Kind: captions
Language: en
all right question number one I'm going
to kick it off with some questions that
came in on some of our previous lives
nice um sorry this one is from Garrick
Tate um Tom can you explain more about
why you say that all opinions should be
binary yeah you know it's
funny this is something that drives
people crazy about me so um not all
opinion should be binary so let's start
with that when you're trying to make a
decision it is super helpful to exist in
the world of hyper binary like
aggressively black and white because if
you ask people like um what did you
think of this show okay you're going to
get like these waffly answers people are
going to try to be nice there's so much
Social convention that you're not going
to get a clear answer when you need a
clear answer force people into love or
hate because then you like kick in
mechanisms of there is nothing other
than like blinding joy and like
despising something and that really
forces people to be clear in their own
mind about what they they want cuz
people try to dance around it they'll
try to like protect feelings they'll try
to not back themselves into a corner but
I find that if you push them like into
one of those binary extremes and look
I'm all about letting people back out
it's like once you give me your binary
extreme okay cool then we can have the
real conversation about where like the
delineation is where the Shades of Gray
and all that are but like just give me a
hard stance like for a second let's see
where people really are and I've just
found that it it's it is very adaptive
it allows you to move quickly it allows
you to understand like where the
isolated um opinion is so it's a tactic
it is not like I live my life in that
and that everything I either love or I
hate it um I just find that's exhausting
it would be but I find in a big
organization especially and when I say
big I mean like Beyond three or four
people there's so much couching of
language there's so much
like I'm a pleaser my wife is a pleaser
in fact I'll tell you where this all
started my wife and I are both Pleasers
so we really want to make the other
person happy and it becomes paralytic
and you're not able to make a decision
you're not able to move forward because
you're both trying to like guess like
what the other person wants yeah and
it's like don't do that like just say
exactly what you want like give it in a
super binary way and then once those
opinions are out there then you can find
common ground but if everyone's trying
to guess then it just it's a nightmare
so be binary in the beginning figure out
on the extremes where everything is and
then you can work your way back from
there that's smart all right this next
question is from Michael price how do
you find the best metric for success for
your
startup there really is only one and
that's are you making money profitably
and the the reason that's so important
and it's one of those like it's stupid
simple but the reason that it's
absolutely critical is that is the only
mechanism that will allow your business
to sustain that's it and I I really
really worry about the state of
technology today because there's so much
money like take AR and VR there's so
much money being thrown at these
technologies that the vast majority of
these companies will die they will cease
to exist and they will cease to exist
because the product that they're making
does not deliver enough value to people
that they're willing to pay for
it and because of
that just a lot of money is going to be
lost but the thing that actually worries
me is that people will look at those
businesses and go but wait like so like
in some cases hundreds of millions of
dollars have been thrown at the
technology and so people confuse
investment with like business success
and so that's where this gets my my
theory about wook is falling on its face
right now no I think it'll it'll be fine
so that's where this really becomes a
problem is when people can't see the
difference between speculative dollars
being spent and actually building a
profitable business so focus on building
a profitable business that at the the
end of the day is the only thing that
matters and some of the sex appeal of a
business can be lost in that and and
that is just a a lame fact of business
like you may have to Pivot to where it
becomes something that you're not super
interested interested in as the
entrepreneur and that's one of the
reasons that like really committing
yourself to be an entrepreneur you have
to think about whether that's really
what you want or not or if you want to
go to an organization that's already
found a path to profitability and
they're doing something that you really
passionately believe in and giving
yourself over to that cause that company
um rather than try to build something
from scratch because you may have to
like keep changing changing changing
until you find the path to revenue and
then by the time you find the path to
revenue it may not be something that
you're keenly interested in it's uh it's
a tricky game yeah so I've heard slowly
learning about it all right so this one
comes from John um you such a great
speaker what was your process for
becoming so good I know it was compound
moments but what specific moment stood
out um high school speech and debate
so that I mean like that's where this
really all began for me high school
speech and debate and then every day at
lunch so I used to want to be a stand-up
comic so every day at lunch um I would
do I can't remember how long lunch was
30 minutes 60 Minutes I don't remember
it's probably like an hour okay so let's
say it was an hour 55 minutes or
something is right so by the time you
pick up your food and sit down let's say
that I had a remaining 40ish minutes
every day Monday through Friday for 4
years I was doing a essentially a
standup routine at my table and I just
considered it job there was one kid that
if you really got him to laugh he would
actually whatever he was drinking he
would spray it through his nose oh my
God and my thing was like if I couldn't
get him to spray something through his
nose and the day was a failure and at
the time I did not think about it as
being practiced like in that way I just
wasn't um I wasn't self-aware enough but
because I was so hungry to do the thing
like I was so hungry to make people
laugh that I ended up spending all of
that time doing that so I I've never run
the math on exactly how many hours that
is but it is a lot of hours when you
stretch that over four years so I spent
a lot of hours doing that and that just
you know Pro like improving the verbal
processing centers of your brain just by
doing it over and over and over and then
really like actually making it a
competition by going into speech and
debate um that was incredibly incredibly
powerful and having to take both sides
of an argument and understand structure
and brevity which I am not exactly known
for now uh but certainly was a technique
that um I really had to
employ excellent okay sorry so this next
question comes from Mary soul in the
comments I would like to know more um
about the internship program can anyone
around the world apply or is it just us
only could you explain a little bit more
about our expectations here yeah so this
our ideal scenario is that it's local
people here in Los Angeles I am a huge
