Rising Phoenix Pod

Max discusses his journey into content creation and his inspiration from Alex Sedlak and Lucas Packard. He initially felt too shy to post videos but gained confidence after seeing their success. He purchased Alex's mentorship program and started creating content. Max emphasizes the importance of authenticity and finding one's own style instead of copying others. He also discusses the value of belief in oneself and the product being sold. Max and Luke Brinton talk about the challenges of discussing AI in a relatable way and the need for credibility in video platforms. They mention a TikTok creator who gives relationship advice without showing his face, and they argue that showing one's face builds credibility. They also mention the criticism faced by successful content creators and the importance of treating people well. So welcome to the Rising Phoenix podcast. I'm your host, Luke Brinton. This is my guest, Max. We're going to run it up, kind of just talking about his story. So Max, how did you get into content creation and why did you start in the first place? Well, first off, I'd like to say I'm happy to be on this podcast. Luke works super hard, doing a ton of stuff, super knowledgeable on AI, and that's going to be super involved in the future. So first off, excited to be on this and talking with him. We've talked a ton in the past and we haven't been able to talk live until now and super happy to do it. But what first got me into it was, you've got to know Alex Sedlak and Lucas Packard. They're two big guys and Lucas has really come up in the last three, four, five months. But Alex was the first guy that got me into it. Three years ago, seeing a ton of his videos, watching his story out of his basement from ground up to Miami and then moving back to Ohio. It's a great story coming from nothing. And I've always been interested in it, but way too shy of a kid to actually post and see myself as somebody who could give good advice. And at the time, that was probably valid because when I was 17, 18, I didn't have any breakups I'd gone through. I didn't have a ton of awesome experiences, not amazing stories to tell. I mean, I accomplished a lot in sports and I've had a ton of injuries, but I didn't see myself as somebody having something to contribute. That changed. I saw, again, Alex continue to grow and continue to help so many people. And I looked into CYR, Creative Reality, that's his product, digital product, mentorship program more or less. I ran through that or I bought that actually. So it was 250 bucks, which is like nothing. So I just bought that. And at the time, I wasn't super committed. Growing up, I was a huge, played a ton of video games. And I love World of Warcraft. So the new expansion came out after I bought CYR. So I grinded the crap out of that. I always wanted to grind an expansion launch, so I grinded that. Then I just stopped playing after a few months because you grind a game and you get to a point where you're like, alright, I'm done with it. And you got other things that come up in your life. And I was done. Well, then I got into, yeah, school year went on. I hung out with friends, had a great time. Then school year ends, summer begins, and I'm like, I get kind of bored. One of my best friends, his girlfriend lives in Spain. So he was gone for like two, three weeks. And a couple of my, one of my other friends, he's from like an hour, two hours away. So he's out of town. He's working. It's fun. Another friend was also out of town. I forget why, but whatever. I was bored. I was like, alright, let's look into CYR. Let's see what we can get done. So I looked into that. I started going through the icky guy sheet and all that stuff. And I'm like, you know, I kind of have a direction here. I had some idea now of what I wanted to do, but not exactly what I wanted to do. But I was like, alright, I have a few stories. I figure now that I'm 20, I can contribute a little bit to high school and early college kids. So I was like, might as well start. So I really, the first, what is it? I'm probably, yeah, about two months into it now. And it's been fun. I've learned a lot, gotten better at speaking, gotten better at, you know, doing organic in general. I've learned more simply because I'm constantly thinking about what can I contribute? What can I add? What can I tell? What stories can I tell to help people? And so that's been cool. And it's been cool. Sometimes I'll go back and watch my own videos. And some I'll cringe at because I was new to it. And I'm still pretty new to it, but there's super new and there's new. But other ones I'm like, damn, that was actually bars. Now I have that just recorded. And you get a lot of, you know, you get a lot of being content creators at the bottom. You get a lot of, you know, people you know, not necessarily say anything to you. They'll comment publicly or keep it to themselves, which is fine. But they have certain opinion on what you do. It's like, oh, you're at the bottom. This is funny. You're not going to do anything. I'm like, well, I think I can. And I don't see why I can't. So I'm going to keep going and do my best to ignore it. Right. But overall, it's fun because I feel because I've had some videos where I've told a simple story that I was like, all right, I don't think this is really that kind of a video. But then somebody says needed to hear this or really, really related to this, like something like that. And it's like, all right. So I helped somebody. Sweet. Yeah. Because I think content is a lot more simple than we give it credit to because for the audience, Zedlak and Lucas Parker are very influential on the both of us. We really like how they connect with their audience. But here's one thing I've noticed from the both of them. So you get a lot of gurus online saying, oh, you need to bring better hooks. You need to really get your viewers attention. But I'm like, no. The people who actually succeed in content get better overall as a person. 