don't decide to find something interesting, something out of piques or curiosity, or it doesn't.
- [23:34]
Lisa Bilyeu
You have to be open to letting things pique your curiosity for sure.
- [23:38]
Tom Bilyeu
Like, I'll give you an example. In the book the Gunslinger, in the series the Dark Tower, of which the Gunslinger is the first, they talk about this whole thing called a beam quake. If you haven't read it, it's not going to make sense. I'm not even trying to explain it. But that's. You're not going to have a beamquake moment where it's like, like, I didn't read the Gunslinger and it was a beamquake. I read and thought, that's fun. Like, I want to read the next page. That's all I'll give it. Like, through the whole book, I kept saying, I want to read the next page. That was it. I wasn't like, oh my God, this is changing my life. It was just like, whoa. That was actually fun. I liked having the book next to my bed. I would read for a few minutes before I went to sleep. I didn't think, oh, this is planting a seed that like 30 years later, I'm going to have this weird realization live on camera just how deeply it planted something in me. But I wanted to read the next page. And intuition whispers. It doesn't shout out, okay, so, like, you just get these little, like, I like that.
- [24:33]
Lisa Bilyeu
That's a good quote quote card.
- [24:36]
Tom Bilyeu
So people are looking for like some beamquake moment. It doesn't happen like that. Follow interests. That's it.
- [24:43]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yeah.
- [24:43]
Tom Bilyeu
And have the, have the discipline to like. Well, to actively follow your interests. For instance, be honest. When was the last time that you were like sitting there and you had a minute, two minutes to kill? What did you do? You grabbed your phone.
- [25:01]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yeah.
- [25:02]
Tom Bilyeu
And you went to something like Reddit. Now I use Reddit the way that I eat candy. It's total fluff. It's fun. It's because I haven't curated it in fairness. And I know there's some people out there right now having a seizure. If you highly curate your Reddit, it could be amazing. But that's what I do with Flipboard. So I curate my flipboard. So Flipboard's where I go if I want to educate myself. Reddit's where I go if I just want a little mental candy. So most people just go, candy, candy, candy, all day, all day, all day, all day. They're not thinking, like, force yourself to curate your thing around interests that could ultimately empower you or become a mission or whatever. They don't do that. And so taking this is one of the reasons that I think meditation, and by the way, I think thinkitation is way more important than meditation. But meditation has to come first. That's the only catch. Because if you can't get out of fight or flight, like, it will have knock on damaging effects. But like, to me, that layer of meditation is like Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It's like eating right. You have to or you die. So you have to do the baseline meditation to really be in a good space mentally. But the power of meditation to me is getting in an alpha wave state that you can then turn into thinkitation because that's what people need to do. They need to take those little moments and carve out big moments to really silence. Nothing going on forces them to look inward and they start to tease out those little answers. And here's where, here's where I think people really get up with finding something that they could turn into a passion, a mission, whatever. They judge themselves. And one of the things love or hate. Gary Vee. One of the things you can watch that episode with me and Gary Vee because I realize in real time his superpower is not what anybody's talking about. His superpower is he doesn't judge himself. And I was like, God is that. And I remember having that thought and I was like, God, like, even. Even more like. And I think I'm pretty good at not judging myself even more than me. Like, when he was talking about just demolishing his kids at, like, living room basketball and they were like weeping and crying, and he was like, I'm so not proud of this. But you could tell, like, he didn't pass judgment on himself. He was willing to talk about it.
- [27:13]
Lisa Bilyeu
Like, if you're. You find yourself judging yourself, there's certain things you tell yourself.
- [27:18]
Tom Bilyeu
I have one strategy when it comes to stuff like that. Does it move me towards my goals or not? Do and believe that which moves you towards your goals. That is like the epicenter around which everything in my belief system revolves.
- [27:30]
Lisa Bilyeu
So would you say that could also be your main brick?
- [27:32]
Tom Bilyeu
Yeah, 100%. Well said. That is the main brick. Do and believe that which moves you towards your goals. Period. Now, you have to be very careful what your goals are. But yes, that is the, the ultimate filtration for me.
- [27:45]
Lisa Bilyeu
I really found just keeping yourself open to things. And one thing I've told myself recently is to always reply when someone says, oh, let's do this, or what do you think about this? I'll be like, let's give it a shot. Like with snorkeling. So for whatever reason we've. We've been snorkeling and it's hit me so hard. Like, I've tried meditating, I've tried your techniques and just doesn't work. Like, I can't get out of my own head. But when we went snorkeling, like, it's the way that all I can hear is my breathing and that everything else is shut off. And so. So yesterday we went snorkeling and we were like, around all these incredible fish, and I just thought, like, if I had said no out of, you know, fear of sharks, which we saw two sharks the other day. But like, all these things, like, if I just shut myself off, I wouldn't have experienced that one thing that then allowed me to go, wow, there's a whole world out there that I just haven't experienced yet. Kind of leaving yourself open to just always trying.
- [28:36]
Tom Bilyeu
Super critical. Super.
- [28:38]
Lisa Bilyeu
But this poor guy didn't actually get to read his question because we got hung up on finding your why.
- [28:43]
Tom Bilyeu
Oh, yeah.
