Episode 166

Proximity is power. And so it’s like getting around the right group of people who are on that same wavelength, who are like have the same characteristics and attributes and values that you do and aligning yourself with those types of people is like makes all the difference, right? It’s the process. It’s the struggle. It’s what I learn about myself along the way. What I’m capable of, what I can get through. And to really remind myself that like, man, we’ve been to hell. This isn’t it, right? I love going to work every day and then I love going home every day. And so like that’s a great life for me, dude. Like I I’m so blessed. I’m so grateful. And yeah, there’s hard [ __ ] happens every day, but like that’s part of the game. That’s part of it. And I love that cuz I’m growing and I’m learning.
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Hey everybody and welcome to another amazing, exciting and of course enthusiastic enthusiastic episode of Finding Peaks. Yours truly, Christopher Burns, chief executive officer, president and founder of Peaks Recovery. We got Pikes out to the left today. Couldn’t be more grateful to be joined by a true friend, colleague, Bryce Given, True North. Welcome back, sir. So glad to be back. Oh man. Got Pikes Peak in the background. This is an awesome studio. Your other studio was dope, too, but I kind of like this one better. It’s a little bit more simple, a little bit more grounded in nature. Yeah, I love it. You know, it’s not the downtown vibe. Yeah. Which I loved, but it’s great. It’s more nature vibe. And then like being on your campus earlier, it’s like more aligned with like the campus vibe. It’s sick. I think so, too. I love it, dude. Yeah, man. Thanks for having me. Yeah. Grateful to have you on, man. We just did a um tour on campus. got to walk around like the 13 acres, kind of immerse Bryce a little bit in kind of what we’re doing culturally, clinically, and otherwise. And just really grateful to have you down. We were talking a bit before the show, and you mentioned honestly one of my favorite entrepreneurs, and I was going to ask ask you a follow-up question, but I was like, I’m just going to bring it on the show. Cool. So Jesse Sler. Yeah, love Jesse, the goat. Yeah, man. Love him. So what do you think about this idea as an entrepreneur? because I kind of want to talk about a few things today. Maybe like family, business, faith, being a father. Um, but a lot of one days at a time for sure. Y and one of the things Jesse does is in December, I’m assuming he maps out the 365 days of the next year. Big ass calendar. Yeah. I’ve been a club member for like four years now. Really, dude? I love it. Oh, that’s cool. I love it. Let’s go. Yeah, he’s the man, dude. Like so Jesse kind of I mean he’s been so um transformational in my journey kind of like indirectly obviously um but like I read his book Living with a Seal when I was at Pier 1. So I was in treatment at Pier 1 and I read Living with a Seal and I was like who is this Navy Seal dude? And so that was my first exposure to David Gogggins. But then like even more so there were so many cool things in that book um that I learned and then you know went to p did the whole thing went to prison got out all this stuff and then um after getting out like I forget how he targeted me with something but I was really into like the self-help space and that kind of stuff uh and and just learned about him and learned about all the cool stuff that he’s doing and there’s like so much like u alignment with how he lives his life and some of the practices that he’s implemented that like I’ve now taken on and that have actually shaped not only my life but then like our like my close sphere’s life and then our business’s life as well. He’s dope, dude. He’s the man. Yeah, he really is. And didn’t he start out like trying to be a rapper or something like that? Yeah, dude. Well, so the Nicks just won, right? And like he did this song back in the day, like the Nick song back just a gangster like entrepreneur and like that kind of mindset about like dude, he just is he’s hungry and he’s passionate, he’s got good energy and he’s like positive and like he just gets after it. And then like he sold what was it like I think Marquee Jet or NetJet or something like that. Yeah. Whatever it is something sick. Yeah. Like he’s just he’s a G dude. And I see that and I’m not on social media or anything other than recently LinkedIn. Got back on LinkedIn cuz my LinkedIn got nuked. So Oh yeah. Got back on that. I need to refresh my LinkedIn. I need some help. It’s kind of it’s it’s whatever on socials. But you’re going like [laughter] when I was on socials though like I followed him and I was like man this dude’s dope. like he seems like super authentic and genuine and not one of these dudes who just like is doing it for like views or clicks or likes or whatever. Like he’s seems like a dope dad. He’s married to um what’s her name? Sarah Sarah Blakeley who owns Spank like just an entrepreneurial family and the way that like he portrays his life but then also I know some people who do know him and so like through hearsay um he just seems like an awesome dude and so like I try to emulate the things that um other people who have been entrepreneurs been awesome dads been awesome family man been he loves the endurance stuff so we’ll talk about the masogi stuff but like we do this masogi thing every single year now and like I got that directly from him. Um, and so yeah, Jesse Ethler’s the man, dude. I definitely got the masogi from him as well. I think I’ve talked about the misogi this year. I don’t have one. Okay. I don’t know why I didn’t do one. What was it? I was trying to help someone else with theirs. That was going to be my masogi. I forget. But I don’t have one. But I went down to Ecuador and hiked around in the volcanoes. That was my one this year. You did it? No, that was the year before. Okay. Sick. Yeah, it was one. Yeah, dude. It’s dope. Yeah. What’s yours? We’re doing this year. So, the first year we did one, we did 4×4 by 48. So, goggens run four miles every 4 hours, 48 hours. That was cool. Was it hard? It was tough. Yeah. But like that after doing like Iron Man and stuff, it’s like you get break. Yeah. Right. That’s cool. Yeah. Uh then last year we did rim to rim to rim which was dope. I would love to do that. So dope. And you’re a runner like dude that’s How long did it take you to do that? So we were aiming for uh like 12 and a half. I get through. So short here the short answer is it took us about 16 and a half 17. Okay. I get through like the first seven miles. We started at 1:00 a.m. I get down. We run down south Kaab cross the bridge go over Phantom Phantom Ranch. And then uh it’s still dark out. So we’re wearing our headlamps and we’re cruising. We’re booking. Feeling good. And then I come around this corner and I see these light these like eyes looking at me and they’re like, you know, I’m 6’6, like they’re tall. I freak out. I jolt like this and like I pulled something in my IT band. Oh, dude. So I was like, ah, like my IT band’s a little rough. So keep on going. We keep running, but it’s starting to get worse and worse and worse. Then we get to the north uh north rim, start hiking up, get up to North Rim. We’re making great time. We’re at like I don’t know, and it’s not hurting up, but it’s about to hurt coming down, bro. So like we get up and it was like 6 hours. We were on track. Okay. Turn around, start coming down, just brutal, blew up. I couldn’t run. So I had to basically