Sean & Ewan Top 5 Things - Sean Mic

In 2023, the speaker and his friend both had their best year ever by doing five specific things. The speaker had previously stopped doing these things and his life took a negative turn. But when he started doing them again, his life improved dramatically. One of the key factors was being part of a mastermind group and being around others who were focused on progress and success. The speaker also emphasized the importance of getting uncomfortable and doing things that go against societal norms. This included joining a mastermind group, taking cold plunges, and pushing himself physically and mentally. Both the speaker and his friend agreed that these five things were instrumental in their success. They acknowledged that everyone's journey and challenges may be different, but the common thread is the willingness to step out of one's comfort zone. The speaker highlighted the transformative power of getting uncomfortable and how it positively impacted all areas of his life, including his ma So the top five things that made 2023 the best year of my life, and it's super weird that it's the same top five things that we both agreed on that made it the best year for Sean in 2023, we're going to discuss those today. And as I looked at the list, I have done these things many times in my past. Over the last 15 years, I've done all these things, and up until maybe three years ago, I stopped doing all five of these things. I'm looking at the list. I stopped all five, and life spiraled down for me very quickly. I didn't even realize how low I had got, and when I look at this list, it's the same five things that have brought me back to life, that have brought me to a place where I feel so confident, so sharp, so ... I feel humble, I feel powerful, that my leadership ability has just ... It's gone through the roof, and it's because of these five things. I stopped doing them, so I have this perfect contrast of what it's like to do them, make those normal, and then stop and look at the absolute, to me, in my mind, the train wreck, physically, mentally, spiritually train wrecked when I stopped doing these things. I started doing them again. I didn't even realize I was doing them, but one by one, I think back to the year 2023, and a big part of it was probably the mastermind group that we joined, but just being around other minds that are doers, doing, looking for progress, looking for success, looking for elements in their life to become another level up. I look at this list, and it's actually worked, and I didn't even realize until 10 minutes ago that that's what did it, and it had created the best year of my life, and going into 2024, I feel like Superman. I feel bulletproof, and not in the way that you might think. We're going to discuss it. It's a very humble, very human ... The experience that you're looking for, the thing that you think you might want that didn't actually end up getting you that, we're going to talk about the thing that it does, that does actually bring what you're looking for, and Sean was about to say something before we started the podcast, and I was like, man, you should start with that, and we discussed it, and he's like, no, you need to say what you need to say because it's important, but I've said my piece, Sean, take it away. I told you on behind the scenes before we started that episode and we hit record, we always have this countdown, three, two, one, and then we record it on our podcast studio, so it's always fun, and I told them, I said, man, in 2023, we were talking about how can we benefit or how can we provide as much value to our listeners and just hone in, dive deep, and so you can apply the same things that we applied in ... That I applied in 2023, and we came to a common ground on these things, these five things that we worked on, and I told you and I said, hey, I said, man, in 2023, for me, it was the best year of my life, and I'm 36, right? It was one of the best years of my life, probably the best year of my life across the board in all areas of life, but it was also the most challenging year of my life, and so when I dissect that and when I reflect back on why that is, the first thing that I can point out and the first topic that we have written down is getting uncomfortable, and so what I mean by that is doing the things that I don't want to do, and for me, that was being a part of a mastermind group, getting in a cold plunge, signing up for an ultra at the Spartan event, double downing on my training behind the scenes when nobody was watching, putting in the extra work, honing in on my nutrition when nobody was saying, good job, Sean, you know, I didn't get ... So these were the things that were uncomfortable for me because what's comfortable for me is doing the things what society tells me to do, that I should be following the herd, the pack, which is, you know, enjoying the birthdays, going to the barbecues, and doing all these things when I'm out here running, training, preparing for what it is that I'm going to be up against, and instead, I would get uncomfortable because the comfortable Sean would do the things that is the road most travel. So by challenging myself, by getting uncomfortable, by making the sacrifices, by saying no, it allowed me to say yes and to do these things to get me to where I am today. You know what's interesting? Well, first off, quick tidbit, the things you listed there, the cold plunge was the most uncomfortable thing I've seen Sean ever do, and he pulled the trigger on it, and I don't know how I know this about you, but I know you don't like the cold, like you can take a lot of pain, dude, and we've played sports together and done all kinds of crazy stuff, but the cold, I was very interested to watch how you handled it, and when you pulled the trigger on it, I was like, man, that's another level because you really, not only was it very expensive, six, seven grand to invest in yourself, but that wasn't the hard part for you. It might have been a little trick, like, not that the money was an issue, but to spend that, you know, just the, what's the return? Because to get very uncomfortable, it's almost painful to be in that cold of water, and you're paying lots of money to do it. So when you did that, I was like, man, that was a whole, that was probably, I think, personally, that would be my, if I was to guess, that was the hardest thing, and I'm saying that knowing you did a 31 mile obstacle course, you know, so that's, it's quite funny, but you know, as you're talking there, your best year of your life, 2023, my best year, we're not just making this up, like, I'm a person of honor, and I wouldn't say if it wasn't true. I had to check myself first, is this true that I'm going to say these statements about 2023? And it probably wasn't until the last three, four months that it really kicked in, where