- [28:43]
Lisa Bilyeu
So let's say discovering your why Important.
- [28:47]
Tom Bilyeu
Yeah.
- [28:48]
Lisa Bilyeu
Carrying on from that. Yeah. Trying new things to discover your passion. When trying to acquire skills, what's your view on going into employment to attain those skills? As often I've as Often I feel selfish as all I want to do is learn what I need and then more on, move on. Thanks.
- [29:05]
Tom Bilyeu
Oh, that's super powerful. I, I would Jesus to have an army of people that fell into that category. And for me, and I know this is not universal, but as an employer, I'm begging you, if you want to come in, there's something specific that you want to learn and you're like, hey, I'm going to give you two years or whatever. Fantastic. Now we can have an amazingly powerful relationship because I know what you want and I can help you get that. Like, I would rather have somebody for two years insanely engaged in what we're doing because I know what they want, it's something I can offer them. And now it's like we, everybody knows what's up. And also I think it's a fun game. I now have two years to be so empowering in that person's life that they don't want to leave. Right. And that was always what I told people at Quest. Like, this isn't where you come to hide what your grand ambition is, right? This. Hey, talk about it openly. Maybe people can help you. But make no fucking mistake, you have to pay your tuition first. And your tuition is to be really fucking good at your job. So you've got a job, get it done, crush it. But like, if there are other things you want to learn, you want to get involved with and they actually help the business, that's amazing. So, yeah, align your selfish desires with your employer. I think your employer is a dumb ass. If they don't get that, if they don't understand how powerful that is, that's really fucking stupid. Now that doesn't mean that there isn't a universe of really stupid people out there running businesses in really stupid ways. Like, hey, but I think that that makes a ton of sense and would I do it if I couldn't be honest with them? And I was only going in for two years, but I knew they didn't want to hear that. A hundred percent, 100.
- [30:39]
Lisa Bilyeu
You would do it.
- [30:40]
Tom Bilyeu
Absolutely. So do and believe that which moves you towards your goals. If I need to go there and learn something. And I know, first of all, I know in any organization you put me in, I'll be linchpin and I will take that company over. By the time I leave, like, I will have been moving up, up, up, up. Just simple as. So, yeah, that, that to me is, is super smart. I think, in fact Will said it. Didn't you say it? Live on Camera. Will Vu, our intern. He said, I thought it was smarter to spend Tom. He said, tom's money, but yours as well. I thought it was better to spend Tom's money than to spend my own trying to learn this. And I thought, will, that's incredibly smart. He certainly said it to my face if it wasn't on camera.
- [31:26]
Lisa Bilyeu
And I think that's almost like with interns. There's a clear line in my head. It's like they want to learn. You want someone that's super passionate so your selfish desires really align. It's like once you put money in it, it's like, are they just doing it because, I mean, for the paycheck, which, yes, I get that if we, you know, money is very powerful and you've spoken very eloquently about that, but it kind of messes things up sometimes because people are there for the paycheck, not because they actually want to learn or be there or passionate for the company.
- [31:56]
Tom Bilyeu
Yeah. So, I mean, that's to like that quote that you threw out that I actually disagree with, but we should talk about it. What was your quote?
- [32:03]
Lisa Bilyeu
So Cassie Ho is my co host on the Chirok podcast, the Amazing. Yeah. If you haven't subscribed, please subscribe on itunes. And she review.
- [32:15]
Tom Bilyeu
It's good.
- [32:15]
Lisa Bilyeu
Oh, yeah, Please review, guys. That would be awesome. That would be very meaningful. Thank you.
- [32:20]
Tom Bilyeu
Cheroic podcast.
- [32:21]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yeah, she posted about, basically something about a paycheck and not to follow the paycheck. And so I responded, a paycheck is like handcuffs to your soul. You actually disagreed a little. So that's actually really interesting, which we can talk about, but I just think it traps people. And so when we started to go into quest, like, we literally cut your paycheck in a third. We were like, we're not going to be beholden to your paycheck. So what does this mean? Does this mean we have to sell the house? Does it mean we have to cut back on our expenses? We gave up our. We had two cars. One was really nice. One was kind of a falling apart car. We gave away the nice car, kept the falling apart car. We never ate out. We collected coupons. I mean, like, we just adjusted to our lifestyle because we didn't want to be beholden to a paycheck. And everyone thought we were crazy. You had a really good job, really well paid. You'd worked your way up in the company. You'd, you know, all these things that people, other people thought we were nuts. But it's like we just said we're not going to be beholden to a paycheck. And I feel like so many people, when you see they're unhappy in their job, it's like, why are you there? Well, I've got to pay my bills. Then change how your bills are. You know, like, then stop with your phone. Like, change your plan change, you know, your cell phone. Cell phone plan change. Like, who needs cable? Forget it. Use your Wi Fi and watch YouTube. I mean, there's so many different things that you can do. But people hold so, like, strong to the paycheck thing that I think that it's difficult for them to let go and then just really embrace their passion.
- [33:52]
Tom Bilyeu
That was very crafty of you, by the way. Well, it was to go from paychecks are handcuffs on your soul to don't be beholden to a paycheck, which I agree with vehemently. Don't be beholden to a paycheck. What I'm saying, I see those as
- [34:05]
Lisa Bilyeu
to one in the same.