power hike the rest of the way. Ended up taking us about Yeah. 16 17. We had a group of eight of us there. So uh me and a buddy of mine, we were kind of the lead pack. Incredible though, dude. Have you you’ve been to the Grand Canyon, dude? It’s so sick. I wanted What is it like 40 miles? It was 46 miles, 12,000 feet of vert up and down. So, it was a good one. That’s dope. Yeah, it was just so cool though. So, um yeah, just being out in like wild nature like that is just so sick. Um so, we did that last year and then this year we’re doing uh you mentioned like South America, we’re doing the Salt Conte Trail. So, it’s you know the Inca trail. All right. So, this is a different trail leading into Machu Picchu. Okay. And so you get up over 15,200 feet on one of these passes, the Sante pass. So we’re doing 70k over two days. Um high up, but like the thing is now like with it being like the world heritage site and all this stuff, you have to have like sherpas or whatever or guides. So we’re going to try to make it as hard as possible. So it’s not going to be like super duper misoge, but it’s going to be like a spiritual misogi and like doing it with the homies. It’s going to be fun. Yeah, that’s kind of how it was for us, too. is like I went out there to do it, but like all of a sudden like my guy’s son’s showing up. He’s 13. He’s done the mountain like you know 74 times. He’s like just give him your [  ] I’m like [  ] All right. All right. Fine. Like I’m not going to like yeah here’s my axe, man. Like don’t check my [  ] [laughter] But it was it was spiritual and it was so much more. And you know what it was bigger than anything? What I’ve learned about the masogi and anything like really really difficult like a capstone is the process man. Totally. It’s the process. It’s the struggle. It’s what I learn about myself along the way. What I’m capable of, what I can get through. and to really remind myself that like, man, we’ve been to hell. This isn’t it, right? Just keep on moving. And what that does as an entrepreneur um from a resilience perspective to be able to push through because it can be incredibly lonely sometimes as an entrepreneur. And I think Jesse does a great job of tying in family and business and seems to be able to show up one day at a time. But those moments, especially in these owner-led big hard operations, when things go south on the business side of things, there’s not a lot of people we can talk to. Totally. You know, totally. And so then it’s like, that’s why I brought that up. It’s like, what do us entrepreneurs do to ensure like my um my financial adviser, Key Wealth Management out of Arizona, I’m the Bobby and I are the only males they work with. I could tell you how I got it, but it’s a longer story. But it’s a group of female entrepreneurs. They’re sick. Um, but I chatted with them two months ago and they were like, “Chris, we have to have this program where we have to be able to get a hold of you.” I’m like, “Why, dude? I’m always because if we can’t get a hold of you, we need to be able to send a wellness check.” And I’m on the phone with these people. I’m like, it it’s been a rough couple years out there. You know what I mean? it my financial advisors are are are setting up documents and and and have them assigned certain things so that they can do wellness checks for entrepreneurs because it really does feel like sometimes and we talked about this pre-show that it’s like I have to figure this out on my own, right? And and I think it’s more about what I’ve learned over the last couple of years. I think it’s more about us getting together as entrepreneur groups, business owners and leaders in a safe place and talking about the [  ] that’s really going on, you know? Totally. Because then we can grow through it instead of be scared of it, you know? Right. That’s what I like about this kind of masogi thing though too is because it’s like and we talked about this before the show too about like the superficialness that we experience in in all industries I’m sure experience this but like even founders and entrepreneurs like a lot of stuff is superficial. Mh. And so the cool thing about like doing hard [  ] physically and mentally and spiritually, but if you do it together with other like-minded people who might be on that same level, whether they’re they own a mortgage business or they own a behavior, it doesn’t matter. But like being able to connect on like a deeper level like helps other people process that. And that’s why like I like I told you back at the the campus like super appreciate you and like you know we’re not like super close but all of our interactions and just how you show up is is super impactful and it makes a difference and I appreciate it and just like that your willingness to want to like help support me who’s like you know 8 years you’re uh you’re younger if that makes sense. I don’t even know what the right word is, right? Like businessywise, right? Like you’re a lot further ahead than I am. And like for you to like have the time take the time out of your day to like help support me is really [  ] dope and I appreciate it. Yeah, man. And it’s sick, dude. Cuz that that’s what really matters, right? It’s the connection aspect. Like we were talking about this in treatment, too. like being the personableness of like being there and hearing somebody and like being able to like relate with them on some aspect or some certain level like um that’s why your business is thriving is because like that range true that’s the truth and like showing up for people so I just appreciate that but that’s crazy that your financial adviser has this set up I can’t imagine what they have gone through for them to have to put something like that in place it’s wild people are struggling people are struggling and people come in and I think so often the world is like you know what what’s wrong with you and if you just take a moment and you sit with people
you realize that very quickly we all have very similar goals totally want to be happy want to be healthy want to have relationships want to be in our kids’ lives um but we’ve we’ve we’ve dismantled the way in which we get there right and so and from a very human perspective just kind of walking alongside side and we talked about it at the office. It’s been such a breath breath of fresh air. I think the struggle and the strife over the last few years have put me in a position where like I’m not out in front of anything, man. I’m not an expert on anything, but I’m a part of a lot, you know? Totally. And I who else is a part of a lot is a team of experts that inform this whole freaking thing. And I’m grateful to be a small sliver of a much bigger process. Totally, dude. you know, whereas before it’s like I I just didn’t find myself in good spots because I didn’t have great people around me because I wasn’t open enough to ask for the help that I needed, right? You know, that’s a hard thing to do, too. Like how do you get to a place um a that you know you’re asking the right people and like what is the sequence, right? like asking the right people at the right time for the right thing cuz if you don’t if you ask the wrong person even if it’s the right question like you’re going to get bad information which could lead you down this other path right and so it’s hard and I feel like that’s why people struggle with this because of the people that they’re surrounded with and it is like it all it’s like a Tony Robbins thing right like proximity is power and so it’s like getting around the right group