May 16, 2022 • 41 mins
Venture beyond the safety of the everyday blueprint and tap into the uncharted territories of success with your hosts, Wayne and Dallin Aston. As trailblazers ourselves, we're peeling back the curtain on the sacrifices and the seismic shifts in social circles that often accompany the rise to the top. Our candid discussions unearth the raw truth about what it takes to break the social agreement and navigate the waters of envy that success can stir, sharing stories that promise to challenge your perception of what it means to truly 'have.'
This episode is not just about defying odds; it's a masterclass in rewriting the rulebook. Discover how I turned heads and broke records in Moab's luxury real estate market, not simply by pricing condos at a premium, but by standing firm amidst a current of skepticism. Dallin and I dive into the critical nature of fostering a supportive environment, as the journey of innovation is a path walked better with allies. For anyone looking to push boundaries in their field, we're laying out the blueprint for success that's anything but conventional.
Finally, we strip down the glossy veneer of the 'American Dream' to reveal the gritty, exhilarating reality of entrepreneurship. Our conversation steers you through the philosophy of continuous growth and the pursuit of potential that's boundless. We're talking about principles over goals, action over dreams, and the transformative power of living in the present—inspired by legends in coaching and life alike. So, tune in, sync up with our steadfast principles, and let us ignite your path to chasing the horizon, armed with the philosophy of 'now.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back, guys.
I'm your host, wayne Aston.
This is my co-host, dallinAston.
Yeah, and this is AstonIncorporated.
Thanks for tuning in, guys.
So we got into some pretty deepshit on the last episode.
I really enjoyed that, talkingabout the four pillars and
finding harmony on our lives.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Today I want to take this in a little different
direction.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
It's we're gonna be talking some philosophy still
and for you guys that arechomping at the bit to get into
some some more, you know nutsand bolts on educational stuff.
We're getting there, we'rewinding up, you guys, so stay
with us.
Okay, this philosophyconversation.
Some of these are justmust-have.
(00:44):
Concepts Like these arefoundational things that must be
must be addressed.
Yeah, so I want to drop aconcept I'm gonna refer to as
breaking the social agreement.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
And when I drop that out there with no explanation,
what's your knee jerk to thatDallin?
Speaker 2 (01:04):
It's kind of like the first image that I have in my
head is a school of fishswimming in one direction and
you have one that's in themiddle of swimming the other
direction.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
It's kind of the image that I get in my head.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Okay, that's a good one.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Yeah, that's a, that is a.
That's a tight analogy to whatI want to dive into here,
because when we, when we findourselves at the, the trailhead,
getting ready to set foot ontothe trail of becoming an
entrepreneur, starting thejourney to becoming entrepreneur
(01:40):
, starting a business, there arecertain things you can
calculate and there's otherthings you could never calculate
.
Yeah, oh for sure.
And and so there's thiswillingness, guys, that will
permeate all of all of whatwe're doing with this show, okay
, this entire show is.
We will jump out of that planewith no net and figure it out on
(02:02):
the way down.
Okay, that really is what we'retalking about here.
But breaking social agreementsis one of those things that, in
my, in my relationships, in mypersonal journey of 27 years in
the space, I never, never in amillion years, could have
calculated the casualties andthe sacrifices that would come
(02:28):
against my will, because ofother people's choices and
attitudes about what I was doing.
And you know, the, the, in fact, this, this sleeve on my
forearm here has it's got somegravestones right right here
(02:51):
above my watch, and thesegravestones represent people who
called themselves friends atone point in my life when I was
making good money and we weredoing this and we were doing
that and the money was good.
Everyone wanted to be my friend, right?
But when I got kicked in theteeth that first time and I was
(03:16):
no longer defined by money incars and houses and I had
nothing but Wayne left, yeah,nobody was left.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Everyone just ghosted , and so these gravestones are
here to remind me thatrelationships, relationships are
the key.
True, lasting, deeprelationships are critical for
long-term success.
For me personally, it's mynumber one focus Authentic
(03:46):
relationships.
So in my worst of times, mydarkest days, there are those
handful of people that I cancount on, always.
Now, when we, when we talkabout what does it mean that?
What do you have to do to breakthe social agreement?
Well, make a million dollars.
Make a million dollars whenyou're 24 years old.
(04:08):
You're gonna, you're gonnafucking break some agreements.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
And you don't even know what you're breaking.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
What's gonna happen is it's gonna show up with
friends and family saying likeWhispering oh man, who did he
have to screw To buy thosecondos?
Who did?