- [34:06]
Tom Bilyeu
And I get it. And look, it's. And that's why. So in fairness, the way the discussion went, you threw that out and I didn't say anything. And you were like, well, I can tell you agree. And so then I was like, look, my beef with that is I can feel society going in this direction of like, I shouldn't have to fucking have a job. Like, I shouldn't have to work for a paycheck.
- [34:26]
Lisa Bilyeu
Very different.
- [34:27]
Tom Bilyeu
And that, that to me is like a fundamental misunderstanding of the human condition and economics. So it's like, that just freaks me out because I know that it will move people away from their goals. So, yes, I hackle aggressively at notions like that. A paycheck is not handcuffs on your soul. Let me tell you what a paycheck is a paycheck. If you make the demand that you make a living doing something that you enjoy that makes you feel like you're coming alive, it's amazing you can get paid to do that. Getting paid is the way the world works. So you're not going to escape that. You like. Impact theory has to become a profitable endeavor, otherwise it will cease to exist. Okay, let's all be real fucking clear about that.
- [35:08]
Lisa Bilyeu
We've given ourselves a timeline 100%.
- [35:10]
Tom Bilyeu
So you, you have to be earning a living somehow, some way. Everything ultimately translates into a currency that you can exchange. Now, if you're exchanging chickens and goats, great. But at the end of the day, it turns into something that you can exchange for other things. Unless you're going to Be totally self sufficient, which is the least efficient strategy ever. It's just absurd. So I cannot get behind that. And I think that if we were in a post apocalyptic world, I think the thing you would see. In fact, read the stand while we're talking about Stephen King. Like the world just re coalesces around society as we know it because it's people trying to be more efficient with their time.
- [35:47]
Lisa Bilyeu
So, so what if I put your current paycheck? Because I agree you do need.
- [35:51]
Tom Bilyeu
I love your statement, don't be beholden to your paycheck. But it's not as sexy as.
- [35:55]
Lisa Bilyeu
But that's the thing, right? Is that if we were like, well, we have to keep this money coming in because now we've adjusted our lifestyle to this figure so we can't change like we need the paycheck, but really it's like we'll just change our lifestyle. You're still getting a paycheck.
- [36:09]
Tom Bilyeu
You're making really, really important points. And so I don't want to get hung up on that. I didn't like that verbiage because your point is so critical. Change your lifestyle, which I, I don't think people go to, which is really crazy to me. Like scaling back. Your lifestyle embarrasses people. And I am so proud that it didn't embarrass us. It did a little bit, but I actually liked it. So I remember my.
- [36:36]
Lisa Bilyeu
You find empowering?
- [36:38]
Tom Bilyeu
Yes.
- [36:38]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yeah, I'm driving a crappy car because we're gonna kill it and we're gonna do this and we're gonna.
- [36:43]
Tom Bilyeu
Yes. I would be lying if I didn't say that what really was empowering was I was embarrassed and willing to do it anyway. That's what empowered me. It's like people when they say, oh, you should fall in love with the gym. Well, what I find empowering is that I hate it and I still do it. It would actually be less empowering if I just loved it and did it anyway. So I remember my partners and I had won an award. This is back at Awareness Technologies. We'd won an award. We were the 42nd fastest growing technology company in North America and we went to collect, but we had already started Quest, so I'd already gotten rid of the nice car and so we only had the beater piece of shit. And I don't remember why we were in my car. I think, I think my partner had gotten in an accident or something and so he didn't have his car. That's exactly what it was. It was when he'd gotten in the accident, so he didn't have his car. I only had the bad car. And so we went to this award ceremony to collect the award and there's
- [37:42]
Lisa Bilyeu
a hole in the exhaust and we couldn't afford to fix it.
- [37:44]
Tom Bilyeu
So it's like everybody's leaving. We're holding. I can't remember if we had an award, but let's pretend that it was physical. I can't remember if it actually was, but. So there we are like holding our award. We've, we have gone up to like be acknowledged and it's like Maserati, Porsche, Mercedes, this like beat up Ford Focus. It was amazing.
- [38:08]
Lisa Bilyeu
Really dirty.
- [38:08]
Tom Bilyeu
Oh, it was filthy. Yeah, yeah. Didn't wash it.
- [38:11]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yeah, it was cleaning it.
- [38:14]
Tom Bilyeu
Amazing, amazing. And it was super embarrassing. But I remember thinking like, this is, I didn't have these words obviously, but this is a cookie in the cookie jar. Yeah, right. So this will be one of those.
- [38:24]
Lisa Bilyeu
Explain what that means.
- [38:26]
Tom Bilyeu
So David Goggins, if you haven't already seen his episode, Jesus, check it out. But David Goggins talks about all those things that you do in life that are really hard. And when you make it through those, those are things you get to put in the cookie jar. And when you hit a tough time, you can pull them back out. And it's something to remind you of who you are and what you've already accomplished.
- [38:45]
Lisa Bilyeu
So for you it was that.
- [38:46]
Tom Bilyeu
Yeah, yeah, exactly, Linda.
- [38:49]
Lisa Bilyeu
All right, next question. This is from Susie doll. Thanks, Susie, for the question. Hey, Tom, if you have multiple things that pique your curiosity, how do you focus on one?