of people who are on that same wavelength who are like have the same characteristics and attributes and values that you do and aligning yourself with those types of people is like makes all the difference, right? It’s like, have you heard of Dan Sullivan? You know who that is? Yeah. Who, not how. Yeah, dude. It’s the same stuff, dude. And it’s not rocket science, but it’s like sometimes we get we’re like our own worst enemies because we get in our way because like being like very type A driven like got to do these things like oh I don’t need to ask for help. I don’t need to how I’m supposed to call and ask this guy for money like you know all the things. It’s hard bro. It’s hard. So it’s cool that um you use your platform and like your network to be able to like go past go deeper than that like superficial level. like just be a person and help other people out. It’s dope. Yeah. And it’s been really cool like you were mentioning earlier, man. Your easy true north, your mission and your vision and the way that you show up in community is easy to get behind. Yeah. And I certainly I was I was meeting with some friends of mine actually Matt in DC who I respect. DC who you know he’s black belt. Um he’s my coach. He’s he’s an absolute beast. But I was meeting with them the other day and they were they were like I was giving them just pieces of what we’ve gone through and they’ve learned quite a bit of the story and they were like, “Dude, if you don’t if you don’t take what you’ve learned over the last 2 years and just dump it into some people.” Yeah. And I’m like, “Yo, that’s absolutely what I’m going to do.” That’s so sick. You know, so authentic entrepreneurs that really are human- centered like yourself make it easy, especially when you can sit down and say like your plan is like what is best for humans, right? How can we be a cut above what is average and out there and available already? Totally. Those are conversations I want to be a part of for sure, dude. Growth mindset. What is it? Eleanor Roosevelt. Like what was her quote? Like small minds talk about things. Something minds talk about people. Great minds talk about ideas. Great minds talk about I know that last part. Elanor Roosevelt there, dude. Gangster. Yeah. I got that thing in my office with not Elanor Roosevelt, but Theore Roosevelt. Yeah. The man in the arena. Yeah. And as an entrepreneur and a business owner and somebody in in recovery, there come these moments too where you’re the only one that’s going to believe in your thing, you know? And I experienced that over the last couple of years where I’m like calling these people and I’m like, I thinking I’m the only one that thinks this is going to work right now, right? You [laughter] know, it’s like and then you have to have that that little slice of insanity that I think we keep somewhere on the go. have to, you know, for sure because any of these guys, like when I was I was telling Matt in DC, I was telling Matt in DC the other day when I was um these are guys that I lease the properties off of that I’m working with. Um I was like, “Bro, when I got the first property off you, this thing was like if it was a stock, it was like it [laughter] wasn’t even didn’t even have a ripple in it, right?” It was just like straight. And he’s like, “Why didn’t you say anything?” I was like, “Oh, you would have never ran into me.” [laughter] Like what? He’s like, “What if it would have?” He’s like, “What if it would have failed?” said as an entrepreneur and as a reasonable human I was ready to have that conversation 100% we have the I did my best and wasn’t good enough I’m sorry that’s tough thing to do but you got to be able to do that I think sometimes in entrepreneurs is to be that one that’s going to believe in it yeah bro you got to be crazy and you have to have that unwavering belief and that’s what it takes to succeed really in any in any industry in any field as an entrepreneur like you’ve got to be able to push past that’s why like that’s why I resonate so much with the fitness stuff and all that and we talked about that too is like when you’re like deep out there right like you’re on the north rim and you’re like okay you have nowhere to go like and sure like an IT band whatever not bad like obviously like there’s stories of like horrific stories but it’s that concept in your mind is like are you going to be able to push through are you crazy enough to just like I like your whole one day at a time thing right one step at a time I really love the way I feel when I’m not [ __ ] injured yeah for sure that’s all I think about I’m like bro I just I feel great when this is exactly what the world. Same concept in business though too, dude. That’s dope. Yeah, you got to believe in yourself. And then you got to be a good enough salesman to be able to get the right people in the right place to help you get past that bridge. And I’m so stoked that you did that. Yeah. And hopefully you can sit with them and like have a coffee a handful of months later and be like, “You’re actually insane.” Yeah. You’re the crazy guy. You’re the crazy one. [laughter] Yeah. That’s sick. It’s so cool, man. So, what do we got going on with True North? I know we’re talking. We talked about I know we’re getting more into the commercial space going to grow up kind of inatient kind of the more intense levels of care there. What do we got going on? Yeah. So, you know, True North has had this weird kind of um trajectory over the last couple years, you know, as as you know, like I got started in like this sober living space and started with Elevate Recovery Homes and um that’s going great, but like really to really show up for people in the best way, it’s like you have to have uh higher touch points with these folks, you know? you have to have the full continuum of care. And so for us being self-funded and bootstrapped and all the things is like the next trajectory up from sober living was like all right we’re going to get an IOP open and really take that same model that we have from from Elevate which is like highly personalized like very fitness focused very outdoors like getting people really moving with their body and um understanding whether it’s weightlifting or hiking or running or it doesn’t matter like building community around act being active was like kind of our whole thing Yeah.
And so it’s really been a struggle over the last couple of years of like again surrounding yourself with the right people. Like I had a couple people that um you know initially were part of our our our company and they just weren’t good fits. We weren’t super aligned. And so you have to learn that I’m a stubborn guy and like you have to learn the hard way. You have to like learn through through doing. I do. Um, and so over the last couple of years, it’s really just been finding and building and cultivating and curating the right team of people around me. And then it’s like implementing the right systems and processes and procedures and like to support the business. Like obviously the clients come first. So, it’s like that’s what matters the most. But then also like actually trying to build a viable and sustainable business um that’s supporting these my employees lives, their livelihoods, their families and paying you know like the whole thing. Um was a challenge over the last couple years. So yeah, we started off with just IOP then we ended up getting licensed. We were actually licensed for adolescence as well initially. Yeah. So, my former business partner, she really has a heart for uh for adolescence