believer that the best way to build
community is proximity and what I mean
by that is just FaceTime actually
spending time with people um now the
internet is an amazing thing and it it
really can get you a long way um and I
think that engagement in online
communities is very very powerful um so
we are open to um International but
there are there are just inefficiencies
to getting something done when you have
to do it over the internet but there are
certain things like design um that can
be done relatively well from anywhere um
so yes we are definitely um offering
internships and design for people that
are overseas um so it comes down to
skill set if you're really interested
email us at connect impact theory.com
that's Co n
nect at impact Theory which is written
on the TV behind me um impact theory.com
and then um yeah tell us what your skill
set is where you're located and if it
makes sense then we can move forward uh
and if you're in La um that would be
amazing we would love to have you um
come out and and let's see how we can
work together so that's our fantasy uh
but yeah we'll we're open it's fun all
right so this one comes from Laura K hi
Tom Laura K Laura I have a call schedule
with her is she in the feed right now
she's in the feed right now Laura my
most humble apologies I totally actually
my bad no you know my thing right it's
all my fault so never going to blame
anyone else Laura it was my fault I
apologize I totally flaked on you
yesterday my bad so I humbly beseech you
for forgiveness and I will be calling
you cuz it's literally right after this
yes uh so would be amazing I look
forward to it all right but it was
actually my bad I put it in your
calendar wrong so it's all right either
way like we all drop balls but as the
Greek at the same
timeas
minasa and translated that means it's
like no worries all right no problem
what what is it actually Min FASA my
wife would have to chime in and she's
going to think I I can hear but of
course I can't cuz we still haven't
miked that woman up uh yeah but it's no
something so we'll just pretend it's no
worries all right so anyway to Laura's
question yes what are the challenges and
benefits of spending your time building
your own app versus just building up a
large following on existing platforms
ooh great question and the answer is um
at the end of the day if you don't
control your audience you're in real
trouble but there's real power so um I
would say like 95% of our community
right now is on platforms that we don't
control um that is definitely a problem
but it's also where you're going to get
the high velocity so um we are on a
long-term basis focused on getting
people over to our emails newsletter
which if you haven't signed up oh my God
we have to shout out agent Smith so he
put a a signup bar on our website I was
so impressed so he put a signup bar on
our website and it more than
three-folded our conversion rate so we
took it up by over 300% on our website
which you can check out now and sign up
impact theory.com at the bottom of the
page he created this sticky bar that
just it's for you to sign up to our
newsletter sign up you know our stick
we're trying to add value so we're not
going to waste your time we're not going
to spam you and we sure as hell aren't
going to sell your data um so yeah you
can sign up to that one and by all means
feel free to test us and you know create
like an email address or something
that's the one that if it ever got sold
that you would know it was just us evil
bastards we would never do that you guys
can count on that that that is like
Community suicide so never do that uh
but yeah jump in the water's warm uh so
that's at the end of the day that's what
you want to be in a position to do is
really have them in your ecosystem in a
way that other people can't control
right now Facebook can change the
algorithm they've already done it before
you reach now on Facebook something like
1% of your followers that's crazy um
same with Instagram right they could
make a change Twitter all of them they
can make a change at any time they could
go away but they're incredibly powerful
tools and so I think that it's awesome
to invest there to get people to
leverage what is being done um and I
would say step one is very much
leveraging those tools go where the
audience is and then over time by adding
value you want to bring them into an
ecosystem that you
control very true thems is the true
words definitely owned ver versus rented
property I think is the concept Ash
truth um so this one comes from Craig
what do you define as great wealth and
what is your definite purpose end of
life goal meaning that you can die the
day die that day and that you knowing
that you accomplished it okay so this is
a trap um so I will it's a trap it's a
trap I will answer it knowing that this
is a trap so uh great wealth to me is to
me um is money so having lots and lots
of money now money is inert so you need
to know what you now inert just means it
does nothing like look at money like
imagine a world where you were the last
person alive and what does money mean
then nothing okay so that that is that
is money's true nature like at least
gold you can melt down you can turn into
things um but money literally other than
I guess you could burn it so I guess it
can be converted into heat energy um so
that's kind of cool but in today's world
it is it is a facilitator that's it so
money facilitates things if you don't
know what you want to facilitate the
money will bring you anything
interesting if you know what you want to
facilitate with money money is
incredibly powerful that to me is wealth
now fulfillment on the other hand has
nothing to do with money um I won't say
it can't be touched by money because
really like impact Theory to me is very
fulfilling and the people that write in
and say oh my God you've changed my life
you've done this you've freed my mind
like you've allowed me to start this
business to whatever that is insanely
fulfilling to me and I love that and
believe that it's my highest calling is
to help people do that and the only
reason we're able to do that is because
I have a massed wealth and that's what's
fueling all this it means that I don't
need a job it means that we can build
this set and have all these cameras and
so and and it just has my undivided
attention so all of that is a result of
having accumulated wealth so I I am very
much um I I think accumulating wealth
when you know what you want to do with
it is incredibly powerful and very
important um but chasing money for the
sake of money is is like a failing
Endeavor in the highest extreme and I
just cannot tell people enough you have
to make one minor tweak and I'm going to
amass wealth by bringing value to the
world oh okay cool in a thing that like
makes me feel my most alive right cuz
let us make no mistake impact theory is
a for-profit company okay everybody's
clear on that yeah clar so that that's
like uh people need to understand that
and the reason that that is so is
because I want to accumulate more
resources and it needs to be
self-sustaining like otherwise we're
going to do this for you know call it
five or six years and then we're done so
it's like hey at some point like it's
got to be self- sustaining so that
wealth to me is money fulfillment is the
thing that's all mental it's a mind game
it is totally about finding that thing