- [39:01]
Tom Bilyeu
So that all comes down to what are your goals? What are you trying to accomplish? What's the grand mission of your life that you have built, not discovered, you've turned it into something. And that's really why it's important to say, to say like, this is my mission. Right? So at Quest it was, we're going to end metabolic disease with Impact Theory. We're going to pull people out of the Matrix. So it's like, is this actually going to help pull people out of the Matrix or not? Like, there are so many stories that I find fascinating. I want to tell them, I'm so excited. But they don't help pull people out of the Matrix and therefore they will never be told by me. Not under the Impact Theory brand for sure. So that is ultimately that you have to like say, state it, write it down. Like, this is what I'm going to do. This is my filter. And so that becomes your yes, and no mechanism. And I'll even give you a harder example. I love reading fiction. I love reading fiction.
- [39:54]
Lisa Bilyeu
Can I say, it's so cute when you like, put your bookmark in and you close the book and you see how much you've read.
- [39:58]
Tom Bilyeu
Progress. Yeah. And that's the other thing. I'd like the physical books. And it's the only time that I read a physical book is when I'm reading fiction because I'm not necessarily, necessarily trying to blaze through the story. I'm trying to really enjoy it. But I do like that sense of progress anyway, so that I only allow myself to read fiction on vacation because the rest of the time I feel like I could be learning a very tactical, useful skill. And so I just don't let myself. Now that may change as we become like a full fledged studio off the think, but that'll come down to what's moving me towards my goals. So at the end of the day, knowing what your mission is, knowing what's moving you towards your goals and doing the things based on that. So it isn't that I don't have interests. I have a lot of interest. I have a lot of passions, let alone things that I'm just interested in. So that in fact, we had that
- [40:49]
Lisa Bilyeu
discussion yesterday about movies. Remind me that basically it's like I don't get enough time to watch movies because it's not pushing the company forward. And then we're like, well, if to be a studio we actually need, you know, because that's part of. You enjoy it so much, you almost feel a little crazy. You distrust it. Yeah. So just having that, like, is it moving me towards my goals you think would allows people to go. Even though I distrust it, it's actually the right move.
- [41:13]
Tom Bilyeu
Yeah. And that gets hard. Like the more that you have a code that you're living by that demands things of you. It does get to a slightly messy point. When you're super goal oriented, when you're really ambitious, when you're really something. Like if you're trying to play in a world stage. Because I'll just. I'm trying to play in a world stage.
- [41:32]
Lisa Bilyeu
It.
- [41:32]
Tom Bilyeu
It does get hard sometimes to know like what emotion, what instinct you can trust. But I mean, that's like super advanced class stuff. Don't worry about that right now, today.
- [41:44]
Lisa Bilyeu
All right, next question. This is from Adrian Jamay. Hi. From France. I know that was respect. Oh, no, that's my friend. That's Tahitian. We've been learning a lot of like Tahitian like the hellos and would we
- [42:03]
Tom Bilyeu
say a lot or would we say two phrases? Like precisely two phrases. Right. Yeah.
- [42:09]
Lisa Bilyeu
All right. So, hi from France. Fiction and story are great powers that you are intending to harness. You read a lot. Since you want to build and shape stories. Why do you prefer reading non fiction versus fiction?
- [42:20]
Tom Bilyeu
I just answer that. Yeah, it's a great question, but it's just choking and dying. It's, it's, it really comes down to what do I think is more important, even for the studio. And right now for the studio there are other things that are more important, especially because it's so usable in this content, which is how we're going to build the community. So yeah, that's why more useful.
- [42:45]
Lisa Bilyeu
Tom, you recently. So this next question from Brian Rotkamp. Tom, you recently posted that happiness should, should not be left to chance and as a result of intention. Can you elaborate?
- [42:56]
Tom Bilyeu
Yeah. So happiness is brain chemistry. And that's true whether you're talking about like fundamental fulfillment or what I call framework happiness or momentary happiness. Both of them are brain chemistry states. And so understanding that, understanding that these are things that are within your control don't literally, don't leave them to chance, which is what most people do. They're living their life sort of by the rule of accident and it's like they wake up and let's see what happens today. And they go to work and if something good happens and they feel good, if something bad happens and they feel bad. But understanding that you can overcome that even with really simple stuff like the whole pencil in the mouth trick, forcing yourself to laugh out loud. And the pencil in the mouth thing was a study they did where they had people hold a pencil in their mouth which forced them into a rough smile and then rate their levels of happiness which they rated higher than they would do than the control group who didn't do it, who just rated it without a pencil in their mouth. So I mean, it's like little things like that show just how malleable your chemistry states are. And that to me is just also like transcending the, the much more ephemeral, accidental things of momentary happiness and getting into framework happiness, understanding like, okay, here's a human animal. What are the things that are going to give them a deep sense of fulfillment? It's, well, not universal. Wow, it's really close. So techni is a huge part of universal like sense of progress and feeling better and real deep lasting fulfillment. So making sure that you are doing the things that you need to do to get that, like, that doesn't happen by accident. So gaining a skill, serving other people like those are two having meaning in what you do. Those are things that really build towards fulfillment. But they are all things that you have control over. They're all things you have to take actions towards every day. They're all things that are actually pretty difficult and force you to create momentum in your own life. So, yeah, don't just show up and hope that you feel a deep and lasting sense of fulfillment. It's never going to happen. Cool.