and she has a heart also for um women who are victims of sex trafficking. Okay. And so, um we were licensed for that, but then, you know, you kind of where we were at in our trajectory is like, all right, I’ve got to really focus. Um we got to do something really well first and then like from there we can expand. Um so, started off with IO IOP, got to PHP. Um, so we’re licensed for both mental health and SUD um for for both PHP and IOP. We we right now primarily a lot of our clients are we have a high Medicaid population and I know we had chatted about that. Um, and so we’re really trying to kind of diversify our payer mix right now. Um, show up for those people who definitely need it in that Medicaid population. Um, a lot of job readiness stuff, workforce readiness, really like initial like soft skills and that kind of stuff. But we’re being kind of hindered with the policy makers and with Medicaid and stuff happening. And so from a viability and like a sustainability standpoint, like we have to move more up market, which is kind of been part of the plan altogether. Yeah. And now we’re really trying to get into um you know 3.1 3.5 3 uh 7 levels of care so we can have that full continuum model with similar to like what you guys are doing. really being able to show up for these people in the best way possible and make it seamless so that they can get the care that they need while they’re with us. Um, so that’s really the plan and really sticking with our same like very fitness focused modality. Um, we do a lot of like sematic stuff and uh it’s great dude and we’ve got an awesome team and we’re growing and we’re learning every day and uh our leadership team is has made so much improvement just even in this this year alone. It’s crazy. It’s so amazing. Um, but again, like you I look as an entrepreneur and as like a a go-getter, it’s like I still have so much work to do. It’s like if I’m doing Pikes Peak, right? It’s like I’m like at the top of like bar trail right here, right where the incline is and then I’m like, okay, I still have a long way to go just to get to this peak. And that’s not even the end goal, right? That’s why I love the name of your business, too. Like Peaks is dope. It’s cool, right? Um, it’s dope. But that’s our whole thing is like we’re really trying to bringing back to your point about surrounding yourself with the right people and like we’ve brought some amazing people on board who like you know have have built their careers on um incredible experience that they’re now bringing to our business and lighting super scaling and lighting lighting a fire under our ass and just making the rest of the team so much better so that we can show up better for the clients. Yeah. Yeah. It’s dope, dude. It’s really cool because I mean I [clears throat] we started out very similar you know extended models you know outpatient levels of care and you know we started to really look into you know what might it be for us to have like some really good synergized continuity of care right you know we would have to refer out to detox refer out to residential and you know 50% of the time they wouldn’t come back or it wouldn’t be a warm handoff or they wouldn’t listen first and solve later and they were in a cultural fit and so it was this just big disconnect and so it was pretty scary getting into those inpatient those more acute levels of care, but very very quickly we started to see from an outcome perspective that outcomes started to improve. The synergy was there, the handoff was there, and so I love that you’re going in that direction. I think if you can kind of, you know, control the whole funnel, it gives you an opportunity to give the best client care. Totally. You know, 100%. So, yeah, really replicating what like people like you guys are doing and that’s where we see the best results. you know, we have some good um referral partners that we work with that are like, you know, just like 3.5 specific and they’re great and they’re awesome and then they refer guys to our sober living and they know it’s worked out really well. But I think the businesses and the the organizations that do have that entire continuum like if somebody slips up like cool, we’ll get you back here. like we’re we got you. And being able to just have that to where to your point um it’s more sustainable for our organization and then it’s it’s better in the long term for these clients. There’s a higher likelihood for success for them if there isn’t all this disruption. Like that’s that’s the goal, right? But then it’s also like figuring out all the business aspects that go into it, the funding, the um the real estate, all the things, the people. So that but that’s the fun part and that’s why I love what I get to do is like it’s such a win-winwin because like I get to show up. Look, I don’t inter I don’t get so much interaction with the client. I get to do all the fun [  ] right? I get to do all the fun [  ] Like we took uh every year we take like 40 or 50 guys to Moab. Sweet. So sick. Uh we got Rocky Mountain National Park. So, I get to do all the fun things, but I’m like from a client standpoint, I don’t, you know, I’m not working with the clients like I used to when it was just sober living and I was like coaching them and doing all the things. Um, but now I get to you can’t cuz now I get to focus on like the business and like so I love it, right? And I always say this too and I I stole this from somebody. I forget who it was, but it was like I love going to work every day and then I love going home every day. And so like that’s a great life for me, dude. Like I I’m so blessed. I’m so grateful. And yeah, there’s hard [  ] happens every day, but like that’s part of the game. That’s part of it. And I love that cuz I’m growing and I’m learning. Some days are harder than others, but it’s good, dude. Dude, when you when you zoom out, I think this was something that maybe I missed sometimes over the last couple years or maybe the last few years prior the few years prior to the last year [clears throat] was like if you’re like really about this, which I know you are. Yeah. It’s right here, right? I read this quote the other day and I’ll butcher it, but it was like make sure and focus on the small things because one day you might look back and realize those were the big things. Yeah. You know, like and that’s what I’ve learned is like I am so blessed to call today, Wednesday, to be here with you to be able to walk you through a facility. I know. I used to put needles in my arms and crazy [  ] dude. Like, and [laughter] and people trust me, and next month I’ll have 18 years took a congrats. And and and for whatever reason, somewhere along the way in my professional journey, I lost sight of that. Yeah. And I just find myself now just reminding people of like what you’re doing Yeah. is rad. Yeah. Most people will never touch that quality or that quality of life, that passion and that purpose with a 100 foot pole. And sometimes in my career, I think like, well, when I get over there, it’s gonna be right. The way that I get over there and it’s gonna be is that I go all in on Yeah. You know, is there one thing that you could point to that and maybe it was a culmination of a bunch of different things, but like what kind of reggrounded you? Can you point to like one thing? Can you remember like one thing that you’re like, “Hey, [  ] face.” Like you’re looking in the mirror and you’re like you need to wake up. Like was there one of was there like an epiphany type moment or no? Was it just kind of every