that makes you feel most alive helping
people I just maybe it's just me or
maybe it's just people like me but I
think it's more Universal than that I
think humans are wired to help other
humans we are a social species we're a
pack animal like we want to protect the
herd and because of that I think that
we're chemically rewarded for being of
service to other people and I think
there's something in this that just
makes wants to make the world a better
place that is obviously not always true
but like yeah even people that do crazy
[ __ ] like in their own demented way like
they thought they were making it better
for at least a group of people right I I
just can't other than serial killers
like is anybody really setting out to
help no one other than themselves not
usually not usually like it sometimes is
a distressingly small group of people
that they're trying to help but it
really is usually like at least their
click so I just think that we're wired
for that so and we're living through
this amazing social Revolution where
you're being held accountable I think
it's awesome I think it's really
changing the way that people think and
dude social media man you can hate on it
all day long but it has empowered people
to make demands and say Here's how I
think we should be looking at the world
and I just think it's it's a one-way
Street I don't think it ever goes
backwards absolutely I've also received
a request for you to move your mic a
little
closer how we doing uh is better hey
everybody is it better welcome so nice
to have you today the radio whisper the
radio yeah that's like if I wasn't such
um a Lou like when I get excited I get
so loud I would literally talk like this
the whole episode it sounds better I
sound deeper it does it it does a little
bit because it's like it gives that
intimacy yes it's intimacy intimacy is
the word I'm looking for thank you um so
hopefully that helped all right so our
next question comes from Laura defrain
um hi guys how do you balance learning
Concepts to help with growth mindset
like watching it reading books um that
you've recommended versus actually going
out and executing like from a Time
perspective how much time do I spend on
each uh yeah let's break it down in that
tactical way um it's 8020 right that's
the sort of famous rule you want to
spend um 80% of your time is is um
should be focused on actually executing
and 20% of your time maybe like I
definitely don't percent I don't spend
20% of my time intaking I try to spend
more than that but I think 8020 is a is
a reasonable um split but doing is is
ultimately the it's the only thing that
adds up to anything like if you're if
you're learning all this stuff but you
don't then do if you don't go out and
execute like it just doesn't go anywhere
so yeah spend as much time doing as you
can you just have to actually have the
skills to execute against
it dope so I just want to give quick
shout outs to some of our impact
theorists well impac toist around the
world um coming in from bellev um
Washington bellw Washington Big Ups to
Bell man yeah B bellw Washington and
I've lost his name um Andy Moss from
Toronto um Mary soul from Mexico and
Mexico in the house good Paris Paris is
also in the house too Paris France yes
all right respect not that Paris my wife
and I had a magical Weekend in Paris
like straight magic so a super dear
friend um of ours uh somebody that I've
known since I was like 18 got married
she's Parisian so hey it makes sense
that she got married in Paris uh and we
went there for that and just had an
unbelievably good time and it was the
first time I was introduced to a
straight foot
fetish what I was waiting for that so I
God I wish my wife was here right now I
think I was looking for a restroom so my
wife and I split up we're on on the
streets of Paris we'd split up and um I
was like trying to find either where we
were trying to end up or a restroom or
something and I come back and my wife
was like some dude just like took photos
of my feet I'm like what do you mean and
she was like he came up he didn't speak
English but he was like pointing at my
feet and asking if he could take
pictures and she was like I totally
don't get it she was like I don't know
if you just like my shoes or what and I
was like no baby that is not why he
wanted to take pictures of your feet uh
so yeah right now someone somewhere in
Paris has my wife's feet hanging on a
wall somewhere in uh I think red heels
if I remember right oh those are cute I
don't have a foot fetish so that's just
weird to me but you know God bless and
like you know their own um this one
comes from I Ian Pettit Ian Pet Sounds
we know um if you are in the Rebel
Alliance what is the
Empire wow what an awesome question what
is the Empire I'll give you the cheesy
answer first and so this is what my
subconscious threw up but I I don't want
to commit to to this answer um a fixed
mindset that's re no that really is
right um that is what my life's mission
is to fight against that is a fixed
mindset um I don't really I don't think
that even like so okay I spent in fact
the the way that I amassed wealth was in
fighting the food industry I don't think
the food industry is evil I I really
think it's people that um they just get
myopically focused on something stupid
and that's profits and maybe like people
do individual actions that sure if
you're looking at you're going to be
like that was pretty Sinister but like
when you really like what are they
trying to do they're trying to feel good
about themselves they're trying to
protect their family they're trying to
do something cool that makes them proud
like they're not um they're not
sociopaths right they're just not and
you can see people do crazy [ __ ] that we
would all stand back and go dude what
like that's gross that's super nasty and
I see people do it all the time but I
don't think they're evil I just think
they're
stupid that's the truth and I've been
stupid too many times times in my life
to like hurl Too Many Stones so I'm just
trying to like bypass all that I'm not
trying to change a system I'm trying to
go and impact individual people and now
given the tools and technology that we
have I think you can affect them on mass
so really what I'm trying to save people
against is a fixed mindset it's
themselves absolutely word all right
this one comes from Shan Delaney for a
young entrepreneur would you worry more
about learning from a mentor or getting
out and doing it on your own
I would get mentors wherever you can but
there's no substitute for firsthand
experience but if I were to do it all
again and I were in my early 20s I would
pick the person who's living the life
that I want to live I would you guys
have heard me give the Spiel a hundred
times before find the person who's
living the life that you want to live go
to them and say I'll work harder and
smarter than anyone you've ever met I'm
going to do it for free for 90 days at
the end of the 90 days if I've added
value then you're going to put me on
payroll if I haven't then we part ways
all I ask in return is knowledge and
introductions um connections and that's
it and I think that that that would have
short circuited so much of my learning
curve because people that have been
there and done that they're going to
give you those codified nuggets that
allow you to see the world in a much