- [45:04]
Lisa Bilyeu
All right, we're going to take a hard. Right. Some people have been asking some fitness questions.
- [45:07]
Tom Bilyeu
All right, let's do it. Love me a hard.
- [45:09]
Lisa Bilyeu
You love yourself. All right. So in fact, let's do some shout outs first from Rain Plasna in Germany. What's up?
- [45:17]
Tom Bilyeu
Germany, Germany.
- [45:18]
Lisa Bilyeu
Ada Lipski in Wisconsin. Charlie Briley in Louisiana.
- [45:23]
Tom Bilyeu
Charlie Briley.
- [45:25]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yes. Charlie Priley, L.A. andre Fioren in Brazil.
- [45:34]
Tom Bilyeu
Brazil.
- [45:35]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yeah, that's cool.
- [45:35]
Tom Bilyeu
What is up, everybody? Welcome to the feed. And by the way, if you're just joining us, we are live from Bora Bora right now, hence the slightly unexpected background. So thank you for joining us and we will be back soon.
- [45:51]
Lisa Bilyeu
All right, so this comment is from Andrew Aguilar. Tom, that diet is working. I can see it in your face, man.
- [45:59]
Tom Bilyeu
Well, I think that might be more of a lighting thing.
- [46:02]
Lisa Bilyeu
And the tan.
- [46:03]
Tom Bilyeu
And the tan, maybe.
- [46:04]
Lisa Bilyeu
No, you've actually said the carbs have been reacting well to your body.
- [46:08]
Tom Bilyeu
Yeah. I mean, let's be very careful throwing a statement like that around. What I said was, so there is calculus to physique and there is a, what I call blunt force trauma. So just like really simple. So if you said, hey, I really want to lose weight and I don't want to deal with the calculus, what should I do? The answer is very simple. Cut out sugar, cut out carbohydrates. If you want to get a little more complicated for brief periods, I wouldn't stay in it forever. But you can punctuate with ketogenics, which is certainly what I use when I really want to lose fat rapidly and painlessly. That's probably the most important part. Ketogenics makes it very easy to lose fat without pain. But on vacation, I've taken a very different strategy this time than I've ever done in the past where normally I come and I don't work out. And if I work out, it's like once or twice. And this time, for whatever reason, it actually sounded interesting to me to Work out more so that I could do what Yemeni refers to as earning my food. You can follow him on Instagram. I don't know if he's active anywhere else but Keto head. So keto head underscore in the middle. He talks about earning your food, and I love that notion. So I thought, you know what? I'm going to earn my food this vacation because I thought I would enjoy it more. And so the first day I was about to, I was walking to the gym, and I thought, you know what? I'm walking to the gym. Let me just walk fast, fast. And then I was walking fast, and I thought, like, I actually had an impulse inside me to run. Like, it sounded nice. Now I haven't run in a very long time. I started running, and it was actually really fun. And at first it was just physically fun. Like, my body was like, whoa, this is like, you're using it in a way that you don't normally use it. So I actually really enjoyed it in and of itself. Then now that rapidly wore off. I don't want to lie. And then it started to hurt. But it was fun in the sense of, I haven't pushed myself like this in a while, and I actually really want to push myself. So I kept running, running, running, running, running. And I ran quite far, much farther than I expected, expected to. And I felt really good about myself. I was like, wow, that was awesome. And then I felt good about the food, and I noticed I'm actually holding my leanness. And so normally on vacation, literally after the first day, like, any sense of, like, wanting to take my shirt off is at a zero. And this. I was like, hey, like, I. I'm actually holding my leanness. This is fun. And I'm still eating. I don't know that I was eating more than I would normally eat, but I was eating, like, big meals at the end of the day, which then I was super satiated. It was wonderful. And then I don't remember if it was day two or day three, but we went out, we had sushi, and I woke up the next day. My muscles, because I was going to the gym every day in addition to running, and I was like, whoa, my muscles feel really hard. I look much more pumped. And it's like, this is not a mystery. So anybody that works out a lot, they will know that there is a time to do carbs. But because I normally am just all blunt force trauma, I don't do the calculus of lifting. I just. It had been a long time since my Muscles had felt like really hard and full. And that was fun. And so it made me want to do a little bit more of the calculus, I think is the honest truth. So when I go back, I'll probably start reintroducing once or twice a week, a little post workout carb or maybe even because this goes into what I'm learning about the microbiome and just wanting a much more diverse diet. But admittedly I'm trying to check myself. Is this just me wanting to eat more sushi or is this actually something that's going to be useful? But I could see doing like a Saturday sushi run or something and totally actually wanting the carbs and knowing that it would make me feel more full. But maybe that comes with like either working out on a Saturday or working out on a Sunday. Anyway, just sort of jigging that around with that notion of really earning my food, but also seeing like I was able to intake a lot more carbs than I would have thought before I started putting on fat. Now I've started putting on fat or certainly water weight over the last couple days because it was like I. I put it off for a while. A while, A while. But I was sort of outpacing a little bit what I was doing from a workout perspective. So now I'm sort of where I would normally be on a vacation sort of day two or three, but we're almost at the tail end, so it's really been sort of eye opening and fascinating. I haven't put my final verdict on whether working out as much as I've worked out on vacation is something I would repeat or if it just like happened to catch me in the mood
- [50:27]
Lisa Bilyeu
or do you find those that like just having kind of mental challenges even on vacation has like, you enjoy that?