I'm like, I'm changed as a human being. And so, and the fact that you said it too, I know you don't, you don't lie, dude, like, you're not a liar. Like, I just know that about you. Yeah, you're such a straight shooter, because there's no, it's like, inefficient to lie for you, like, you wouldn't be able to live yourself. So I know we're on the same place here, but when you're saying how, what it was difficult for you, it's totally different for me, and which is awesome, because anyone listening to this, it's going to be totally different for them too, right? But we were doing the same things, right? The same things that were the top five things we're going to talk about today. We agreed that those five things got me to my best year, and those five things got me to your best year, but we totally had different perspectives, because we had different challenges. We're different people. But we were around each other a lot this year, and doing the same things. And so I'm finding it very interesting. I'm just thinking that we both happen to have the best years of our lives, and there's something magical there, and I haven't even really explored it yet, but it's something to do, but we were doing the same things, and we got to a place where we're really happy. I think getting uncomfortable was the perfect number one, because it, when does anything come easy? Like, the thing you really want, that the, the thing that, that it's in the dark, it's in, it's hiding behind the dragon, and you got to go around the dragon, or work through it, or realize there is no dragon to get that gold, and we don't want to face the, we don't want to stare down, you know? So getting uncomfortable, so for you, all those things, what was an emotional uncomfortable, or physical uncomfortable for you, when you're seeing those things? Yeah, I'll say both. Definitely physical and emotional. I mean, it ties together, because it's overall well-being, and health and wellness for me, and it's, I think it's challenging, and just flexing that muscle, that muscle, you know, in, in, when it comes to physical, physicality and emotional, because for me, it's like, when you are in pressured environments, you, we, for me, I don't know how it is for you, Ewan, but we tend to go back to what we're familiar with, stress, anxiety, when these things hit us, right? In 2023, when all these things, the economy's falling apart, and you know, all these things are going on around us, inflation, and so you're either misrepresented, or you're not, you're either on the road most traveled, or you're not, and so for me, it's like, I've been down the road most traveled, and which is the opposite of getting uncomfortable, right? And I have learned that, that does not, that leads, for me, it just, it was just the existing, it was just the rat race, it was just the hamster wheel over, and over, and over again. When I, you mentioned the cold plunge, when you, when I started doing those hard things, when I started getting uncomfortable, the ultra races, stuff like that, and doing things, you didn't have to do an ultra race, or a cold plunge, maybe you're taking warm showers every single day, just like you said, and now you're doing, cranking up cold, cranking up the cold, that's getting uncomfortable, it could be something, don't have to turn that knob, you could just turn it off, get dry, go on your day, day's completely different, man, the whole day, your whole mindset, the whole environment of life, when you turn it to cold, when you don't have to, and sit in 33 degrees of cold water on your head for 90 seconds, it does change your day. But maybe thinking like, oh no, I'm not doing that, okay, yeah, but, and so, and maybe it's not that, but what is it? See, how you do one thing is how you do everything, and so, I even find myself, I challenged myself in 2024, because I've seen the dividends that it paid in 2023, in all areas of life, challenging myself in my marriage, right, reading devotions, going to these married life groups, re-engaged, I did a 16-week re-engaged group in 2023, loving up our marriage, now, you know, we're on this level playing field, in our marriage, we're working on that, and just being intentional, and getting uncomfortable, because I'm the type of guy, That was uncomfortable for you going to a marriage? That was probably the most, you said cold plunge, but I would answer, probably the re-engage. That's making me laugh, man. But you know what, that could send the shivers down any man's spine, you know, going to a marriage, but you guys weren't going because you had marriage troubles, you were going because you wanted marriage leveled up. That's right. You know? Yeah, we were going, you know, me and Kendra, we've always, we're the type of individuals, like, we're very self-sufficient, we're very independent, and there's a lot of things that we're very good at, we work together on, and there's a lot of things that we struggle with, and so, level up and live, and that's what, you know, living life to its fullest, but how do you do that? You get uncomfortable, you have to put yourself in these environments, because there's obviously other people that are doing these things, that have, are living the life that they want to live, right, and it's very far and few between, and so I want to be one of those guys, and the number one thing in 2023 that I've seen in my own life, and in these individuals that I've studied is, they got uncomfortable. They did the things that they did not want to do, but they did it anyways, because they knew it was going to level their playing field in that area of life, whether that was finances, setting a budget this year, marriage, health and wellness, whatever it may be. I was about to ask you the question, do you think leveling up, I was going to ask, can you level up, get to the next level without being uncomfortable? I don't know, I was going to, I thought I had an answer, but then I thought to myself, well, you can edge in, you can slowly, like let's say the piano, for example, where you're uncomfortable, you know, with not knowing how to play, but then you learn some notes, and then you get a little more comfortable, and then you end up eventually leveling yourself up. You're still uncomfortable. Yeah, you're still uncomfortable. You're leveling up slowly, and you end up becoming a great pianist, like let's say if you did it for five years straight, what might be uncomfortable there is the consistency of doing that, right, so that would be uncomfortable, but then when you talk about, so you can do it slowly, and what you would get there is an enjoyable, you'd be able to play an instrument, right, and then, so is that going to impact your life long term, is it leveling up as a human being to where you're satisfied and find that place of fulfillment and enjoyment? I would then think that taking bigger steps