more useful way and it's really that
it's about that perspective it's about
reframing things it's about knowing how
to conceptualize the world and the the
reason that we ended up on um using
traditional narrative at impact Theory
to have the kind of global change we
want to have is I just know that's how
people take in new paradigms it's it is
way since you can't Mentor the world um
you've got to like incept them where
they are um getting that embedded into
traditional narrative getting a growth
mindset embedded like if everywhere
people turn all the characters that they
admire and look up to all have a fixed
or all have a growth mindset and talk
about that and the dramas related around
people going from a fixed mindset to a
growth mindset and then you have social
content married to that saying watch
like this journey like Superman 2 may be
um you know like one of the greatest
movies ever cuz he loses his [ __ ]
superpower poers and so like everybody
laments like there's no great story to
tell with Superman of course there is
take away his powers and then you find
out what he's about or or have him deal
with the emotional struggle of not
wanting to help of like being Ultra
powerful and being like dude I just want
to live my life like I want to fall in
love I want to so people get caught up
in in like the trappings of that but if
if we're telling all these stories that
revolve around you know how to transcend
some of these
counterproductive um Tendencies going
from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset
and then marry it to social content
where we're talking about that I think
that you can really speed up it's the
closest thing I could think of to a
global
Mentor so and that's what we're all
about we're all about that Global
mentorship and uh my daughter's has got
something to say cuz I think someone
came in the front door which is supposed
to be illegal while we're we're filming
so what I love and people never get to
see as spons I just like what's up
like's that he's the Elder Statesman of
the group so so and he's having can if
we can digress for a second he's having
neck problems bless him so we had to
take him to the vet so now he like
doesn't pick his head up to look at you
he just kind of lifts his eyes what's up
buddy you the old man now yeah he got
his name because he used to be such a
like Maniac so it's weird that's so
weird yeah for the maniac be like Ultra
chill no he got his name because as a
puppy and he's tiny because he's a
Chihuahua he uh he leapt leapt like
Superman selo off of the arm of a couch
so not even like the low part the
highest part and literally like straight
arms out and so when he did it I yelled
Bonsai and I was like okay well that's
well that's obviously his name now
that's and my wife though for a long
time spelled it like the tree I was like
that's not his name his name is not
Bonsai which is like Zen in the tree
that you sculpt it's Bonsai like what
you scream as you're a kamakazi pilot
crashing so which is I think long live
the emperor we've really gone tangent
now but I like to secretly believe
that's part of why people tune in I
could be wrong I love the tangents all
right there's a good one for you so this
one comes from Ryan [ __ ] how do you
separate from your current tribe without
Burning Bridges to pursue your goals God
you know my instinct was to yell into
the mic burn those bridges um no no I I
think you do I don't be a dick about it
but I think you do you can't worry about
it so here's my thing have empathy at
all times compion at kind at all like I
have when people are always like hey man
I've got some in my life that have a
fixed mindset what do I do the answer is
just be compassionate like have empathy
love them and don't judge them but at
the end of the day like don't let them
drag you down so if you need to get away
from those people it's like nothing but
love for each and every one of you but I
need to go in this direction and I think
I think people can feel that I think
they know if you're like turning away
cuz you are judging them or you're
turning away cuz you're just trying to
do something that's good for you right
and you know I mean look I had to really
um I had to carve a path that was very
different from what everyone else in my
family had done and but because like
like I'll give you an example this is a
real example um so I think it was a
second cousin of mine um one of my mom's
cousins I think whatever that makes them
to me great cousin I it doesn't matter
um they so we're all sitting it was like
Christmas Eve or something we're all
sitting around the table and they roll
up and he's like a long trucker and like
blue collar in the nth literally missing
most of his teeth and he wears like he
grows his mustache to like cover it and
I think they were high like if I'm
honest and um like everyone scattered
from the table and I was like no way
like these like I want to engage like I
want to know like what's their life
about you know like let's connect and so
we ended up having this awesome
conversation it was so rad and I ended
up I learned like CB call signs and like
what some I for I've forgotten them now
cuz this was quite a while ago but like
for a while like I knew some of the like
cool ways that truckers like communicate
with each other that like there's cops
ahead and all this stuff and when you
lead with compassion and empathy good
things happen right like absolutely shut
off the Judgment just like what can you
learn right like there's always
something that you can learn from people
so anyway if people feel that all the
time like it doesn't matter that you're
carving a path in a totally different
direction because when you're there it's
like loves hugs cuddles like sin SE your
desire to know them understand them
where they're coming from what they're
about um people feel that someone's just
asking me about my interview style and I
was like dude I'm not a [ __ ]
journalist I am not a journalist I am
not here to ask hard questions I am here
to show you I am a I have been inspired
by you which is why I've invited you on
the show I want to share what you've
offered me with the the audience and
hopefully I can also learn in real time
like that's what it's about and that
makes people feel seen it makes them
lower their guard because they know I'm
not trying to trap them or trick Tri
them I want to give them an opportunity
to shine and so if that's how you come
to the world I promise you can like go
do your thing with your five new people
and nobody feels Left Behind or anything
they'll they'll get it it you just have
to make them feel like make people feel
better about themselves when they're
around you period whether you're like
I've got to get away from this person or
not if I'm with you because your family
or whatever I don't want to cut you out
of my life like you're going to feel
better about yourself for being around
me
period absolutely I me I mean I
definitely would never burn Bridges I
would no with kindness the light does is
on fire I don't know it just feels very
destructive so yeah I mean I guess by
its nature Burning Bridges distancing
but yeah it's interesting because I
can't allow myself to say I wouldn't
burn Bridges it's funny because my whole
long diet tribe sounded like not Burning
Bridges but I'm all for right which is
that's why I was like wait know that's