- [50:33]
Tom Bilyeu
I did, surprisingly, because normally I don't. Normally that holds no fascination, no interest for me whatsoever. And when I'm on vacation, like I want to be on vacation, I don't want to work out. But that comes from a place of resentment, which is weird because it's all decisions I'm making. But one of the things that I use is self guilt and self shame. I just, hey, keep it real with you. That's. I use that. So. And I think it's very powerful and my whole 80, 20 rule, so. And I haven't felt that this time it actually came from a place of wanting to do something. But when I catch myself here in this little screen and I look super gaunt. It's the lighting, I think you look gaunt. It's very kind.
- [51:14]
Lisa Bilyeu
All right, so next question. This is from Abud Achji. I'm sorry, I'm sure butchered that name. And what's your take on that one's
- [51:24]
Tom Bilyeu
not easy though, in fairness.
- [51:25]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yeah. What's your take on the Goals have to be personal traits.
- [51:29]
Tom Bilyeu
Goals have to be personal traits.
- [51:31]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yeah.
- [51:32]
Tom Bilyeu
I don't understand that. I will say that goals don't need to be. Goals aren't traits. Start with that. So the only thing I could think is that they're talking about goals being tied to things you're already good at, which is something that you hear a lot. And my thought is definitely not your goal should be the thing that makes you feel alive so that you're going to have the energy to push and pursue and all that.
- [52:00]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yeah. All right, so more questions. This is from David Hutchinson. Tom was at meltdown. Would love to talk about the issue of fixing health care. My question is how can we all band together to bring nutrition and health back into fixing health care? Go.
- [52:21]
Tom Bilyeu
Yes. So here it is. It we right now have a healthcare system that is designed around acute illness, which really is still a thing, there's no question. But the bigger problem that we're living through and that the healthcare system is not designed at all to handle is chronic illness. And the chronic illness almost certainly coming from diet and lifestyle. And it's creating these, a confluence of symptoms that we still try to treat as if each one were independent of everything else and they're actually all linked and they're all, oh, God, I'm not qualified to talk about this, so let me just preface that. But I nonetheless feel strongly, which is always dangerous when somebody is wholly unqualified to be making statements and they feel really passionate. But I think that what we're going to find is diet is our biggest problem, but that things like, and I am not a crusader for this, but things like antibiotics and the meat and like, God, what residual effect does that have? And all of that. So I think we're going to. I am certainly the more I learn about this, the more I realize, I don't know. And then the more I realize like, like there's a, there is a real knock on effect. Now when I look at like antibiotics in your food is probably pretty low in the chain of things to worry about. Eating for pleasure is the number one problem. That's where people get themselves in trouble. So eating things that just really taste good means it's going to be high in carbs, high in sugar, like things that just throw you into metabolic chaos. Because, like, I don't put any effort whatsoever into asking whether or not my beef is grass fed, asking whether or not there's antibiotics in my meat. Things that are probably worse for you than the reverse. But when I look at all the biomarkers that we know how to measure right now, when I just look at my overall function, my strength, aesthetics, all of that, like, I'm in great shape, so I think it matters, but probably not that much. But the gut biome is the thing that freaks me out. And so when I start looking at God, does antibiotics in the meat have a big knocking effect? So anyway, that's really getting sidestep from the question. So you need a healthcare system that addresses chronic illness, which is coming from disruptions in our metabolic and endocrine systems, which are coming from a sedentary, a sedentary lifestyle, coming from people eating based on pleasure and not sustenance. The food industry not at all focused on anything other than scale and profitability. And so we as consumers really have to vote with our dollars. And that was what I always wanted people to do at Quest, right? Like, like, hey, our goal is to make this stuff good for you and tasty as hell. And so I think that the entire industry has to swing like that consumer system, have to force them to do it. But the thing that scares me is, so I know a lot about this stuff and I'll still caveat everything. I don't know enough, like, I shouldn't be making this. And when I'm saying that, like, you just have a lot of people out there that really shouldn't be saying anything and they're saying a lot. So we need to find a way also stop penalizing people for making money. That's the one that scares me. The healthcare system, whatever it's going to end up being, has got to be profitable. So let's not get really fucking weird about reward companies that you think to the best of your knowledge are making profit doing something that actually helps people. Okay. But don't get pissed that they're actually making money. That's so crazy to me. So we need to find a system that is both profitable and good for people. And I think right now we're struggling with that. Because when you're trying to change something from the inside, yikes. The thing that gives me the most excitement is heal. And I still think that's a far cry from. Because you're still taking healthcare practitioners that are focused on an acute symptom solution, prescription acute symptom prescription approach to things instead of a more holistic, like understanding the microbiome and all of that stuff. But it's, it's at least something that's sidestepping the current system. So we'll see.