couple? But I would always say it was the it was the moment with what I told you about. Yeah. With Garrick. Yeah. In the car. So sick. So powerful. And him just holding up a mirror and he didn’t he didn’t say it. What I heard is like you’re my dad. Yeah. So sick. I know who my dad is. Right. And that was the mirror that was like, “Okay, ambiguity out, attention all in.” And it’s one of those things when when you have to go all in on the moment. There’s something real special about it because like you got to win the day and you experience a lot and you get a lot done. But we would go into each and every day and I told Joseph, I said, “We got to roll sixes.” So people be like, “What if you roll fives?” You know, we have to roll sixes. [laughter] Like you don’t it’s not there’s no fives in the thing, dude. Every day we have to win. Yeah. And as grueling as it is, as intense as it is, it really created this opportunity when I came out of the inferno and started to see the light that I’m just like, man, I just I I have so much gratitude. Yeah. You know, so sick. You’re always you’ve always been like since I’ve known you and I’m sure even before like first of all, 18 years. That’s so dope. Yeah, I know. I don’t know if when this was said, but when you’re 44, you’ll have been sober for half your life. Yeah, man. That’s so sick. Yeah. But you’ve always been like a very like um heartled person. Like I think that’s just the type of person you are. Yeah. Um and I think that obviously shows in your business and like getting you through this last thing. Like um it’s just sick, dude. I’m so stoked for you. I really enjoyed Thank you, man. I really enjoyed in this season people wanting to be closer to me. Yeah. Than in the past. Um it’s it’s been really cool because in the past because I was I was very big very big 12step guy. It was more about like I have something you want so follow me. And even when I got into business, people would come meet with me and it was very much like like I have the keys to your kingdom so I’m just going to talk at you. Yeah. And so I’d sit with people all the time just the same as I do now, but they’d kind of be like this. Uhhuh. All right, dude. Yeah, great meeting. Yeah, good stuff. That’s stuff like real. And now I sit with people and they’re just like, they just like, yeah, dude, we’re chilling. You got something I I’m sure could gain from and you and me and we’re relational. And so it’s been really cool lately, not just like professionally, but personally with like guests and stuff too of I’m like, “Yeah, doors open, man.” Like y and if I can really emulate to you cuz it’s true and I can be authentic that like right dude I’m grateful to be with you um I appreciate your time totally you know and people feel that like I don’t know what is about that experience I just want to be around that guy it’s authentic dude authentic and real [  ] like I got this great friend and I do all the masogi stuff with him his name’s Justin actually our we had a podcast a couple years back we probably did I don’t know 80 episodes or something super cool um but he is one of the most um just authentic human beings and the way he shows up for people is like so infectious. Uh and I’m so excited. He’s actually coming out next week. He lives in Alaska. He just like retired, sold his mortgage business, but we do all this masogi [  ] together and he’s like 55. He’s an older dude, but he’s like I try to capture like when I’m around him and that’s I I I’m bringing this up because I get the same vibe from you as well is like there’s there’s like this energy about you, about him, about certain people that like you want to be around when it is authentic and like you just cap and it’s like I want to take the the good things from that and like the pieces of that and be able to fill my cup up with that so that I can overflow and be that for other people. But yeah, no, dude. I love that. Um, and you guys have very similar like personality types and like he’s a gangster, he’s a G just like you. And that’s the type of people I want to be around because then again, if your cup is always overflowing, like there’s plenty to go around for everybody and you can show up for clients, you can show up for your family, you can show all the things, dude. And it’s sick. And you’re absolutely right. And it is that authentic thing. It’s like it’s not transactional. It’s like, yeah, there’s both there’s value in this. We’re both going to gain something from this, but it’s also like it’s real. Yeah, that’s real. Dope. It’s been so cool, man. Just walking with instead of like out in front. I’ve been talking about it a lot on the podcast lately. Um, and that’s my aim each day, man. It’s like I get up. I’m not perfect. You know, I was meeting with a a husband the other day. I was meeting my friend John. Yeah. I was telling you about the Vietnam vet. Yeah. I’m like, why is it why is it just trying to be better humans one day at a time like I’m like, why is it John that I treat the person that I love the most in this world the most poorly? Yeah. Why is it that husbands I think generally or wives or vice versa treat the ones they love the most poorly? Yeah. And my goal each and every day is like how do I love my wife better? Totally. [laughter] You know, but it’s these interesting and we sat down and he was an alcoholic and I was an alcoholic. But we’re not it’s not a we’re here, right? And so like I’m always interested in ways that like I can get better relationally. I can be a better human and I can be a better husband and a better father cuz that’s hard to do as well. For sure. You know, that takes just as much just like the whole business thing. Like it takes that’s another full-time job. Yeah. Right. Like and I experienced the same thing. Like it was my wife’s I feel so bad about this because my wife obviously I’ve got a two twoyear-old two year and four month and then today is actually my my second daughter’s four month. Four months. Two year and four month. So two two years apart. Two years apart. Exactly. And so the last four months have been rough especially for my wife because like the first baby was like she didn’t get a good latch so we bottle fed her. So we split the whole thing like did the whole thing but now this baby is latching great but so she’s always on the boob and so it’s draining for Kayla big time and like trying to show up for Kayla in a way just like as a husband and as a partner and as a friend and as all the things. Um, it was her birthday just earlier this month and she asked for two things. Um, and I was like, “Well, what do you really want?” She’s like, “I want a private dinner with a private chef to come to the house.” And I’m like, “Cool.” And then she’s like, “And I want a cookie cake.” But the thing is, we both are like gluten-free and dairyfree. But you’re going to get down. Yeah. So, I’m like, “Well, that second one isn’t going to happen.” And then the first one, too, it’s like I feel so bad. Um, and I’m making it up to her, but like I reached out to like four or five different companies and like I have some friends who have private chefs and stuff and it just ended up not working out. And I like went to her and I was like, “Hey, like nobody’s heard back from me. The people that I have heard back from, she doesn’t eat seafood either.” Okay. Like they only want to do seafood. And so I’m like, “Can we like table it?” And so like, but it made me feel [  ] horrible because it’s like it’s the person I love the most in this world. I love her the most. And so I’m