of uncomfortability is going to excel that process, depending on the areas of life that it is, right, so if you're trying to have more courage or have a more loving relationship, that is a bigger, faster slap in the face if that's going to be a really hard thing for you, so there's different levels of getting uncomfortable, and there's different levels of getting better at something or feeling more comfortable, because, man, what uncomfortability is a lot of times is uncertainty of I don't know what I'm doing, right, don't want to look foolish, don't want to be embarrassed, so it's like we think it's a lack of knowledge, so getting uncomfortable, I guess like you all say, what is your why behind doing it, and that formula of why are you not doing it versus why that you do, you know, so on the marriage side, it was to level up on your marriage, and the uncomfortability of that and the results, was it worth it? 1,000%. Me and Kendra have reflected back on this, and we talk about this often, it's like one of the things that we reflect back on is like what we did in 2023, and I think she even wrote a Facebook post out a couple weeks ago on reflecting back, and it was so cool, I even talked to her, I was like, man, so it was inspirational to me, made me smile, because on her post, it had a little picture, and it said the places that we had traveled, and then the relationship, because she had even put the different areas of life, you know, where she had the things that she had done, yeah, it's super cool on Facebook, if you follow her, and so she put all the places we traveled, and she put all the health and wellness, the workouts, the competitions, and up top, she relationships, she put re-engage, 16-week program, and married life, and so I could tell all these different areas of life, even my wife, Kendra, she got uncomfortable in these different areas of life, and has leveled up in her own life, I can't speak for her. I've seen that in her, but like she's definitely changed as a person, because she's been working so hard, like, you know, getting uncomfortable, yeah, and getting uncomfortable, and man, and like we always say, if you want to get tired of us here in the States, what you do in one area of life is, you will do it in other areas of life, a lot of times people could argue that, but man, if you break it down, you will actually see that no, it does keep showing up in the same places, it's just true, so when you level up in a different area, it will show up in other areas, so that's why it's worth it, you know, right, to me, I'm like, so I'm in medical sales, and I had to get very, very uncomfortable here recently, new situation, new product, very high-level people, very expensive product, not knowing what I'm talking about at all, and it was really taking my peace, because there was expectations there, whole bunch of guys in the same boat, and I decided, you know what, I'm tired of feeling this feeling, I'm just going to get out there, I'm just going to do, I don't care what happens, putting myself in the worst environment, for me, personally, like how my personality is, like doing, being unprepared, not knowing the uncertainty, it was very, I often have avoided that in the past, and I always end up pushing myself through, I can do very difficult things, I've always figured out ways to do it, but this was just a raw, most recent one, and what was so uncertain and so worrying within a couple of attempts of me doing what I was doing, I started feeling very confident, very comfortable, and very certain, and I think I mentioned this before, I was very uncertain that I wasn't certain, but I was certain about it, so when I'm talking to my clients, and the offering I was putting out there, people were listening, because I was certain, I had this energy about me, and that I was just being very humble, asking questions, and the uncomfortability went away very quickly, now I'm actually very excited about what I'm doing, I still don't know what I'm talking about, I'm still very uncertain about what it is I'm selling, but I'm certain I can help these people, I'm certain that I will figure out the problem, and so it took uncomfortability, I went from this place of weakness, like mentally complaining, small in my mind, to now, energized, bursting with energy, walking on air, very confident, and that's what getting uncomfortable gets you, if I hadn't decided to do those things, I know there's a number of people still in that boat, and they're still sitting there worried, as well as if they had just taken a step, and realized you don't get burnt, and even if you did, it's not what you think it's gonna be, yeah, it's worth it to get uncomfortable. So if you wouldn't have gotten uncomfortable, what would have happened? I'd still be in the same boat, it would have gotten worse, it's a spiral down, you can't think your way out of something that requires action to get out of, you can't conceptualize confidence, you can conceptualize courage, you can have moments of courage to go do this thing, this one time, and that gives you experience, and once you get that experience, continual courage creates confidence, courage and confidence are very different, but once you continually do the courageous thing, it becomes your new norm, and then you can't fake confidence, like you can, but you can smell it a mile away, and to me that's, you don't have to, how am I gonna be confident, if you're asking how to be confident, you just haven't done the thing enough, once you've done it, you've earned the confidence to go be that person, and honestly, man, it's hit me in other areas of my life, because it's just awoken, it's reminded me that, oh, when you do that, when you get uncomfortable, you get outside your comfort zone and do very difficult things, and realize that it's okay, man, you become, you start to become bulletproof, where else can I, I can't be hurt, nothing can hurt me out here, you know what I mean, there's no human being, there's no words, they're just people like everybody else, and that's true in relationships, and anywhere you go, and man, to me, that makes all the other things we're gonna talk about today, just aids to help you be uncomfortable, to get outside of that zone, you've got to do the things that we're talking about, that will help you get that courageous moment, and become confident, and then once you're confident, most of your problems disappear. And what's interesting is, here's the key ingredient, you have to stay consistent getting uncomfortable, I did a 16 week re-engage, and even during that 16 week, I was sitting there, and we were sharing, it was like group therapy, you know, group counseling, right, we had a facilitator, and we were all sharing kind of where we're going, you know, with our lives, communication, it was biblical, so we worked through this book, and they had a