- [56:32]
Lisa Bilyeu
All right, so we've got time for one more question. All right, let's do it. So the one that I'm going to choose is. This one's from Ernesto Celu. Hey, brother. I talked with you a long time ago. I'm from Chile and I asked a question about when. About when you said if I don't prioritize money, I will start to make money. But I actually don't know how to do that.
- [56:56]
Tom Bilyeu
Yeah, so this is going back to that earlier concept of a paycheck is not enslaving you. Like, you need to. Don't be beholden to the paycheck. You need to understand the power of money. You need to understand the need to make money. So what I'm, I am not the guy saying money doesn't matter. Okay? Let's be real clear about that. I'm the guy saying make as much money as you can. Money will change your life. It is insanely powerful. It is the great facilitator. All the amazing things you want to make come true in your life are going to come true because you're going to get access to resources. Now what's the surest way to get access to resources? Get resources really good at something that you can monetize. Okay, so now what I'm saying with that notion is don't lead with money. Like, when you're really focused on money, it actually becomes way harder to obtain it. Because the way to really build something that's successful is to capture the imagination of the people that are going to be on your team that are going to help you build something. They're not going to get super passionate about money. Not the right kind of person, not a team player, not somebody who really cares about somebody. Other people, not somebody that leads with compassion like that. Just, it's not that type of person. So. And we live in a hyper social, hyper connected universe where world where people like, if you really want to make an impact on people, leveraging social media, which I think is like the number one thing any business should be doing, you're going to do that by caring about people, by wanting to create value, by doing something that they want to talk about, by supercharging them. Like think about how many people slap on a T shirt and that says craft. Right? Unless it's A reference to Minecraft craft foods, right? Basically zero. So we get people that submit every day, them wearing Impact 3T shirts, which is amazing. But they do that because we've added value to their life. Okay? Not because we're thinking how much can we sell the T shirt for? But we do think about it, right? Like the T shirts have to be profitable, it has to become a sustaining thing. So we think about it, but it's not what we lead with, with. So you want to lead with value creation and ideally in a way that is unique to you, that nobody else could do. Like Impact Theory is a unique fingerprint of the people that make up the company. And if you were, I want to make sure this is a true statement. If you were to remove anybody from our company, the company would be fundamentally different and worse. And that is like, that's the position you want to be in. You want to know that like I'm bringing my unique characteristics, the unique things that I'm pursuing, the unique skill set that I'm developing, the unique way that my mind works, the unique way that like the data that I choose to bring in, ideas in, equal ideas out, right? Like all the unique choices that I make about what data to bring into my already unique system, like that's how this stuff gets interesting. But really focusing on value creation because, and this is just getting down to the physics of human beings. So if you focus on value creation, they're more likely to say something positive about you. That's how humans work. Two, the only thing that you can reliably sell over time is value. Because it's the thing that people want more than they want the money. And then they're not going to feel bamboozled at some point because you can market your way to short term wins by literally tricking people into thinking that you've got something of value when really you don't. And that's where you run into real problems because it might work for a year, maybe even two, but ultimately people are going to smell a rat. They're going to start talking badly about your company. And so you're either in the game of constantly getting, getting new customers, new customers, new customers. And I won't mention any people by name, but we certainly had at Quest worked with partners. That's their business model. New, new, new, new, new, new people that don't know enough to realize that they don't actually have a very compelling offering to make. And I think that it's just not sustainable. Like you're, you're on a Treadmill. So if you really want to make progress, all it's, it has to be about, given the physics of the human mind, it just has to be about value creation. So that's what I'm saying. I'm saying focus on value creation, but in a business savvy way.
- [60:41]
Lisa Bilyeu
So what's your opinion on the starving artist?
- [60:45]
Tom Bilyeu
If they're just in a skill set acquisition phase, I think it's awesome. And I think knowing that there's a period where poverty is and, and when I say poverty is okay, I mean the following. You can still get laid.
- [60:56]
Lisa Bilyeu
What do you mean?
- [60:58]
Tom Bilyeu
At the end of the day, one of the like and, and I use get laid to get people's attention to like have. It starts with getting laid. It starts with sexual attraction like that just to get into a relationship, a partnership with somebody. Like when you're in your sort of, certainly your teens and on through sort of late ish 20s, maybe a little bit earlier than that. You're not judged by the amount of money that you make. Like nobody really cares like if a 26 year old guy is dirt poor, but they can see that he's super ambitious. If you know a 27 year old woman like is going hard but like hasn't had the sort of worldly success yet. Nobody really cares. Like they look at your ambition, they look at how hard you work, they look at what you're trying to accomplish, they look at like are you compassionate and caring and bright? Like those are the things that they're going to judge you on now when you're 45 and you still are struggling to make ends meet and your car is, you know, unreliable and it just, just then people start going like you need to get your life together. They really do look at you in a different way. And when they look at you in that way, you've just got an extra hurdle to overcome. I'm not saying you can't overcome it and I'm not saying that I would make a lot of decisions in my life based on that. I'm going to make all my decisions based on what my goals are and what moves me towards my goals. But I'm just saying I think having access to resources is very powerful. But I think that there's a period in your life where there's actually more powerful resources than just money. And so, and I think that nobody halts your access to that when you're young. Like I don't look at an intern and go, well like you just haven't gotten your together. But if Somebody comes to me and they're 45 and I'm looking at their resume and it's like dead end job after dead end job and like, they've just never gotten it together. I do start to go, had a lot of time to get this together and you haven't.