true that's true second because maybe
we're do you define Burning Bridges as
like um I'm never talking to you again
or something like that that that ship
has sailed and we've lit this bridge on
fire I'm not Crossing back over there
like that's the bridge it's burnt I
can't go back over there bye yeah so so
that's why I don't Define it that way if
burning a bridge requires you to be a
jerk then yeah I'm not for Burning
Bridges so for me I would never burn a
bridge because I I always like Leave
Myself open to anybody who I've ever had
and I'm also the person who if I've
loved you before I will always love you
forever so feel free to come back into
my life what if they're cruel to you
even I will like treat them with
kindness I just know that I can't engage
with them for extended periods of time
or anything like that just know that I
don't want to waste the energy of hating
someone that's not it's not useful so
you know if you're cruel to me then I
also respect myself enough to know that
I shouldn't hang out with you every day
for the rest of my life yeah no I
totally hear that I think that's wisdom
yeah so there we go um and this one
actually came in yesterday from cnre
hellmark
um so Tom could you create a platform
within the impact Theory Community where
we can register um and communicate with
one another indeed we can yeah we can so
we're working on that right now super
glad you asked promises is not a plant
it's not it was so funny I saw that
question I was like March 27th guys like
be on the lookout we'll launch our
official impact Theory Facebook group um
by the way Cindy just did a big
presentation here internally for that
it's going to be dope you guys are going
to love it yeah I'm really excited so
look out for the invitations feel free
to connect with me so that you can get
Early Access and just get in there and
start engaging and how you want connect
you uh just find me on Facebook cuz it's
all going to be done through Facebook so
okay and under what username well it's
my Facebook it's
cindy.
so r e k e so facebook.com cindy. o k r
e k e boom and connect nice great all
right so then the next question comes
from
jumaine uh Cabrera how would you attack
a startup that provides a service as
opposed to a
product how would I approach a startup
that's doing a product in a service
instead of a product mhm uh there's
other than the logistical steps of
getting the product put together there's
really not a difference you're it all
the fundamentals are going to be the
same um the great news is with a service
you can usually give it away a lot
easier than you can a product because
there's a lot lower cost it's just the
cost of the human being and usually
people are starting in an industry where
they are the one providing the service
so now you really can give it away um so
with a product you have to find
something that's tangential to do on
social media to really deliver value um
unless you can afford obviously to just
actually give away the product so I
think in in a lot of ways while a
service business is a lower margin
business a service business is a lot
harder to sell for a massive multiple um
it's easier to get early wins than it is
with a product because you can give the
value away and if it's real If there
really is value there um you can give it
away and then people are going to want
more and by the way I will just give you
a tip if you're in the service industry
and you're afraid that you can give away
your secrets in like um uh uh one
interview or something and you go in you
want people to sign ndas and you're like
you know I'm why would I give you an
hour for free like these people are
trying to like scam me and get my info
you don't have anything real I'm just
going to tell you that right now so if
that like if that ever triggers in your
head you have nothing real and I will
say I have very deep suspicions I won't
say what just happened but I have very
deep suspicions that uh and you can
either back me up or tell me I'm crazy
that recently one of my ideas that I
went into a very large company and
pitched um I believe that they just
straight ran with it right yeah and so
internally everyone was like what uh and
literally in their announcement about
this thing that they're doing they all
but quote me in the article uh which was
kind of amazing and I was just like whoa
am I really that powerful that like I
walk in and give people an idea and then
they go do it like that was amazing so
rather than be pissed that um that they
didn't involve Us in an ongoing way it's
like it was just an idea right so it all
comes down to the execution now I would
have loved just because it would have
been so fun I really wanted to be
involved in the execution but it's not
like they stole anything real it was
like it's just a [ __ ] idea so um yeah
people get super wound up about ideas I
will do exactly that a thousand more
times even if every time because because
I'm telling you when you meet people
like that and you give ideas like that
eventually like somebody
goes I would just really want this
person to be involved in the ongoing and
that's when you have something that's
real like I'm literally trying to give
away every tip and trick that I have in
the all the content that we create I'm
trying to get like it's not like I'm
giving like oh I'm giving you like some
thin layer of my advice I like if people
would stay like if if it actually
performed like I would just do more and
more and more content giving stuff away
more free more away like ah because I
know that people won't outperform me and
I know that they can feel I really want
them to like I really want them to be
great and that to me is just it in
today's world this may not have always
been the case but in today's world that
is a winning strategy build community of
people who believe like think about this
for a second between inside Quest and
impact Theory a we've been viewed over
165 million times okay oh super random
story so I've said it a thousand times I
don't think people believe me but I've
said it a thousand times actually is
true I'm introverted I had no interest
in stepping out into the spotlight until
the world of U marketing changed and it
became apparent that people that
personal brands are a big deal because
people want transparency they want to
know what you're about they want to know
how you're going to spend the money all
that they need a person um so I went
into Shake Shack yesterday here in C
City and the guy uh like running fries
I'm not kidding comes like running up to
the front and he was like are you that
dude from
YouTube and I could not bring myself to
say anything and but I was with Jim
quick and Jim goes yes he is and uh so
it was like so Jim and literally that
happened in the middle because Jim is
also introverted so Jim and I are having
this conversation about how visibility
Fame is useful even though we like don't
seek it literally the words are like
hanging in the air and the guy comes
running up and asking if and I thought
this this is the era that we live in now
where by putting yourself out there by
trying to give things away by showing
people who you are by trying to add
value to their life you can build a
community of people for whom they
believe you have changed their life more
than anyone else now imagine I come to
you and I say hey we're going to be