100%. It's not just like making content. It's like so dumb because like, think about it. It's like, like, especially with like relationships. If you can't talk to someone, then the relationship, then the relationship's not going to work. But at the same time, if you're not like expressing your emotions, then they're not going to want to talk with you because like you're unbalanced. And I think with a creator, you need to be like balanced with like storytelling, how you sound, kind of just what energy you bring to the table. Because a lot of the time, like, for example, I'm in sales and I wanted to start this podcast to kind of just tell my story as well. But I think the moral is that you can be a terrible salesman, but your energy is what matters to getting the person to buy your stuff. Because if you sound like really bored, it doesn't matter what technique you use, like no one's going to be interested. You know, I completely agree. I mean, Hormozy, Alex Hormozy talks about this. He's like, the thing I've noticed is that belief is what matters the most. If belief in the product is super high, it will sell. If my team doesn't believe in the product, he's like, all right, what's the issue? What aren't we believing in? What can we fix here? And then the belief goes back up. They start selling again. It's a huge thing for sure. Yeah. For me, especially, I feel like a lot of creators that are kind of just starting up are basically copying off their favorite creator. But I've been in the game so long that I realized that I can't do that anymore. You can't do any copying. You have to kind of figure out your own spin. Their models work, but like you're saying, you've got to get your own personality, your own stories, your own style into it, for sure. Right, exactly. So right now, I'm trying to hit the value attainment target, which is where I combine my storytelling about entrepreneurship, self-improvement, all this stuff. With AI, I have art that kind of just blends the value aspect and the entertainment aspect because I feel like I don't really talk a lot about AI because there's not a lot of simple stuff I can talk about AI. Yeah, it's hard to relate to right now. It's not so mainstream. Yeah, it's either extremely simple stuff or extremely complicated stuff that the average person is not going to care about. And it's not like, buy my course. All these people are like, ooh, I'll teach you how to do this. It's like, all right. And that ends up costing money up front, one. And two, it's way more complicated. And three, you want way more of a long-term picture or plan than they present it to be. And knowing you, you don't want to just bullshit people. It's no fun, and it's not the way you want it. There's one guy on TikTok. His name is Hoes Mask. And I wanted to talk about this because I think that this is Hoes Mask. So basically, he gives relationship advice, but he doesn't show his face. And that pisses me off. Because imagine if you're trying to make an IRL connection with someone, and you're listening to someone who's not even showing their face. Yeah, you know how stupid you sound from taking someone's advice, who doesn't even show his face? Because honestly, the best way to get girls in general is confidence. And when you're not even showing your face, you're not confident. I think on Twitter or threads, it's one thing to not show your face, but if you're on TikTok or if you're on any of the actual video platforms, show your face. That's what builds your credibility. Yeah, man. It's such an interesting thing. Because I feel like nowadays, you can really see through people's intentions, right? Because with Alex and Lucas Parker, they seem really genuine nice guys. I mean, it's interesting. This is really interesting, actually. So with Lucas, it's funny because when I was starting out, some people wouldn't like when I was making videos on whatever. One of my friends, he DMed me, and I like him a lot, but he's willing to actually talk to me and disagree, which is fine. And he's like, don't listen to that squid guy. Like, he's a douchebag. And I'm like, I'm like, I wasn't gonna argue over it, obviously. Like, it's not worth arguing. But it's interesting to see, like, from our perspective, the guy is getting great things done. One, two has grown a lot over the time that we watched his videos. And three, gives great advice and is actually not douchey whatsoever in the advice. It's like, treat people well is the basis of it. And it's explained in a tactical way. But you know, to the point that there are always, there are always gonna be people who hate on it, like, no matter what you say. And you're seeing that with Alex, right? Because they just drop straight bars. And it's like, people are like, people see, they see