- [62:48]
Lisa Bilyeu
So what if someone doesn't care? What if you're 50 and all you love to do is crochet and you're like, oh my God, I sell mine. I. I barely make much profit, but I make just enough that I can pay for my gas, I can pay for the electricity, but all I care about is crocheting. So even though it's not you ready
- [63:07]
Tom Bilyeu
for the answer you're not expecting? That's so dangerous. Like, that is absolutely irresponsible. What happens when you get sick? You said you're making enough just to pay your electricity. Now what? You get sick, you're laid up, you're in a car accident six months, you don't realize, but you're living in accommodations that has toxic mold. And now you have a six month mental rehabilitation process because it actually is causing you to show signs of early dementia. Now what? You can't afford to move anywhere else. You can't afford to not be crocheting for six months or whatever it is that you're doing. It's like, I get it, but there are just realities of life to be faced. Truth. Like, anybody that's living paycheck to paycheck, that's so dangerous. Like, you need to get out of that mode as fast as you can. I'm not saying I don't understand it. I'm not saying I judge you for it. I'm just saying it's fucking dangerous. And so putting yourself in that position, it just isn't smart. Meaning it doesn't, like, do and believe that which moves you towards your goals. If your goal is to like never know where your next meal is coming from, awesome, you've done it. But I'm guessing that's not your goal. Like, most people don't want to live there. And the people with the strongest home base, the people that need to worry the least about that stuff are the people that go on to do the greatest shit. Like, like, I mean, what if you want to go help people, but you can't because you can't afford to fucking take even a week to go build houses in Peru. You know what I mean? It's like, homie, like, you can't help others unless you help yourself first. Like, you need a Strong base from which to go do amazing shit. That, that is, that is the truth of the world. Now there are, hey, give me examples. Mother Teresa, Gandhi, awesome. I'm glad you brought them up. Thank you very much. Like those are people that had the ability to so captivate other people's attention that they never had to worry about it. Look at Martin Luther King Jr. Right? The number of people he was able to get rallied around him. So like the congregation is going to help him a lot. They're going to because they want something from him. The value that he is delivering to them is so powerful that he's able to galvanize these people around him. So like the helping other people is exactly what he's monetizing, maybe in very non traditional ways, but like that's somebody who, barring like really making a misstep and now your congregation turns their back on you. Like they're, they're going to have people there because, because of the just overwhelming amount of value. Mother Teresa, not only did she live a lifestyle where she was just way okay being below the poverty line, but she was also part of a church that's going to make sure that they take care of her. She's out there delivering so much. But it like, wow, when I say that it is a narrow band of people that have not only the, the just guiding principle to be able to go help people like that, but to be able to have the charisma to capture the attention of people that just aren't going to let you fall. And you've got to be honest with yourself about whether or not you're one of those people. And if you are, it's amazing. But like if you're hyper introverted and you don't want to go out into the world like that, like you, you have to be honest about what your situation is. And are you putting yourself in a position where it is super dangerous for you to be living paycheck to paycheck like that, or have you set yourself up, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. Where people are going to rally around you, that you've got an economic system that lets you have a house and all those things that you know.
- [66:16]
Lisa Bilyeu
So would you say protect yourself from the worst case scenario?
- [66:19]
Tom Bilyeu
I mean always, always protect against your downside for sure. But I just think that there's just like simple realities to be faced. There's, there's just precious few Mother Teresa's in the world that are going to be okay begging for. And now I'm sort of mixing references but there are certain monks that beg for their dinner every day to remind themselves of humility and all that. Just precious few people that are going to fall into that camp.
- [66:40]
Lisa Bilyeu
Yeah. The reason why I asked that is because not everybody's just looking for, like, incredible wealth. They're looking for, like, I love doing this so much that even if it doesn't bring me tons of money, I'm still. I still want to do it. I'm willing to do it.
- [66:51]
Tom Bilyeu
Yeah. I'm not a guy that I don't think most people shouldn't pursue tremendous wealth. It's just there's the thing that they love that makes them come alive. Isn't monetizable like that. Right. No beef with that.
- [67:05]
Lisa Bilyeu
That.
- [67:06]
Tom Bilyeu
Know thyself, Know thyself.
- [67:10]
Lisa Bilyeu
All right, that's.
- [67:11]
Tom Bilyeu
I think we're at the end.
- [67:12]
Lisa Bilyeu
We are.
- [67:13]
Tom Bilyeu
That's probably good because we're getting our low battery warning. All right, guys, thank you so much for joining us. This has been a lot of fun. I really enjoyed these questions. If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe. And until next time, my friends, be legendary. Take care. Legendary, everybody. Thank you so much for listening. And if this content is delivering value to you, please, please go to itunes, go to Stitcher rate and review us. That helps us build this community. And that is what we are all about right now, building this community as big as we can to help as many people as we can deliver as much value as possible. And you guys rating and reviewing really helps with that. All right, guys, thank you again so much. And until next time, my friends, be legendary. Take care.
- [67:55]
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