curriculum that we went through, it was like communication, and all these different areas, so it was super cool, and it was all lined out, but I was sitting there, and it was so uncomfortable for me, because you know, the last 30 years of my life, we never talked about this, my dad didn't talk about this, I didn't go to church, and so I'm sitting here, sweating palms of my hands, when it's my turn to talk, I'm like, you know, and everybody's like. You weren't comfortable, you weren't confident. Oh, I wasn't confident. Because you hadn't gotten there, but you do in a room of insurance agents, and you're a seven figure earner, you know, you could just switch pure confidence, and so, but in this situation, you hadn't experienced it yet. That's right. Yeah. Yeah, and so going through this and reflecting back, I'm like, every time we left, I felt good about it, and what I had got from it, right, but every time I showed back up for the next 15 weeks, it was the same feeling every single time, and then I was like, all right, when it was done, it was like, okay, we're done with this, re-engage. Well, in the past, I would have been like, I'm done, I'm checked out, checked it off, checked the box. What I've learned from mentors is, and the reason 2023 was the best year of my life, and the biggest challenge because of that, getting uncomfortable, is for the rest of my life, human, I'll have to be uncomfortable. Yeah. That is what my mindset goes on. Robert Kiyosaki says the best. He goes, and this dude's 80 years old, right? Still says the same. Rich dad, poor dad, first book I ever read. He goes, I stay uncomfortable, and I'm like, yes. I'm like, because that's where the magic happens, is when you stay uncomfortable, and you look for it. Yeah, because to me, I stopped doing a number of things. I don't know if it was the pandemic, like everything changed. My reasons for working out changed. So, I just was sick of working out. I've never said those words. I just wasn't interested. So, I was like, I'm going to deliberately take a hiatus from working out. Stopped doing meditation. I wasn't reading as much. I was more just, I don't know. I was learning about charts and stuff on my own. I just like charts, and I couldn't go see my customers, my clients, and whatnot. So, I was just talking to them virtually on the phone, and everything just spiraled down. So, all the things that had got me to where I was just kind of, and it's funny because I was on paper being more successful than I'd ever been, but I was not happy. I was miserable, and I didn't even know what was happening to me. It was spiraled down, just was kind of lost at the end of it all. It's been a climb back up. 2023 was my climb back up, and if I was to think back, that's what happened. And so, I think, yeah, if you, well, there's an example right there. You should stop getting uncomfortable. Stop doing the things that put you outside your zone. Look what happens. I was down and out, man. You know when you said you built your business successful, and everything you wanted, time, freedom, and you still end up burnt out on the couch. Was that, I never thought about this. Was that an element you stopped getting uncomfortable? That's it. That's it? Yeah. I was doing the same thing. I'm sure this previous episode, I was doing the same thing over and over and over again. Well, the problem with that is you just become so familiar. I was so comfortable doing the things. You even said it earlier. Slow death. I'll get the result. It's a slow death. You're just existing. And so, getting uncomfortable is doing, maybe it's a new hobby. Maybe it's picking up that book that's got cobwebs all over it, or listening to a podcast, whatever it may be. And so, it's doing something that you're not used to doing. That's a new skill set. It's something different out of what you've been doing in life. It could be anything, just something new to spark that. Yeah. And man, honestly, I think one of the biggest catalysts, I said at the start, was getting around other guys, the Mastermind group. I can't put my finger on anything else that really, once I saw other people doing it, like being around other people, that just really, that was therapy for me. Honestly, it was like a therapy. I didn't even realize it, but it brought me back to life. And we just discussed all these great things. And I was seeing people doing amazing things. And I started discussing the things I'd done in the past that reminded me of what I was capable of doing. And it was just a slow grind back up. And now, I'm like, oh man, I'm past where I was before. I'm past, I don't know, this is new ground. I'm reaching new all-time highs. So, it's price discovery in chart terms. You don't know how high it's going to go, which is very exciting. Man, when it's going to all-time highs, it's very exciting because never, it's the wonder of how excellent this could be. And you certainly don't want the opposite of that. The bottoming out is the worst feeling in the world. It's just miserable. What we're talking about uncomfortability a lot is, number one, because it's so important because everything else we're about to discuss leads right into it. And Sean, you said this first, but number two was books and podcasts. People might think, oh, well, yeah, books, information, podcasts, okay, cool. If you just bypass that, it's something you don't need to listen to. Man, you need to listen to this. So, what was it for you, Sean, on those two? The biggest thing I really tried to double down on this year was the leadership. So, I picked up a handful of leadership books. I prided myself reading a book, two to three books a month. And then it got to a place where I was like, okay, am I retaining all this information or am I just trying to get through the books? And so, now in 2023, what I focused on was if it was something that I wanted to improve on, like leadership, which was, so I asked myself in the first place, well, why am I not diving deep? It's because, well, I'm comfortable reading two to three books a month. Why am I doing that? Because that's what I'm familiar with. So, what is getting uncomfortable? So, I got uncomfortable. It's like, okay, well, obviously, I struggle with leadership. So, I need to read more books on that and get uncomfortable and apply these different things in leadership that I'm looking for. You said that you wanted to level up in your leadership. What was that catalyst? What was that moment like, hey, you know what? Because you've excelled as a leader. So, for me to hear you say that is like, man, an awesome leader saying I'm struggling in this portion of leadership and being vulnerable to say it to everybody and then just excelling beyond. Because again, you just keep bumping up. I'm like, dang, when did Sean do that? Start being that guy. And it's from your reading. I mean, I know it's from your