like, man, what a [  ] scumbag I am. Like I need to really think about this and like look at how I can show up better and not just like giving stuff, but like that’s just one example. And so I’m working through that [  ] too. And so like obviously I’m like, you know, making it up to her and everything, but it’s like it’s those little things that really stick with me the most. It’s like I don’t People don’t care about what you do. They care about how you make them feel, right? And that’s another stolen quote from who knows, but it’s genius. And it’s like the people that matter the most to your point is like you need to show up for them the most. You know what I’ve been doing lately? What’s up? Speaking from like the authenticity lens. It’s like, dude, like I know I’m going to suck and it’s not like I’m going to suck so bad. I’m not I don’t And I don’t get down with like the like, oh, okay, you know me, I’m an alcoholic, so I have to make amends every time I suck. I don’t do that. I’m not down with that. Stay inauthentic, right? But like sometimes like like the other day I was in the in the bathroom. I’m like, “Hey, like I got that interaction like real real wrong. And I want you to know that I don’t feel good about it.” Yeah. And I also want you to know that I was just journaling 45 minutes ago. I’m like, “How can I [  ] love you better?” Yeah. It’s hard. Yeah. Been together a long time, but I just want you to know like you are the [  ] light of my life. And I messed this up and I want to get better. I want to talk about it. So, I’ve I don’t know if I’ve learned, but I’ve seen through just like being a little more authentic because then she’s like, “You don’t care.” And I’m like, “Well, no, I do care cuz I talked about on my podcast, [laughter] you know what I mean? You don’t want to show, you know what I mean?” So, like, but so I’ve been finding like the same thing cuz I will I will take the information. I’ll do the right thing in my community. I’ll be real authentic, but I’ll forget the person right in front of me, right? So, it’s been really helpful with Cass and I still I mess it up, man. But she knows. We’re not perfect, dude. We’re not perfect, but we are trying to get better. And that’s what’s been so helpful, too, is like having the right partner, and I talked with uh a bunch of my I talk with my friends about this all the time, but like having the right partner around you makes makes everything so much better. And so, I just want to again, yeah, I just want to show up the best way that I can for my daughters, for my wife, for my family, for my friends, for my colleagues, all the all of that. It’s interesting you say I I always leave her out in the conversation. Not because I don’t have a lot of gratitude, but talk about somebody who’s like riskaverse. Yeah. My wife, she’s doesn’t have an entrepreneurial bone in her body. She always worked for somebody until we opened our company. Yeah. There’s probably been three times over the last 12 years where I’m like, “It’s over. What do you want me to do?” And she’s like, “Send it.” And I’m like, “Send it, babe.” I’m like, “That means you’ll lose everything.” She’s like, “Send it.” Yes. Love that. Every time she’s been like, “Send it.” gangster, you know, and I’m like, “Baby, you know when we send and it doesn’t work.” Cuz could you imagine if she wasn’t like that and then like that’s your most like trusted advisor and she’s like, “Well, like it’s a wrap, bro. It’s over.” Cuz I look to her, right? Yeah. Cuz I’m always like, “She’s going to tell me exactly what I need to do.” Kayla’s the same, dude. Yeah. It’s gangster. It’s the best. That gives me chills. Yeah, dog. It’s so cool. Cuz I’m like I’ll go home sometimes with all of the chips on Cass’s decision, but she has no idea, right? I’m like, “Oh, [laughter] cool.” Yeah. Well, you just saved the world. I was like, what? She’s like, great stuff. That’s dope. So true. It’s nice to be able to have people like that. Yeah, it’s the greatest, you know, and so like, yeah, I know we beat ourselves up like I beat myself up sometimes about like little [  ] like that, but it is meaningful, right? We’re going through the [  ] and all and so I just want to show up for her. So, um, yeah. And then thinking about that even like down the line, too. And like your kids are a little bit older, but like going through these phases like where like weeks feel like I mean the weeks fly by, but then like my daughter, she’ll develop something in like a week and I’m just I got to convince myself like cuz I haven’t been through this before. I’m like, “Oh, this is only temporary. It’s going to last a week.” Like how do I show up for her the best way cuz she’s [  ] 2 years old. Like how do I not p unload my [  ] onto her? And so it’s just it’s fun, dude. It’s interesting. It’s like that. It’s the game of business, too. It’s like the game of life. It’s so sick, dude. We’re so [  ] blessed that we get to do this [  ] and like we get to be in I talk about this all the time. So, I just did uh Boulder 70.3 last week, but I did a relay with my boys. So, I did it with uh with Robbie and my buddy Matt. So, I just did the swim and then Robbie did the bike and uh Matt did the run. So, you swam 5K? Uh swam four. It’s only 4K. 1.2. Okay. 1.2. Not Iron Man. No, two. It’s 2K. Yeah, it’s half iron man. So 2k. Um yeah, so one point 1 1.2 miles, which by the way, dude, I haven’t swam since which by the way, my last swim was Iron Man California like 2 years ago. Haven’t even been in open water since then. Yeah, bro. Swimming’s so hard. It’s so hard. I don’t even swam over 800 meters in my life. Swimming is is the worst. Like I’ll sit on a bike all day. I’ll run. Whatever. It’s fine. Yeah, but we get done with the race and like, dude, it was so nice on Saturday. It was like 78° in Boulder and I look at my boy, I’m like, “Dude, we live in the coolest [  ] We’re so blessed. Like, we live in such a dope spot. Like, we get Dude, we’re just winning. We’re winning winning on all aspect.” No, I live in Parker, but the the race was up pretty dope, too. Parker’s great. I love it. I’m a BBS guy. Like, it’s great. But yeah, like the my whole point is like, dude, we’re winning like with family, with friends, with business, with the place we live, living in America, having like we’re afforded so much um so much. It’s amazing. And so for us not to take advantage of that and use that and and and leverage all of the gifts that we’ve been given to do good and be like servant leaders and like that’s the only way to compound that [  ] Yeah. Yeah. It’s a beautiful thing, man. The really the opportunity I think we have as as as fathers and professionals and um the impact and some total impact that we get to be a part of in this world and the ripple effect and the wave that we get to ride and the communities we’re a part of. I think if we’re there for it, it’s like the time of your life. It really is, you know. Yeah. Um I wanted to share something with you. I shared it with I was having uh I haven’t shared it on the show in a while. I don’t think it’s probably been like 50 episodes because I just do like rewind and repeat. Um, but I was reading this book one time talking about father being a father, a mother, father, father, mother, parents. And I used to think because we grew up and like we didn’t it didn’t feel like we had a lot and it was like, you know, managing the checkbook. My dad was like, and um, so I used to think I used to see my friends, they would like go on vacations. I thought it was so cool. Sometimes they would