Who did he have to steal frominteresting?
Speaker 2 (04:28):
To make all that money and drive that fancy car
that he's got.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Yeah, okay, I'm talking about resentment and
jealousy and I'm talking aboutthe haves and the have nots.
Yeah, being being in one sideof the boat or the other the
haves or the have nots Is not acircumstance, it's a choice.
Yeah, anyone can be in eitherside of the boat and you can
(04:54):
shift between boats.
You can be in the have and havenot.
I've been in both boats backand forth three or four times,
yeah, but I choose to be in thecertain boat.
I choose to be in the boatwhere I have stuff and I have
success and I have relationships, consciously choosing that now.
Yeah, I just really quickly.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Yeah, it's interesting.
Something just came to my headand I don't like to so.
When I first bought my car, ithad these racing stripes on it.
Yeah, and there, and there's areason, there's a purpose.
I swear to this, okay, but youknow, and you remember it right?
Oh yeah, it looks sick.
It was sick.
(05:34):
But I would drive it and I felt,I was like man, it's just not
like I felt a little gaudy, youknow.
I was like, oh man, like it's alittle much for you.
So my first inclinationeveryone's different, but my
inclination is not to flaunt,and yeah, you know, I mean, and
so I ended up taking the mom off.
Because I liked how it looked,sleeker, you know, and but but
that principle applies to what Iwas doing in Moab.
(05:56):
Yeah, with these, this propertystuff, I would go to Moab all
the time and I have a lot ofpeople around me.
You know, whether it's, youknow, friend groups or you know
Acquaintances that I'd see at myapartment complex, they'd
always see me Leaving for, youknow a couple days of time,
coming back and my car iscovered in red sand, like what
(06:19):
is this guy doing?
Yeah, you know, and I'm gonealways, you know, like I would.
I was gone, I would go once aweek down there for three months
, you know, and it got to thepoint where I was living there.
But but the point I'm trying tomake here on this conversation
is one day I remember I wasgetting back from a lot of this
guy's like dude, what are youdoing down there?
And I was like you know I'm, Iactually just I've been started
(06:42):
this company and I started thiscompany and I started this
company and I again, I don'twant to just like look at me,
yeah.
so I said I was like, why?
You know I'm starting thisbusiness?
And he's like, well, what is it?
So he's asking specifically.
So I'm okay.
So I tell him.
I was like, yeah, you know, I'm, I just bought these properties
.
I raised this money, boughtthese properties and I'm running
in this nightly rentals.
(07:03):
And he's like, why would youever do that?
And I was like, what do youmean?
He's like, dude, just gettenants, why are you running him
as nightly rentals?
and I was like oh well, I mean,have you?
And I asked him I remember this.
I was like, oh, do you runproperty?
Like you have tenants.
He's like well, no.
And I was like then, why areyou?
And I was trying to be asrespectful as possible.
(07:26):
I was like what's the?
Have you ever done real estate?
He's like no.
And I was like so why?
And I tried to be as kind andas loving as possible.
I was like I don't, I'm justdoing it because I think it's
the best way I see fit, you know.
And he was like, okay, well,geez, that's good luck, is what
(07:46):
he said.
Yeah, and I was like, thanks,good luck.
Like you're a damn fool, youare clueless.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Right.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
And I just remember seeing it, I was like what?
And I was just so kind oftaking it back.
I was like why is this guy,who's never done anything of the
sort, telling me that I'm afool for doing what I've spent
so much time trying to figureout?
And it just made me feel kindof uncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
So I was like well, thanks, man.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Like yeah, I have a good one.
And I walked away and it justbugged me, it just nagged my
brain.
I was like what you know?
And the conclusion I came towas what we're talking about
here is you know, you havepeople that you know, and I
think now is you could go asksomeone that makes $50,000 a
year how to become a millionaire, and they'll tell you they will
(08:33):
have an opinion, they will havea strong opinion.
They'll be very vocal aboutwhat you should do.
But have you done it?
Is it?
Well?
No, okay, then why that?
And that's the biggest thing tome, it's like okay, well, if I'm
gonna try to do something, Idon't wanna ask just anyone,
because everyone will have anopinion, but the only one that I
care about is the one that'sdone it.
That's kind of what I, you know.
(08:54):
So when we're talking about thehave and have not, it's like
everyone has an opinion andthey're gonna tell you you're
wrong.
Everyone's gonna tell youyou're wrong.
Everyone's gonna say, well,maybe it's just not quite, maybe
you're just not meant to be.
You know, maybe this isn'tworking.