reading because you keep saying, oh, I read this in this book. And I'm like, oh, that's cool. Next week or a month from now, I'm like, he's implementing that thing that he told me about it that he read. And he's totally, he wasn't like that six months, 12 months, five years ago. I don't recognize this person in front of me right now. And it's awesome. I mean, yeah. So, what was that catalyst on the leadership thing right there? Just a tidbit. So, leadership is everything. So, what I mean by that is like, in 2023, being one of the most challenging, getting uncomfortable in the best years of my life, starting a mastermind group, starting a run club, doing these different things that I normally wouldn't have done. Guess what it all aligns with? Leadership. And so, I knew I could do these things, but I knew what I had known was not going to get me to where I wanted to go. And I felt one of my strengths is responsibility and maximizing people and learning about my strengths in 2023. I knew it was all tied to leadership. So, I got every book, every podcast, every audio book that I possibly could with leadership, because I wanted to lead my mastermind group. I wanted to lead Level Up and Live. I wanted to lead my team members. I wanted to lead my wife. I wanted to lead everybody around me. And where focus goes, energy flows. So, I want to be the best leader, the best version of myself, the best leader that I possibly can. And that is where I've just 10xed. Yeah, you have. To what you're saying. I've seen it, dude. And so, yeah. That's, you know, as you're talking there, I'm thinking that like getting the uncomfortable part, once you get uncomfortable, well, it's the unknown, right? And so, once you step into that, it's very exciting, very thrilling, and very nervous. Like people are very nervous getting into that. But Luke, what it ends up having you do, you have to end up finding new ways to become more than what you were before to handle, to get to where you need to be in that situation. Yes. So, you were not the same human being after starting as you started after compared to what you were before. Like you had to change. And that is progress. That is leveling up. And that is the fulfillment life. Because you're serving other people all the time. It's not the Sean Meyer show. Like you have impacted so many people's lives. And that's what your mission statement is. Lo and behold, he's actually doing what his mission statement is. So, it's really working. And it's so cool to see. And I know for me, I read so many books at one point. I think there was one point I was reading so many books. I don't know if you were reading that much yet. And I don't know what you thought about it. I just, a lot of audiobooks. I drive a lot. It's a lot of audio. And I would get so much stuff. And a lot of time, I didn't realize what I was picking up. But if I think back, a lot of things I did, I'm like, that's because of that book. Like I didn't even know what was seeping into my mind. And then I stopped reading. I don't know, again, pandemic or whatever. I wasn't in my car as much. I wasn't just listening to books and reading as well, physical books. And so, it kind of just stopped. And I stopped. As soon as I stopped reading the books, I guess like my development stopped. And then I just felt miserable. So, like the power of books. And if you haven't started reading yet, man, you've got to, well, consistently commit to reading. In an area that you want to do something, you don't want to suffer through it. It's got to be something that you want to do. But the power of books, podcasts, being around the nature of doers, thinkers, that's the only way. It's so hard to think about it in your own mind because you only have your own experiences. And to get yourself to where you want to go with just you, very hard. And if you did get there, there's a good chance you're going to end up on the couch. And you're going to end up spiraling down. And yeah. So, getting back into books for me, 2023, man, I've seen what it's like to do it for the longest time, step out of it, see the result, get back in, and feel immediately what it is that I'm getting from reading these things. Like that who not how that you gave me, I keep talking about it. It was so powerful, man. Like it's changed me as a human being. I don't want to do anything anymore myself. I want to find people who are really good at what they do and let them do it. Let me get out of the way and go focus it on what it is I'm good at. And then I can get the results and we all rise together. And so, yeah, that was an amazing book. But, and podcasts, of course, you know, Level Up and Live is all I listen to now, you know, on repeat. So, I'm just kidding. I got back into podcasts, you know, because I was like listening to one of our episodes one time just to, I was wanting to gauge where we're at, honing our craft. And so, it got me back on the Apple podcast deal. And so, I start seeing some of the old guys I used to listen to. I'm like, oh, that's a cool, I want to hear that one. So, now I'm back listening again. I'm like, man, that's gold I'm listening to. I'm going to apply that in my life. I'm going to do that. And just being around them, hearing their energy, hearing their voice. Right now, maybe you're feeling the same way. It does something to you. Now, if you were just hunkered over in a room, in a chair right now, shoulder slouched, scrolling through Facebook versus the you who's assimilating information, envisioning yourself doing the same things or doing something that you want. Man, those, there's two people going to end up in very different places over a year. Man, where are they going to be in 10 years? You know, I mean, it's going to be night and day difference, but. What's interesting to me is with a lot of my coaching clients over the 2023, one of the beautiful thing about like their results that they're getting and what they're applying and filtering in their own lives. And I've shared podcasts with them, shared books with them. And the cool thing about it is they've inspired me too. Some of them have shared books with me, which has been super impactful. I think that to your point, like surrounding yourself with those individuals. And the cool thing is if you, like one of the things that I learned in 2023 is if I level up, not only is everybody that is leaning in, in your tribe, in your community, and maybe outside of that, when they lean in, they want to come up, they want to lean in with you. They want to bring their baseline up. So everybody levels up around you, right? And so with my coaching clients, like one of the cool thing about it is the, the, the getting uncomfortable, coaching them one-on-one. And I could tell that they were uncomfortable. They, you know, they were kind of hesitant on why are you getting these? Why are you, why are you, you