invite me. And so when I first started making money as a young entrepreneur and a young father, I was like, “Dude, I’m ripping my nine-month-old and my two week old to the four seasons. I’m ripping them over here and I’m ripping them over here and I’m ripping them over here cuz that’s the that’s what I thought. I thought I thought being a father was like time under tension and big memories cuz I had such little like little big memories.” And um anyway, I’ve learned something quite different and and something that I I kind of like um I say all the time is meaningful moments that matter matter the most. So I was reading this book and I forget the book, but I’ll remember it or I’ve said it on a podcast before. Essentially, the book was writing letters to I think it was Oprah and they were saying my mom is the best why. They would write essays and they would say this is um my mom’s the best mom because of this. So they invited him on the show if you won. So they invite this 12 I want to say like 11 to 13year-old but really wellraveled man affluent family has all the things. They bring her on the show. They’re like you won. So they bring her out. Her mom’s in the back right. Oprah why did you why is your mom the best mom? And she goes well it’s easy. It’s Cheerios. Oprah’s like, “Well, you know, you flew all the way across the country. You want to talk about Cheerios here.” You know, whatever. She’s like, “Cheerios, man. It’s Cheerios.” So, here’s the deal. My mom, I was 5 years old. I was up going to the bathroom. I heard a little cling down in the kitchen. Went down in the kitchen. I was like, “Mom, what are you doing?” My mom’s my hero. I love my mom so much. She means so much to me. She’s such a great mom. She’s down there having Cheerios. She says, “Sometimes I get a little anxiety and I can’t sleep. I’ll come down have both Cheerios.” Girl says, “Mom, you know those Cheerios is my favorite.” I know, honey. You have to promise me that every time you have bullet Cheerios in the middle of the night, you wake me up with bullet Cheerios, bro. Like so sick. They had done everything. All this stuff like what all it was was like this little time where and it probably happened the way she explained it like five or 10 more times between like five and 15 or whatever she was. And it’s like that’s all it is. And so as much as I’ll tell myself sometimes as an entrepreneur like you’re not doing enough as a father because you can be pulled in so many different directions. I just go back to that. I’m like how can I eat Cheerios today? Right. I love it. Right. How can I put my phone down not for an hour but long enough to have a bowl of Cheerios figuratively speaking. Right. I love that. Dude, that’s so sick. I got goosebumps. Isn’t that wild? I was telling a story yesterday. I started crying. And I’m like, dude, it’s just like it’s impactful cuz I can tell with my kids and you’ll be able I’m sure you came with your 2-year-old. But when dad is fully there Oh, yeah. And they’re with dad, right? Bro, they are We were just in Salida last week. We’re doing the alumni weekend. Yeah. I brought life jackets. We went and had sandwiches by the water in the Arkansas River right there. I said, “Fellas, you guys just want to jump in?” I know people are surfing it and they have wet suits on, but we don’t need wet suits or helmets or any [laughter] of that stuff. You want to just jump in this thing and start getting it? They’re like, “Dad, if you go, we go.” I’m like, “Bro, I’m going to jump out in this thing. [laughter] Follow me.” Like, and I’m like, “Bro, don’t do like last time cuz the last time you didn’t follow me. You got to [laughter] go.” So, I like jump out and you can see him in the video. They’re like, “Whatever, Dad does.” So sick. And we were floating this thing. Floating this thing. And it was like so simple. So simple. They’re like, “Dad, this is like that’s what Grace says.” Right. It’s so dope. I love that, dude. That’s so sick. I love that. And you’re so right. And I noticed that, too. I try to do and that that is one thing that I’ve gotten a lot better at um since having kids like cuz I haven’t been on social since my my first daughter’s been born. That’s spiritual and for me and the whole thing was is because like you know I got that addict mentality bro and it’s like I have a hard time I have a hard time with the dopamine [  ] right so like if I have it there like even if I can I can compartmentalize it and like be there but like for me it’s just I’m kind of an all or nothing kind of guy and so the times that I’m with my daughter and I love now that we just moved her out of her crib like two months ago and so she has a bed now and so and I put her to sleep every single night And so like the time that I get to put her to sleep and like lay in bed with her, dude, it’s so precious. It’s so beautiful and it’s amazing. And like I hope that I I will create more experiences like that. Like just being just being there authentic, present bullet cheerio. I’m going to steal that, dude. It’s [  ] sick. Let me let me know what that book is, dude, cuz Yeah, I will. I just have to think about it real hard. I’ll look it up on like like Claude or something, dude. I’ll look it up. It’s in my library. I’ve read it in the last few years. And I was like, “No, I love that sick. I got this wrong.” But I’m always looking for like good books like that that are like meaningful. And then those are good things to like share with other people, too, cuz you can like help other pe you can teach lessons without it being your lesson. Yeah. That I think sometimes I’m like, “Oh, this person I think this would be cool for this person to hear this at this time.” So, and I don’t even think I’ve even said on the show like if I have my Apple Watch on, I’ll set a timer for 20 minutes. Like set the timer. Like I’m going to lock in for this 20 so I know it’s 20. It’s really impactful. Totally. [laughter] Yeah, dude. That’s sick. So, just trying to do that and and and I do this little like five minute journal that’s like super easy, but it’s just all about gratitude. You do it every day. You do it every morning. Yeah. And then you do this the few questions in the morning and a couple at nightick when you retire. So, um but it’s been a season for the reason. And I’m grateful to have gone through some of the trials and tribulations. Most certainly. It’s it’s taught me a tremendous amount, but most certainly more than anything, and I’ve said it before, it’s taught me what really matters, man. And it’s brought my close relationships closer. Uh it’s helped me to realize that the things that I wanted or the mountains that I wanted to chase, the most important things in my life were there all along. And whether I fell off the cliff or not, they were going to hold on to me. Y and they were going to be there. Totally. And so I’ve been able to anchor back into that and we’ve been able to have some success in this year. Love it. It’s it’s been cool to talk about it a little bit, expose people to the the realness of like life and and mental health and trials and tribulations and things get dark and hard sometimes, but if you get great people around you, I think you got a really cool opportunity of getting through it and learning a lot. Totally. Yeah, man. I mean, I know you mentioned the word faith earlier and like for me that’s the first thing that just like was ringing my bell when you’re saying this, right? And like whatever for whatever it is for people, but for us, you know, I was raised like cradle Catholic and