producing our first piece of content or
guys I'm now officially involved in this
company and it's making something I
think it's good for you I don't need you
to buy it I just want you to look at it
and if it if you think it will add value
to your life then please buy it by all
means but now I can control where people
look and those people feel like whoa
like I owe him something because he's
done so much for me like that Cindy I
can't tell that is so powerful and it's
never existed before it's never existed
before and to really have that kind of
visibility you either had to be a
celebrity but you were going to get
famous for something else right you're
going to get famous for being an actor
and so all your activism was like
tangential to what you do but now you
can literally build so I mean this is
all still related to the service
question like all that value that you've
built is tied to the service that you're
trying to sell so get out and give it
away give it away give it away give it
away now uh give it away because that's
where you're really going to make
connections you're going to build value
you're going to get a community of
people that really believe in what
you're doing and um you know I've given
like some of the companies that I've
invested in I go and just give them like
fullblown presentations um trying to
help them be successful now am I
incentivized to do that obviously but
how many others investor how many other
investors do that virtually none because
people think well I already gave you my
money you make something happen with it
but it's like I want to help I want to
help I want to help and so yeah it it an
amazingly powerful time there's not a
lot of difference between a product and
a service from that perspective um if
you're asking me what's a Better
Business to get into product can make
money while you sleep a lot easier it's
easier to sell if you choose to do that
um profit margins are usually a lot
higher but do the one that makes you
feel most alive absolutely that else
stop all right this one's from Dan bro
Fitness Dan bro Fitness woo um besides
Lisa who has influenced you the
most I think the only honest answer are
my parents but that's not what people
want um so the books that I've read have
been amazing Stephen King huge huge
influence on my life he did not mean to
um but he showed me that I did love to
read I just hadn't yet found what I love
reading about it was a huge huge deal
for me um Tony Robbins has had again
until I met him he didn't even know I
existed but he'd had a huge impact on my
life uh my former business partners Mike
and Ron um huge impact on my life those
guys were amazing um they still are uh
yeah like that's um I could literally
keep going on with authors author on
author on author um because those guys
have just had such a tremendous impact
yeah I feel you on that one and if you
want to know which ones just my 25 books
25 Tom's reading list on the on impact
theory.com yes nice good promotion and I
I'll say Joseph Campbell I'd be remiss
in fact he's the only one that
has that's really made me permanently
alter my body yeah so shout out to
Joseph Campbell he I'm so sad he makes
my you know like who would you invite
you to living or dead Joseph Campbell
fors I'm horrified that he didn't make
my radar till he'd already passed away
yeah that's so sad that is sad all right
so this one actually comes from Laura K
um Laura K back in the house the
greatest rapper in the feed I promise
you she she can throw down she's got
Rhymes she's got Rhymes you got to check
this girl out and it's all like in fact
Laura Dr mindset yes drop in the feed a
link to your YouTube you should do that
people should check you out yeah check
yeah check Laura out check her out all
right so this question um I'm going to
pose it to the both of us but it was for
me originally what are your top pieces
of advice for social media growth right
now especially for reaching and keeping
an audience of gen Z and Millennials I
think you're the one to answer this
question this year all right well so
this will mostly be based on gut because
I haven't done enough research to
adequately answer your question but just
watching social trends is definitely
um transparency and
authenticity are super key for genz and
Millennials right now in terms of
um people are a lot more careful with
their dollars these days just because we
don't have as many of them especially
like Millennials and then up and
cominging geners they're seeing like the
debt that everybody's in and so they're
making different financial decisions so
the same way that you could put out a
product and be like it's the best thing
like all your friends have it da d da
people are kind of caring less about
that um so you know like I have friends
that when we lived in the same area we
would just share aead of luggage like if
we weren't traveling together yeah so it
was like really nice like luggage
basically we all like tripped in
invested in it and so we used it to
travel because we were all in like same
proximity so it's just this idea of like
collaboration is a big one because
people aren't going more so to like
traditional um like record labels and
all that kind of stuff to you know grow
their personal brand so it's all about
kind of building these relationships
with the people around you and online so
if you see like Chance the Rapper he's
still an independent artist because for
him it's important to be able to control
his art and also you know establish and
cater to his community he never wants to
change who he is to be anything else
besides the person that he is um and so
I feel like right now for Millennials
geners like that's kind of the path so
it's feeling empowered by social media
as a tool to get your message out there
and then also living in a world where
it's all about collaboration and growth
together um and yeah so I think those
would be like the biggest things so it's
not necessarily selling it's definitely
all about adding value as much as you
can and being as honest and truthful so
even when I worked in retail like I was
always the sales associate who told you
like honestly I didn't like the fit on
this personally on my own body like the
Fabric's great it's awesome go ahead and
try it on I think this will be a better
fit for you and the thing is people
appreciated that Honesty so people came
back to me and specifically would ask
for me when they're shopping to you know
help them out so the thing is it's it's
just understanding that people just want
not to be related to on an individual
basis or like on a one inone um yeah
one-onone basis um and then scaling
that love it it's a great answer yeah
what respect
um well let's go somewhere uh you so hit
it like so let's define terms really
fast so Millennials are like I think
33 is to like 21 and then uh jenz is uh
5 to 20 I think that's sort of the the
rough breakdown um so what's fascinating
is that um so Millennials sort of began
this trend they social media got
introduced to them when they were
already around it wasn't always
something but they were the early
adopters they got it um it wasn't like
an arm twisting at least not for the
middle to younger Millennials so that
began this trend of like a different
different level of interaction with
businesses a different way to associate
and um uh connect with Brands but they