know, why are we doing these things? And I said, trust the process, right? It's a Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid. Have you seen Karate Kid? I had to ask because you didn't know. Wax on, wax off. You didn't know about Star Wars. It still hurts my soul. We're going to watch Star Wars one day together. I'm going to sit you down with a bag of popcorn. We're going to watch Star Wars. I'm just kidding. But yeah, it's Miyagi, you know, wax on, wax off. You just, man, that's another thing. I know best. That's the worst possible attitude you could have. You do know best, but why not listen to what else is going on and assimilate that information? And maybe someone else knows best. You got to get into those terms. Other people know best. Who's the expert? Who knows more than me? I can't know at all. So if they know best and that's what they're saying to do, just calm the ego down and be humble and do what they're saying in your way. You know, you're not, you're not squeezed, forced to do it the way they do it, but at least do it your way, the things that they're saying and just trust that you'll get the same result that what they're talking about, you know? So I think that's, and dude, you're talking about coaching, that leads perfectly to number three, coaching. And I was thinking about it. I was like, man, I got a coach in 2023, my Enneagram coach. And he really, I think just got me set, got me on track. And he did it in five sessions. Honestly, to be fair, but it was one big, big catalyst. It's all the things involved, right? The environment, the crew you're around, the people. I had a mastermind and I had this coach and he was just excellent, man. I love, love him to death for what he did for me. And I, I wouldn't, I don't know if I'd be sitting here right now if it wasn't for him. I hadn't thought about that. I need that, man. Yeah. Anyways. So for you, you said coaching. My coaching clients are saying the same thing. I mean, look at the results. That's all you need to say. Like look at the results they're getting. Yeah. One of my coaching clients, and I won't disclose his name because it's for privacy purposes, but one of my newest coaching clients, he, man, multimillion dollar business, killing it, crushing it. About five years younger than me. Reminded me a lot of myself, you know, five years ago, he came to me. And as soon as this guy started talking, I was like, I'm going to like this guy. And he kind of said the same thing. And so we hit it off and been a business owner for six years now. Got some employees, office out of Austin, and just been in the grind, hustling, grinding, and has not come up for air the last six or seven years, which is what pretty much the business owner. I'm like, I resonate. And so everything else around him, he's neglected health, time for himself, uh, family and relationship issues, stuff like that. Right. Everything listed out like that. You're like, how does it happen? You know, like, how did it get there? How do we not see that coming while it's happening? And that's why you're, that's why you're at your mission now, because you went through that and you're like, I got to stop people from ever getting in that boat again. That's right. That's what, that's what led me to coaching. Right. And that's what I feel like that has been so impactful because I've had coaches in my, my, in my areas of life too, for counseling. And so it's, I've seen what it's done because it's a different perspective. And that's what I brought to this gentleman is brought a different perspective. And just in a short amount of sessions, he thought it was going to be this, but it was completely like, I shed the light on this. And it was like, now you could just see the weight lift off his shoulders. Like I understand. Yeah. I understand now it's like, okay, maybe I do need, maybe it's okay to take 30 minutes for myself, you know? And it, because it's what it's going to do, Ewan, is it's going to allow you to 10 X, right? Your finances, the other areas of life. See, that's why people are so resistant because they think about, well, I don't need a coach first off. Like they can't help me. They don't understand me. Well, that's you, that would be someone unknowing of what is possible out there. They don't want to spend the money because why would you give your money to someone else to help you out? That's, that's a barrier you have to cross. And I'm just thinking, I've spent a lot of money on different coaches over my time. And I remember the first time I was like, I need, I need this person's help to get, it was a business I was doing at the time. And, and it really helped. And I spent a lot of money doing it. And from there I was like, I see the return. I see what it's worth. It's worth putting the money out there. But before that though, it's like, you wouldn't consider doing it because you just don't know what the benefits, but what you just said right there, the 10 X, that's what you have to anticipate. That's what you have to, that's what the only reason you would do it is to 10 X something else. Like what is the return going to be? Why do you put money in the stock market? Why do you put money in the crypto? Exactly. To hope to get a return. Yeah. Why don't you put money into yourself? I'm not talking about finances here. We're talking like, well it could be finances, but emotionally, like what am I, mentally this, the coaching gets your mental state in the right place to do the things that you're not currently doing or else you wouldn't be seeing them or helping you understand to get to a place where there's hope. You know, because man, a lot of times, man, if you think about it, most people end up getting the coaching because they don't have hope. They're hopeless. They've lost. They don't know, they don't know what to do next. They need someone to help them out. And normally it's a crash and burning situation. Yeah. We've often thought, how do you, how would you get someone that catch it beforehand? You know, knowing what we know now, like, well, we, I'm actively looking for multiple different coaches in different areas for a number of different things. I haven't pulled the trigger on it yet. Um, but I'll be doing it out of a place of, um, joy. Like it's not, it's, it's, this is a new experience for the process. Yeah. And knowing that the best have multiple coaches really, we should have them at the start. That would be ideal. But we, it's like as you get one and you realize that really helped and then you get one in another area and like any football player, it's high level football player have multiple different coaches, but they're the best. So why would the best need coaches? They don't need anybody, right? Well, that's, well, why do they have more coaches than anybody then they have mental coaches, physical coaches, spiritual, like all those things to help