went to Catholic school. Then there was a you know ele late elementary and middle school was uh not religious at all. I didn’t grow up in like a religious household but like we were my mom was kind of more religious, my dad not. And then I went to a Catholic high school where which really isn’t like religious at all. It’s just where they play sports. Yeah. It’s for sports. [laughter] Um I happen to be an athlete. Yeah, dude. Um, and then you know kind of living life and going to college and experiencing atheism and Buddhism and all the different ideologies and all the things. And then um now recently especially like in parenthood just trying to um seek the truth and like not that my religion or my beliefs like and I’m a Christian now. I’m a saved Christian and like but not that’s not for everybody, right? But for us, it’s like it’s finding that solace, right? And it’s finding that sanctuary and it’s finding that that truth for what whatever that is for you. Um has been so transformational and something to lean on and being like such a stronghold especially in the last like year. Um and being able to walk that path again with your partner and with it’s so funny like going back to the parenting thing too. It’s like we’re raising Birdie in this and we’re converting to Catholicism which is weird and it’s like weird. It’s a weird thing. Like Catholicism is a weird thing for a lot of people, but like for us, it’s like that’s what And so like every time we sit down for dinner now, Birdie, our daughter Birdie’s like, “Uh, all right, we need to pray.” So she’ll go, “The Father, Son, Holy Spirit, you’re Jesus.” And so it’s so funny. But it’s it’s cool to be able to share that again, too, unauthentically, and know that like I don’t have all the answers. I don’t I don’t know what the [  ] I’m doing 99% of the time, but I know if I can like put my trust and my faith in something that’s outside of me that’s bigger than me, um that ultimately represents light and love and like me trying to emulate that, like it’s all good, dude. It’s all good. Yeah, it’s a beautiful way to put it, too, man. Um it provides so much strength and foundation and to have experienced the idea or the thought of like God’s got my back and and knowing that like at a really ground level or you know maybe the universe but just feeling that right that’s uh it’s powerful. It’s impenetrable sometimes. It’s impenetrable. That’s a great word for it. Yeah, dude. And and it’s in those times and it’s a lot of people too like I don’t I would imagine a lot of entrepreneurs have faith. Yeah, for sure. For sure. I mean whatever. Yeah, for sure. whether this God, universe, Jesus, Buddha, all it doesn’t matter. Like, but um yeah, for me that’s been so impactful and I found such peace, right? Cuz like there’s so much chaos in our lives and like being able to like find those times of peace like when you’re putting down your phone and you’re setting your watch for 20 minutes and like those are the truest times. Um and it’s it’s super cool. Yeah. I’ve been so I’m part of this uh Christian leadership group. It’s called C12. Uh-huh. So dope, dude. And talking about like connecting with the right type of people who are like leading from from their heart and like leading and have driving businesses from like a place of and it’s very Christianbased, but it’s, you know, it’s bringing it’s kingdom impact. It’s like how can we be service led like how can we be shepherds and like how can we um just show up for people in the best way. It’s been so so so cool and peaceful. International, right? It is. Yeah. Yeah, dude. It’s dope. It’s so cool. I think they got a pretty good following down here in the Springs. They do. Down in the Springs. There’s a guy um TB part of that. What’s his name? Timbo. I don’t know. He’s part of He’s like in that kind of sphere. Yeah. I don’t know if he’s like a C12 member. But it’s great. You meet some really incredible people. I mean, that’s how we actually ended up reconnecting. So, uh David, my forum leader, he’s an amaz That’s who I was on the phone with right when I pulled up. He’s the [  ] man, dude. He’s so cool. And like again, you try to take these pieces from other people in your life and like take a piece from this guy, take a piece from this guy and implement those things so like I can show up the best way possible. But you know, he’s a connector like us too. So he connected me with Shane Phillips who connected me with Matthew which ultimately led back to us reconnecting. And so it’s super cool because like it’s a small world, bro. It’s a small world. Um and just yeah again like surrounding yourself with the right people who I wanted to ask you what who listens to this podcast most is it clients is it industry folks is it random people like do you know I’d say a huge mix is it yeah a lot of alumni population alumni a lot of alumni population goes out on YouTube too so it’s got a really good mix on the YouTube platform um professionals otherwise it’s on our website it’s on YouTube it’s on Instagram Facebook Apple music. Sick. So, it’s a good mix of like business leaders, clients, alumni, all the all the people. Yeah. And that’s what’s cool. Like that’s the one thing that I noticed when we were doing our podcast. It was it was called thriving in recovery and it was like a lot of very like just recovery based stuff, but what I like about this setting is it’s like and we talked about this in your office too and like even the AA thing like the recovery thing is like one deal like it’s life, right? And it’s light. It’s light, right? Hey, and you get to talk about all these different avenues. So, I was just curious about that. I love I love being able to I mean, I can if I need to, but I love not being able to live out of my story. Yeah, dude. 100%. That’s what I found. That’s why we kind of shut it down. Yeah. You know, there’s a lot of like very repetitive things and I kind of get stuck and there’s a huge part of my recovery where I got stuck in that where I’d be like, “Hey, my name’s Addict and and it’s it’s got a friend named Chris.” You know, like he’s just like boom. And then I’d be like, “Well, have you ever done?” [laughter] And then you’re like, “Whoa.” And then all of a sudden you’re blown back and then you’re like, “How’s this guy even here?” Like standing upright. You’re like, “Right, yeah, give him your money.” You know, whatever. [laughter] But yeah, it’s been really nice to step out of that and to step into because even though I got sober at 22, man, I was a kid. So I’ I’ve lived, you know, I’m 40 now. So lived 18 years and a lot of maturation and recovery. So, I can talk more about I have so many more stories of trials and tribulations and sobriety that are so much more a part of me than that was so much more robust and yeah, that’s sick. It’s good stuff, man. Dude, I’m so stoked you came up today. Thank you so much for coming on the show, man. We’ll have to bring you on again. I’m coming up in 2 weeks. Going to check out True North. Going to bring Joseph up, meet the business partners. Excited, dude. Yeah. Let’s lock arms, man. See if we can’t uh have some fun. I appreciate you, brother. Appreciate you, too, man. Thank you so much. Love you. Yeah, dude. Thanks for coming down. Hey everybody, thanks for rocking with us. You know what time it is. Our mission is [music] to save lives, disrupt the industry through quality of care, and more than anything, show up authentically one day at a time. [music] Peace. Later, let’s go, baby.
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