everything, or not everything. Some people see a lot of things so simply, I guess, I don't know how to explain it more like, they see, oh, he looks like a douchebag, therefore douchebag. It's like, no, or like, he tells you like, broken down way to stand up for yourself. Like, that's not douchebag. There's a difference between being a douche and, you know, respecting yourself and holding your ground. Right. Right. Because these guys talk about, you should not play video games at all, which is interesting, because a lot of people get triggered by that. And it's, I mean, it's, it's fair. But I think, because I'm going to use this analogy. I love analogies. One thing about me is that my dad is a seminary teacher. So he used a ton of analogies from the Bible, from our book, the Book of Mormon. I'm LDS. So I have a ton of weird stories, but that's another topic. Um, but yeah, but I think that you have to treat anything that is associated with dopamine in the farming season, because a farmer doesn't farm all the fucking, I don't know if I can swear, all the time. They can't, they can't farm in the winter. So I treat that the same way with video games, where it's fine to do like a couple games here and there. But like, when you're playing it, like, all the effing time, it's really concerning, because that's not enjoying yourself. Addiction is like, when you're doing it every single day, nonstop. Yeah, obviously, there's no difference when it's like, the people are making money off of it, streaming the pros, like, that's their job. That's their skill. And it's broken down. They have stuff they do each day to build that up. But if you're like, a lot of these kids are like, I have younger siblings, and they'll just play, they'll get bored of a game, switch another game, play, play, play. And it's like, they get to a point where they're struggling and aren't very good. And then they're like, drop the level of the game or play a different game. Because they don't get better, they just lower the level, right? And that's an issue. Like the way I play video games, what I don't play very much at all anymore. I play incredibly sparingly, because I got so much on my plate. Like I got a podcast, I'm on a podcast at 930 at night, like, I don't have time to do this at all. But when I played, like, I just said, like, I played a lot of WoW. Like, when I played, I was playing to be at the top. Like, I was trying to be top 1%. Like, that's what I do. I like to go after things like that. And that's why I think I like content creation. But yeah, you shouldn't be playing video games all the damn time, casually. There's no place for that whatsoever. Yeah, if you're gonna play on it's gotta be like, it's got your job if you're gonna be playing them all the time. Yeah, you can see what you did in action right now. And because you cut stuff off completely, you're gonna have like, not not as like hate, essentially, but just this. Yeah, you're gonna be like, it's not worth your time. It's super new that like, these things are literally not worth your time. And it bothers you to your core. Like, that's 100%. Exactly. And I've recently gone into philosophy. And I think the biggest lesson I've learned for myself is I should not hold people to my standards. Because to them, they're enjoying their dopamine rushes, their vape pens, their weekend. I should not make them accountable for the things that make me happy. And people always have their like, things that make them comfortable. And I realized that I should not hate on other people for them getting through tough times. Yeah, you've been there. And you've been there yourself. It's like, all right, they're literally younger than me. Or they're not even younger than you, but you know, you've been in that place and they can get out of it. So it's like, don't look down on them. Yeah, be like, acknowledge like, okay, that's not good. And if they're like your brother, or they're super close to you, it's worth taking the time to explain it to him. But other than that, it's like, leave it be. Because it's just, it's just gonna make you insane. And it's gonna bleed into other aspects of your life 100%. Right. And I think that it's just like, a lot of the time, we're in a comparison game, right? We're always comparing to, bro, I didn't even realize this, but especially with girls, they'll post like the most attractive, stunning picture in their whole entire lives onto Instagram. And then they see this picture, and they're like, oh, wait, I don't look like this 100% of the time. I must be ugly. And that is not the case. And that is just one of the most toxic things that I have ever witnessed. There's a degree to which you're not gonna- This is why- I cut you off. You finish what you're gonna say. No, no, no. But there's a reason why it's so important to not be so self-absorbed. Just because you can grind as a lone wolf, but getting a female's opinion on stuff is really useful, because we don't, as men, we don't think that women's opinions are like... I guess that mind-blowing. But then they are, and it's crazy. I would say like- Different perceptions. You gotta be careful with we, like, I think there are a lot of guys like that, but there are guys who acknowledge the difference. But I know the point you're making. I get the point you're making exactly. Yeah. An example I heard of this recently is I was watching- I like