them be the best, help them focus. And that's what, that's what they bring. And I know that's what it brought to me. Um, and it brought that to you too. And look, it brought you to bringing that to other people. And I think coaching aligns with kind of like what we got going with like the mastermind group, you know, and holding each other, like the discipline, the accountability and the things that we're bringing to the table, each of us with our collaboration. That's a sense of coaching in its way, right? Cause we all have our own coaching coaching. And so that's been powerful aligned with camaraderie. Yes. Which has been so powerful and paid huge dividends in 2023, which leads right into number four, which is identity and purpose. I know, man, if I was to think about it, like when I was working with coach, he got me focused back to who, who I was like, who, what I was about and where I needed to go. At least he got me to a place to where I could go find the purpose I was after and mixing that with the, I think the purpose portion came from the mastermind group. He got me to where my identity was able to execute and move forward. And it was being in the mastermind group that really, and being around you, you know, like, like everything you're talking about and we've always done this, like together, we've always talked and we've never thought about doing anything together, but like that purpose, like that's what you're so good at is just making a space for someone to step into and then just excelling at what they're good at, like the who, not how type thing, you know, and it feels wonderful, you know, and you created that. And that, so your purpose was served and my purpose is served, you know, it's a, it's all, all ships rise with the tide, you know, so I, for me, identity and purpose. And I know for, I don't know what you're going to say here for you on identity and purpose, but I, I'm curious because you podiumed in a number of athletic endeavors and I'm curious if that identity for you has, was that part of what you were thinking about identity and purpose or what would you say? Yeah, so I think it all ties together, right? From what we're talking about and, and, and, and learning from people and being around, being around that environment, because let's be honest, when you're, when you're around other, whether it's in a marriage, when you're around other happy married couple, healthy married couples, you're going to learn from that. You're going to level up your marriage. You should, if you continue to be around that, same thing with health and wellness, same thing with finances. You are the average of the five people you hang around. Yeah. Right. And so for me with the podium, I was surrounding myself with guys that have leveled up, right. With running and HIIT workouts and endurance. And so the number one key ingredient that I saw was after getting uncomfortable, listening, reading books, listening to podcasts on how to do these different things. Like I told you, I'm going to run this morning and then third hiring a coach, which I did. Yep. David McGee, shout out. Yep. And then boom, I start podium, right? Because I'm putting in the work behind the scenes because I'm doing all these different things and surrounding myself with those guys and plugging myself in. That is the key ingredient. Would you be there without them? Would you be podium? Absolutely. It's so crazy because I've witnessed it in real action, real life, real time that you got these people involved. And I just saw the absolute hockey stick kind of going flat and shoot straight up because it didn't take you long to get to the podium. In my mind anyway, I'm sure like all the effort, like in your experience, you're like, no, I took a long time. But for anybody watching, it was, I mean, it was lightning quick. Yeah. I mean, it was so fast. Well, so that's interesting. That's fascinating that you say that. And that's very insightful. See, what most people see on the outside, right? The external forces, you see stuff on social media, you hear stuff, but what you don't understand is what it goes, what goes on behind the scenes. Yeah. Right. And that to me, what you do behind the scenes, the reps that you put in and doing these different things, and that's where everything that we're talking about from getting uncomfortable to having that coach that you can lean on and talk about these vulnerabilities and talk about these things with, because there's nobody else to talk about it with. And then the third thing is having that coaching group, that maximize group to lean on other guys that have either been or have different ideas and collaborations. Oh my gosh. Talk about, you know, putting yourself, uh, setting yourself up for better chances of success and to where you want to go in becoming the best version of yourself. You weren't doing all those things and getting better and moving along with what you had. Your identity wouldn't line up with who you're hanging around with. It wouldn't match. You would end up just not hanging out with those people and go do something else, which is fine. But you certainly wouldn't have what it was that you wanted your purpose, which was to be excellent, in the physical competing space. And so it's, yeah, and that goes true for the mastermind. Well, and I told the story earlier about turning on the cold water. I did a big woo-hoo after I did this cold water. I turned in the shower the other day. It was so unbelievably cold. It was in the low 30s. And I wasn't even, I wasn't expecting to take my breath away. And I stayed in there for 90 seconds. And it was amazing. So I came downstairs. My kids were like, what happened up there? I say, well, I took a cold shower. It was so exciting. I felt so rejuvenated. It helped me feel just phenomenal. Adrenaline's pumping, all the good stuff. And my son, he's eight and said, I'm going to, I'm going to do a cold shower, dad. I was like, man, it was music to my ears to say that he's going to put himself in an uncomfortable environment. And my daughter said, I'm going to do that. They're like, come time us. Both of them were like, whoa. When I heard them, you know, that there's high-pitched squeals and they turned it to cold. I'm outside timing them. And they're like, okay, dad, how long was it? You know, I'm giving them the time. So what is amazing is my wife and I were talking last night and, and she, cold, I can't, I can't even try to describe it. It's impossible to describe. Cold is not a word that even rolls off my wife's tongue. Like she just cannot handle it. The cold, she's like cold natured, you know? So she's always wrapped up in a blanket, always got the slippers on. She likes to be cozy. Now she's a beast in all other areas. You want something done, my wife will get it done and it will be exceptional more than you can ever think about. And there's