were they were really like the brand
generation and they were I I call them
the entrepreneurial generation they very
much wanted to control their own destiny
and social media gave them a lot of
power gave them a way to connect and a
voice in a way that Generations
previously didn't have and I think that
really shaped the way that they view the
world and then you had the crash in 2008
and that's where gen Z GR grown up and
gen Z watched a they had social media
basically their entire lives and they've
watched their parents struggle through
the Great Recession and so I think
that's you know to your point about um
them having a very different
relationship with money uh I think
that's where a lot of that came from and
they've been referred to as the
altruistic generation that they're you
know you've got seven-year-olds who are
like don't give me birthday presents but
instead like donate to this charity um
and and I think that's really an echo of
the Millennials who really were becoming
aware of social cause es um being able
to connect and you know I think
Millennials can can take responsibility
for things like the Arab Spring and
stuff like that where social media
empowered them to really push back but
then I want to know who's going to take
responsibility for the fact that those
all failed right and so that's become my
obsession and how do we make sure that
those movements don't just start they go
all the way through and that they have
tremendous um change and you know oh God
I'm so not political so I'm way in over
my head here but looking at um that
you're you're living through this age
where we have these uprisings but then
we also have terrifying things happen
you know here and elsewhere uh where
politically it just seems like what is
happening uh so that's super surreal to
me and and so becomes part of the you
know the problem that we're trying to
solve uh so looking at that and looking
at the difference between those
Generations um there is nothing other
than inviting them into your world you
know to your point about transparency
like for companies to succeed in the
future it's not going to be about like
how cool is my brand it's going to be
what does my brand represent and so I
think now as entrepreneurs we all have a
very fundamentally different question
that we have to ask and people trying to
get a job in a company have a different
question to ask and they have to
understand that interviewing is a
two-way street and that they should be
asking like as a company what do you
stand for like what are you about and
that is I think a a super super
important um thing that not a lot of
people are thinking about and so the
only way to really answer that question
is by being transparent by putting
yourself out there by telling people
what you stand for by showing them what
you're doing with the proceeds by
telling them like what your end mission
is like what is the goal like really
really putting it out there and letting
them be a part of that Journey um and so
I think ironically this all comes from
um My Big Fat Greek Wedding uh but this
notion of the community will always be
the head always always always they make
the decisions you cannot tell the
internet what to do right that is like
one that was one of those things that
when um Nick Robinson first said that to
me I thought that is so smart like to
put words around that to understand that
the you know the ask a ask the audience
question on Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire only works because you're
listening right you ask and you listen
you don't tell and so if you want to tap
into the wisdom of the crowd you have to
understand that you don't ever get to
tell them what to do but you can be the
neck and you can direct them as to what
you want an answer on and
that is so powerful and so we're living
in this age where if you're willing to
be transparent if you're willing to
leverage the tools that you have if
you're willing to ask and listen that
being able to control the question
becomes really powerful and if you're
willing to accept the answer that you
get then you can build something
incredible but you know it it comes down
to the things you put your finger on
authenticity transparency um real
connections you know we are
simultaneously a brand and a person
right so people can write in they know
that they're going to be talking to you
or they know they're going to be talking
to me or they know they're going to talk
to Lisa or Dr finesse or agent Smith and
then we have two other incredible people
who absolutely Des spy is being upfront
um but Casey and Courtney are amazing
human beings and are by their own desire
the most invisible people uh at impact
Theory but um I do everything I can to
in a way that they will find enjoyable
um bring them a little bit out so that
people can see uh and relate to them but
I I think that's the that's the Paradigm
do that and and have good intentions and
the rest will take care of itself
absolutely all right this is our next
question from Corey um who's finally
made it to a Facebook live he keeps
missing them like by the skin of his
teeth I saw those comments this one's
for you Corey what's up Cory all right
welome so it's a followup to what Ian
proposed so when starting a business in
a small town let's say less than 10,000
population what are your thoughts on
building with a team um is it better to
go solo for a while or bring others in
from the getg go and if bringing others
in is recommended how would you go about
finding those other people with the same
goals Tarter
multiarray um it all of this stuff is
about meeting enough people that you can
find people that really really fit your
mentality and that is not easy um but
doing it online to start and then I
would never partner with somebody that I
hadn't met face to face because they's
still just a huge portion of what you
can read from their physicality the way
they hold themselves the way they micro
Expressions all that stuff so uh but I
would find somebody online I would meet
them in person I would make sure that we
really had shared values I would try to
find a situation which I can see them
under duress it's very hard um I used to
do that in interviews where I would make
it stressful F uh which is a lot easier
when you're interviewing uh because I
wanted to see how people handled it I
wanted to see um you know sort of where
they went um and and right before I
transitioned out of quest um we were
doing interviews as like huge groups of
people like you would walk into a pack
of 20 people in your interview and just
be like what is going on um and then our
job was to one really assess how you
handled that big surprise and then two
can we help you lower your anxiety
levels and really see the real you cuz
that that's the flip side of that coin
is you may put someone in such an
artificial situation you're not really
seeing them um but so that's that's the
thing I would use the internet I would
meet them in person I would really see
if we shared some values um and and the
key isn't whether you do something with
other people or not the key is um do you
have the right people and do you need to
pay them because the only reason not to
team up with people immediately is
because you don't have somebody that you
really really share a vision with
because that's super critical um or that