When I first started GuitarHacks, I was.
I remember my computerliterally broke and all my work
(09:14):
was gone.
I don't know if I've ever toldyou this but I lost everything.
All my courses that I had filmedall my e-book like everything
that I've written.
I lost it all and I had someonetell me you know, maybe it's
just not meant to be Like, maybethat's a sign, and I was like
what?
Get the heck out of here Likethat didn't even cross my mind
until you said that I was likethat's not even in the realm of
(09:34):
reality.
You should just give up.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yeah, I was like that's not even real, Like what
are you?
Speaker 2 (09:38):
saying you know?
So it's this concept, I think.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
It's just interesting .
Oh man, that's incredible.
You know Thomas Edison had afactory you just spurred a short
thing I wanted to share onthose lines had a factory and he
was inventing, you know, tryingto invent the light bulb.
Everyone knows that ThomasEdison did not invent the light
bulb in his first try.
(10:02):
It took, I think, 10,000 times.
He tried all kinds of things,but some crazy number yeah.
Crazy number he has all thisR&D, this research and
development to develop a lightbulb, and his factory burned
down and it was a total loss and, as it was, burning and blue
flames and all kinds ofchemicals and stuff in this lab,
(10:24):
the thing's burning down.
He grabs an apprentice and somepeople around him was like, look
at that, you know, and hewasn't in the give up mode, it
only motivated him to.
He's like man, imagine thepossibilities of just starting
from scratch with all theknowledge and experience I have.
(10:45):
Could look like.
Imagine what my investor, whatmy story to my investors will be
when we're starting fromscratch with all these ideas.
That didn't work.
And his perspective was totallydifferent.
It was a really inspiring story.
You'll have to Google it andlike actually read about that,
because I've given you very highlevel and didn't do any justice
(11:06):
to it.
But you're so right, it's crazy.
You know Sage Creek we'll talkabout all the time because
there's an example foreverything we're talking about
down there.
One of the biggest mistakes Iever made as a resort developer
was selling units to individualswhen it was designed to be
(11:29):
programmed as a resort.
Yeah, Resort programmingrequires that all the furniture
is the same.
It requires that theprogramming is consistent.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Right like a hotel.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Like a hotel.
I go sell 20 something unitsand guess what?
Every condo owner's aprofessional hotelier.
They're all telling me how thecolor should change, how we
should do this different, andit's incredible People with no
experience.
They were the most vocal,strong opinions on how to
(12:02):
program a world-class resortthat's so interesting to me.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Okay, yeah, and it's every level of anything.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Well, I just want the listeners to make a mental note
that when people are giving youopinions, strong opinions, that
you're crazy and you shouldn'tbe doing that, you should do the
opposite of what they're saying.
Most of the time, those folksare working jobs that they're
not willing.
They don't have the balls to goand take the risk and jump out
(12:31):
of a plane without a parachute.
So they're gonna tell you asafer path.
They're gonna try and protectyou.
Okay.
Now, it's well known amongstpilots in the military that if
I'm flying a B-12 bomber and I'mnot taking enemy fire, I'm
probably not over the target.
(12:51):
If I'm taking heavy enemy fire,I'm right over the target.
I'm right where I'm supposed tobe Interesting, okay.
So mental note guys, you'relistening here the opinions of
all of the folks that are notdoing what you want to be doing.
Not only do they mean nothing,but they should serve as fuel to
(13:11):
show you you're on the rightpath of doing something they
would never dare to do or it'snever been done before.
So there's another common tenetof becoming an entrepreneur
You've got to be willing to dosomething that's never been done
before and be passionate, andyou've got to have an internal
navigation system that canresist all of the naysayers and
(13:33):
the have-nots.
And you're breaking a socialagreement because when you press
forward with your crazy idea,everyone's angry.
I don't know why.
Another example in Moab.
You know we're designing thesecondos.
Okay, you love this.
Realtors listening, you lovethis one?
(13:55):
Listen to this.
I'm talking to one of the mostexperienced old real estate
agents in Moab.
I'm not going to name his namebecause this is a very negative
situation.
What I knew was I had a floorplan.
I know that the unit's threebedrooms, two and a half baths.
(14:16):
I know it's 1,610 square feet.
I go to the professional inMoab and I ask him to help me
price it and he says well, Imean because you know the
highest condo we've ever sold inGrand County, sold for 387,000.
I think you probably should bepricing it 383.75 and we could
(14:40):
sell through those.
No perspective of resortprogramming, no perspective of
the finishes, no perspective ofcash flow potential.