not, she is unstoppable person, amazing in all areas. But if you talk about cold, that's her kryptonite, man. You put cold around there, like even like, oh man, when I think it's hot, I mean, she just doesn't, like, it's not even, it's kind of hilarious. She'll like, she'll scream, you know? And so she, now this is weird. Stay with me here. She told me yesterday, she put her hand on the handle of the shower to turn it to cold. She didn't turn it. So this is super weird. I'm saying it, but she thought about it. And I was so proud that she even crossed that barrier to think about touching it because that was progress. I know at some point she will have to, the way she is, now that she's gotten a little uncomfortable touching it, she's got that far now. The next time she might just tweak it a little bit, you know, and eventually she might get into, and it's got nothing to do with the temperature. It's about your mind controlling over your body that you can handle something difficult. And so to me, that me and my kids had been discussing this, we're having a great time, we're high fiving, discussing it and loving it, like so rejuvenated that she felt her identity didn't match. That's all I can assume. Like, I mean, you haven't even really got a chance to discuss it, but she, this is what I'm talking about. You hang around with people who do things, you're going to end up doing the same thing, good or bad. It's just truth, man. So if you think about people who eat the way they eat, you're going to eat the same way. If you hang out with people who do exercise or whatever, your identity will match, it just matches. So you've got to get in that environment and it will happen automatically. We didn't even talk to my wife about doing it. Like we haven't talked about the things that we're doing. It's the aura, the energy, the identity that we're building with ourselves by being there. So I think it's just, it's so understated. Maybe we should have put it number one, to be honest. I mean, because once you have the identity, the purpose, uncomfortable gets a lot less uncomfortable. It's that confidence that you've built. And yeah, so anyway, side story right there. But funnily enough, that leads into number five, which is movement for success. Sean's podium, and there's a lot of athletes that listen to this and they can totally identify that. But you might be, you haven't even walked more than a mile in five years. You might be thinking, I can't podium. Well, let me tell you, like I have been a big, I've worked out since I was eight years old, chest expanders. I used to watch the Rocky movies. I started doing pull-ups when I was 10 years old. And so I've always worked I was the school champion for athletics, like four years straight. I played rugby for my school, my city. I trained for running a sprinting for the city and all kinds of stuff through college, always played sports. It was always fast and any sport. I loved it. Very competitive. And then again, the pandemic, I just, you know, I was big into CrossFit for the longest time, even coach CrossFit very well. And then I just fell off the wagon, man. I still haven't fully processed what happened there. Just difficult. Everybody went through a difficult time, but I stopped working out this year. 2021 is probably when I started to really realize that's been like a year since I've really done anything. And then I got, I got COVID, I think it's March. And so that really kind of just impacted my body. And so really held me back. And then um, from there, I just kind of got out of the habit or the mental space that really the mental space I got out of it. And so my movement went down and my whole, I think that's what cascaded everything. Like I wasn't moving nearly as much. You didn't have a purpose too, right? No purpose. Yes. No purpose. My identity was matching with my actions, which was just nothing, you know, and, and so I wasn't reading, podcasting, not getting uncomfortable at all. The thought of uncomfortability was petrifying. I remember being this like, um, what would you like? I was a shell of myself, lost my shadow, you know? And so 2023 was a year of getting it back, you know? And I feel like, have you seen, you've probably not seen it. It's the dark night, um, rises where Bane, Batman is Batman. It's the third one. And so Bane, uh, is this just jacked monster and he can't feel pain. And so Batman is eight years older from the second film. And he, this guy comes back and, and he, um, they end up going head to head and Batman is old, broken at this point, but he has to save everybody, you know? So he goes to, he goes to fight with him and he's just laying into Bane, cannot, the guys just let him hit him. And then Bane hit them one time, knocks him down. And it's like, what is happening? It's an unbelievable scene. He ends up, um, he ends up breaking Batman's back and sends them to this hell hole pit that's impossible to escape from. And there's like a hundred prisoners in there and on the other side of the world. And Bane broke him, like mentally, physically. And he didn't want to kill Batman. He put him in a room, uh, with a broken back of bars and he just had a TV so that Batman could watch, uh, him destroy the city that they lived in. And so he ends up, uh, uh, Bruce Wayne, Batman, he ends up repairing himself. He gets his back fixed up. He, he works out over this long period of time and he figures out a way how to escape from this hole. This is like, uh, it's hundreds of feet high hole and he has to make it as impossible jump to get out. It's impossible. No one's ever, everyone's ever died. He does it. He gets out. Come on. And so then, you know, I don't want to, I'm going to ruin the film. You know, you got to watch. It doesn't matter if you know the story or not. At the end, he fights Bane again. And right as Bane sees him, he's like, how I broke you. And once, once he knew he was, uh, that he came back, he was then broke. Let's go. And that's, I guess that's how I feel. Yeah. You know, I escaped. Yeah. Stopped existing and started living. Yeah, man. Yeah. So I, yeah, I just was all the way out and got all the way back and I, I wasn't sure if it was going to happen. Yeah. And there has been hope. That's because you've got uncomfortable. Yeah. Really hard coaches. Yeah. You've read books, listen podcasts, surrounded yourself with like-minded individuals. And a huge state for you, man. I honestly wouldn't be here, uh, feeling the way I'm feeling if it wasn't for you. No doubt, brother. Anyway, I didn't mean to steal the hog, the horn there, but yeah, movement and success for you. Like, I think we can end it there, man. That was beautiful. Yeah. Well said. That's what it's all about. Yeah, brother. Wow. I love you, man. Appreciate you sharing that, man. Yeah, me too, dude. There's some vulnerability right there. So I love it. Yeah, brother.