you can't afford to bring on an employee
cuz that you you know obviously vious ly
um it gets a lot more problematic when
you have payroll so I think as a startup
um it's really about finding other
like-minded people who are willing to
work their asses off for free and you
really really have to find the right
person and it is you should be as
serious about taking on a partner as you
would be taking on a spouse I'm not
kidding so um I just can't tell you the
nightmare that ensues when Partners
don't agree um and that whoa that really
really becomes a nightmare and is
exactly like breaking up with somebody
so um be super careful and then you know
if if you've managed to build something
in the interim um it gets dicey but I
I've talked to so many highlevel
entrepreneurs that have had massive
exits and I will tell you they all say
the same thing and that's um so
frequently what causes a company to
really go into turmoil is is infighting
so you've got to be be super careful of
that that all comes down to selection
absolutely and just a reminder to
everyone um be sure to share this live
feed or you know if we're adding value
to your life um in order to win a impact
the teeth shirt yes please yes okay so
this one comes from Sean Joseph what are
the key characteristics that the IT team
looks for in a Founder applying for
startup
Theory um really okay so I'll just give
you the honest answer uh we need to make
sure that people aren't crazy that
they're not going to get um on camera
and just be super weird um so that's one
uh and then do they have they really
thought through um their Vision so we
need people that can articulate what
their company's about um if they're in
the idea stage do they at least have
really great questions um is it
something that can be made Universal
that's another big one because at the
end of the day this isn't about the
person that you're trying to help it's
about the community and so it's always
about serving the community and if there
isn't something that's Universal in what
they want to know about um then then it
gets really tough like if I don't think
there's anything um that can be
extracted um and then it needs to be
something that you know we're not
starting at scratch and somebody's just
like throwing out like a random idea and
hey what should I do so the more
developed it is the better um not
everybody's going to have a full-fledged
product that's already on the market but
um the closer that we can be to that so
that we can really get into because I
find in the specifics lies the universal
and that the you know if you're it's
just all conceptual it's just going to
be another episode of Q&A um so way more
interesting if they have like really
specific things that they need yeah um
and I really love the thing that you
just said about in the specifics lie the
universalities um because that really
just resonates with me as a concept um
this one comes from Michael Foster
Michael Foster in the house yeah what is
the number one thing you tell yourself
each and every
day um oh God so much of this stuff is
now automatic for me that if you were
actually tapping into my brain um what
you're going to hear are you'll mostly
hear the worrying of autopilot like I've
done such a meticulous job over the
years of making sure that all of my sub
routines are beneficial um so there
there isn't anything like that I think
it's more let rather than say it's
something that I do every day let's
let's re askk a slightly different
question that might get a more useful
answer um and and in a few like genres
of things what do I do so if I'm feeling
overwhelmed so yesterday for like like a
30- second period I actually felt
overwhelmed and I thought I I was about
to articulate it and then I thought in
saying this out loud I'll focus on it so
don't focus on that um take a second to
be grateful for like like what's
something in this and I'm okay so I'm
feeling overwhelmed ah I have a just a
wall of opportunity I'm super St I'm
like that's amazing so literally like
that I went from like this feeling of
overwhelm to being just incredibly
grateful for the wall of opportunity
that is at all times approaching us um
and so that was super useful um when I
wake up in the morning and I really
don't want to get out of bed you would
hear my mind search for something to
move towards so I'm not a move away from
guy I like to move towards things I like
to be excited about something um and so
that's how I get myself in the gym a lot
of times like I'm excited uh it's
usually I'll go if I'm really like not
wanting to get out of bed I'll go to
something aesthetic because it's so
immediate um like oh man I'll my wife
will be super turned on by my arms or
what hey just yeah hashtag Real Talk um
and that'll help me get out of bed
because I can move towards the
excitement of that rather than move away
from you know like I don't want to feel
lazy like I don't and that is a
motivating factor but it's not nearly as
cool as like my wife being stoked on how
I look right that's hey human nature um
so I'll do that um if I am what another
example uh if I'm scared of something
you'll hear my identity kick in like I'm
the guy that when I'm afraid of
something I do it I prioritize it I go
after it um so you'd literally hear
those exact words run through my head
and um yeah those are three examples I'm
sure I could go on uh but that's what
you would hear it's it's never like
every day I don't think there's really
anything that I say to myself every day
um but depending on what pops up that
day like that'll be you pull it off the
shelf if you will exactly and I really
have tried to ingrain this stuff so
that's super automatic so that like um
you know when when you have the impulse
like the impulse of fear is a trigger
it's a literal trigger for that Loop of
I'm the guy that moves towards that and
it's then like empowering so fear
actually like empowers me because it
create it triggers that positive Loop
but you just have to work on that it's
repetition you do it enough and then it
becomes like the gap between stimulus
and response like gets super brief do
the Reps do the Reps do the Reps indeed
do the Reps all right guys I think we're
rounding out our Facebook live with that
final question nice um so just a few
reminders don't forget to share this
live feed if it's adding value to you
guys so you can win and impact the
T-shirt um and look out for the
community group coming soon um feel free
to add me on Facebook
facebook.com/ Cindy c n d y. o k r e k
and also sign up to our new newsletter
just so you know any of the events we
have coming up um anything that you can
be a part of and you can do that at
impact theory.com and mad love again to
the one and only agent Smith for making
that happen super super grateful uh guys
thank you so much for joining us I
absolutely love doing these things it is
amazing I love hearing your questions
and getting the opportunity to answer
them and connect directly with you guys
thank you so much you know that we are
absolutely obsessed with the community
that we're building
and man if you're keeping score this
community is growing fast it is so cool
uh we are completely honored very
humbled and Incredibly excited to serve
you and do dope things together so guys
thank you so so so much and until next
time my friends be legendary take care
everybody peace out
toodles