Little did he know the cost ofeach condo was $480,000.
Right, so how am I supposed tosell a condo at $100,000 lost
(15:01):
per unit?
Yeah, right.
So I'm doing something that'snever been done before.
So I decide that we're going tohave a sales meeting, a
pre-sales meeting.
We're going to go down to theMoab brewery and we're going to
invite all the agents in Moab.
We're going to have them comeand we're going to unveil the
project Sage Creek at Moab.
(15:21):
We're going to show them thesepretty plans and these
renderings and the site andwe're going to tell them all
about it.
And we're going to roll out theopening price.
And we did that and I decidedwe'd roll out at 450 a unit.
That was a slight loss.
Yeah, I figured you know what.
We could probably take a loss,a few, a few condos for loss
(15:45):
leaders, just to prime the pumpand get some sales.
And guess what the agents did?
They all sat and gave me theseprice per square foot
calculations and laughed me outof the room.
They're like you are out ofyour mind.
You can't sell a condo for 450in Grand County.
This is stupid, I mean.
(16:07):
They were laughing at me.
It was a very embarrassing anddegrading meeting for me to
stand up and have them alllaughing and telling me how
wrong I was because I was toogreedy.
Right and again, socialagreements.
Guys, keep your focus on thesocial agreements.
Wow, these are realtors thathave lived there for their whole
(16:28):
lives.
They don't have the resourcesto know how or the balls to go
build something of value.
They just want to sell whateversomeone else creates.
Right, but they have a verystrong opinion about what it
should be valued at.
Yeah and so, wow.
So here's fast forward a couplemonths.
Here's what happens.
Another competing project downthere in Trotta.
(16:50):
They end up having a salesagent with a little different
attitude.
They end up selling a unit for470,000.
That broke the records and set anew record, so I decided we'd
better one up it and I bring aninvestor in.
And we sold an entire building12 units for 550 a unit 6.6
(17:12):
million cash for one building.
So we shattered the the countyrecord.
Yeah, fast forward two moreyears.
Condos well, just got a praiselast year for a million and
fifty a unit.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Yeah, okay.
So you can imagine what all theagents in Grand County now are
doing.
They're looking at this andsaying, shit, we could make so
much money if we were, just ifwe would be open-minded and
support the growth and supportthe values rising Right.
And now, if you go look on theMLS, every condo in Grand County
(17:47):
is going to be six.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
There's not one below Seven hundred thousand dollars,
maybe five hundred.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
I mean to find something at 385 is going to be
rare now, if it ever happensagain.
Yeah, so there's a lot to besaid and I'm not tuning my own
horn, I'm just saying I feelblessed that we stuck to our
guns.
We knew the value we werepresenting.
It cost a lot more to deliverthat unit with all that value
(18:14):
Three and a half million dollarpool.
We built the pool a year beforethe first condos were finished
so that people could drive byHighway 191 and see these big
rock cliffs, 17 feet tall, withfire features and water and the
changing color in the water.
It's like, oh, it was like abillboard, right, everyone knew
(18:35):
before those condos got built.
Oh, my gosh, this is an amazing, world-class pool complex.
I'll bet those condos are gonnabe incredible 100%.
But that takes determinationand willingness to go blaze a
new trail when everyone else iscalling you crazy.
Yeah, okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Just an example, right?
Speaker 1 (18:56):
So when the nays?
And so Huge.
So get back to what I talkedabout casualties.
You know, I shared a little bitabout the friends that all kind
of left in 2008.
It's been one of the hardest,most impossible things to
calculate in my life, being anentrepreneur, a successful
(19:17):
entrepreneur making millions ofdollars, just with the
understanding that there's sofew people who actually are
happy about that.
For me, yeah, what I find is 80%of the people I'm talking to
(19:38):
don't really care, and the other20% really want me to fail.
So there's a very small group ofpeople and it's because of just
in my experience, they feellike I'm leaving them behind in
some way.
Right, you know, I could applythis to some family members.
I could apply this to many,many folks that I would call
(20:01):
friends at one point in my life,who are clearly not friends,
and so it's really important forme to surround myself with
authentic people, people whoauthentically support my success
, who authentically support mycrazy ideas with an open mind.
(20:23):
Right, I mean, I have closefriends that still think I'm
crazy and they'll tell me, ohfor sure, you're crazy, but they
support that.
I'm willing to go maverick,yeah, and something might happen
.
So I want to transition intothis concept and if you guys
have seen the matrix, theoriginal matrix, kind of this is
(20:47):
where the concept comes fromfor me.