watching- I've gotten to know Alex from a really big time lately. Super, super entertaining guy. And he talks about Layla, his wife, a lot. And he was telling the story of a nine business was going and he wasn't making money. He was just stroking his ego. And Layla, his wife, is like, look, you got this one business that's doing really well. Cut the other ones and go all in on that. Now they're running Acquisition.com and I think- and they have a portfolio of nine figures. Multiple nine figures. So, like, having a woman like Layla in Alex's corner, like, that's proven to be uterine. And I think it's the same exact thing for any guy. Like, if you can find that girl, super valuable. Super valuable. Girls can be a huge distraction, but obviously that's the exception. Yeah. Because here's my personal opinion on girls. I think that every single man should focus on a girl who wants kids, a girl who wants to be clean, a girl who wants to be Christian. That, to me, is more attractive than, like, a girl with common interests. 100%. 100%. Because- And you gotta be motivated. I feel like- You have to be a motivated girl. Exactly. That's the reason why we're having, like, children in the first place. By having, like, similar beliefs. Like, it's great to have common interests, but, like, there's a reason why the bad boys always- Yeah, they don't have any common interests. It's just, they go after what they want. It's attractive. Yeah, values are where you align. Interests are just icing on the cake. 100%. I think, yeah, I mean, I definitely- I've had multiple girlfriends, and it's just, like, I mean, I like each one for different reasons, like, better- like, they have some reasons that are better than others, but things I started to notice, and you learn over time, which helps you, like, I'm not dating anybody right now, but I have this understanding now, is, like, yeah, I want a girl- you want a girl that's motivated, right? And then you want a girl that's also, like, like you were saying, respects, honors God, and wants a family, and wants to work hard to take care of that family, and also wants you to be present in her life. And not a big party girl. I'm- personally, I can't do party girls anymore. Like, I'll go out. I would go out with a girl, like, get a table at a club with, like, my friends, and their girls, and, like, my girl. But, like, going- going out to the bar, and going out to the different clubs, and, like, 99% of these girls are just, like, I don't- I have nothing against- like, I have nothing against you, it's just, like, we don't- like you were saying, not- the values just don't align. And with all this stuff going on in my life, and same with you, like, you have so much going on in your life, you're trying to build, it's- the time can't be wasted whatsoever. Like, it just becomes a distraction. Right. I don't necessarily agree, really. I think it's, like, there's a point to it, like, if you have less than $1000 in your bank account, yeah, you probably shouldn't be even looking to date whatsoever, but there's always an exception there, too. The point is, like, where I stand is stay open, because it's, like, you can always be, like, alright, $100K, then $500K, then $1M, then $5M, then $10M, like, you can always redraw the line. Right. So, it's important to stay open, for sure, because most of these guys online are, like, don't even consider it, don't even, like, put your thought- don't even put a thought to it until you have this amount of money and this lifestyle, and they're obviously just trying to sell to you. I'm not saying setback, just trying to sell to you. He's a very genuine guy, and that's where he stands, and I think if we were to actually- if you were to actually talk to him, I would not be surprised if he'd be like, yeah, dude, remain open. Like, there's a certain point where I'm just saying this because I have 30 seconds to say it, and attention is currency in what he does. Yeah, exactly, bro. Attention is a currency. And to bring this back to the farming analogy, I think it's the same with women. Like, obviously, if you dropped out of college, you're living in your mom's basement, you cannot be focused on girls, right? Just be respectful of your parents and bring your girl home. It's like, come on, you don't even have your own place. Right. But I think that it's just good to get experience talking to girls, because it does not matter how much money you make. Like, talking to girls is different from business. It's definitely a completely different skill. There's a reason that their dating coaches make a ton of money, and that's completely true. It's completely true. It's way different. Yeah, you can build skills the same, and the model can be similar, but skills are definitely completely different things. Yeah, man. Well, it was great talking to you. I just wanted to kind of just have my first guess on Max. I love Max because we share a lot of the same perceptions. We love the kind of the same type of guys. So check Max out. He's really genuine. He's a G. I'll probably tag all his socials at the end of this pod. But yeah, great to have you on, man. Take care, my friend. Let's do this again. I know you've got other guests to get on, but I'd love to get back on sometime down the line. Sure, man. Well, it's going to happen. Sounds good to me. I'm excited for it. You too, dog. All right. Take care, my friend.