There's a scene in the moviewhere Trinity is in Neo or in
the car and Neo doesn't realizehe's the one yet he doesn't
realize he's the chosen one, butTrinity and the other rest of
the group they believe he is.
And they're trying to help himunderstand his potential.
(21:07):
And they pull up and it's rainyand there's all this chaos
happening.
And they pull up to thisalleyway and Trinity's like Neo,
look down that street, you seethe end of that street, you know
where that ends.
And he's like, yeah, and she'slike you don't want to be there.
That's the problem, you knowwhere that ends.
(21:28):
That really impacted me, guys,because the analogy I'm sharing
now is what I call the two paths.
Okay, the two paths critical,foundational work for an
entrepreneur, super, super,applicable for me and my life
and how I operate On the lefthand.
So imagine we're alwaysstanding in a crossroads.
(21:49):
On the left hand, there's astraight, narrow path and I can
see what's at the end of it.
It's safe, it's comfortable andsecure.
Yeah, I could have a job, Icould have benefits, I could
have insurance, I could have mybills paid, I could have all of
those things that are familiarand comfortable.
(22:11):
The only problem is I knowwhere it ends, right, and it is
a house with a white picketfence and nothing beyond that.
The American dream, but nothingbeyond that.
So the American dream is afallacy.
We're talking about a whitepicket fence in the house.
Okay, that will serve 90% ofthe population.
(22:34):
I think I mean I'm being bold,guys.
If you hate me already, thenyou're fair to chime in and tell
me how much I suck.
I don't want to be degrading toanyone, but unfortunately so.
There's that path.
That's the safety of theguarantees.
On this other path it's a windything.
It's a windy trail that goes upa mountain.
(22:55):
There's trees, wild animals,landmines, all kinds of things
that could kill me.
There's no guarantee, there'sno security.
It's up to me solely to survivethat one.
If I have the guts to go downthat path.
I'm relying on myself solelyand some faith in God that he
(23:22):
can help me, help me avoid someof the snares on that trail.
So it's again, it's a me andGod partnership.
But the question is under whatcircumstances do I choose either
path Right?
Is this resonating?
Speaker 2 (23:41):
with you yet?
Yeah, yeah it is.
It's interesting.
I think you could think about alot of ways, and I don't think
it's being degrading.
I mean, if we're talking aboutwhat we're talking to here, this
is the entrepreneur, right?
I mean there will probably havea wide group of people who
listen, so all you guys outthere listening it's, you know,
what we're talking about here isthe light.
(24:01):
An entrepreneur, that's notyour job, right?
I think it's your lifestyle.
It's not a career.
Yeah, that's right it is alifestyle that you live.
Yeah, and I think this ispainting the picture of what
that actually means and I thinkit's important.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
You know and so I don't know.
You think about you can see theend or you don't know the end.
I it's interesting.
It's almost like you're goingup a staircase where you can't
see the next step, almost.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Yeah, Martin Luther King.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Martin Luther King talks about faith.
He quantified, he defines faithby only being able to see the
next step on the staircase.
That's a great analogy, yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
And that's what kind of speaks to me here, you know.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
And what's crazy to me is I think we oftentimes
think, oh man, if my life werethis way, I'd be happy, yeah.
Or oh man, if only this, or ifonly that, if only.
Or, you know, I think mostpeople will say, man, this is my
biggest dream.
(25:07):
Yeah, if life were perfect,this is how it would look.
And some people might not evenhave that idea, they might even
know what that would look like.
But I think even when we thinkthat way, this is what my
perfect life would look like, Ifeel like even that is limiting
in a way.
Right.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Because, if you can see it, it's almost like well,
that's it.
When you get there, you'regonna stop.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
It's like with fitness oh man, I wanna be
X-weight.
When you get there, it's likegreat, now, what?
Now, what right?
That's not the idea.
I think the switch is.
My goal is not just X-weight orX, you know, lifting or
whatever X miles on thetreadmill, it's I wanna be fit.
That's a race with no finishline.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Yeah, yeah, that's you know, you're never gonna
okay, I wanna be fit.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
I guess I'll have to.
I guess I have to keep going.
Then I could hit my dreamweight and just feel like, oh
man, I'm good, now I'll just sitback.
Or I could say, no, I wanna befit, so I'm gonna keep going.
What's the next level of that?
Speaker 1 (26:08):
What's the next level ?
Speaker 2 (26:09):
So when you're thinking about the one where you
can't see the finish line, it'salmost like man.
It's probably bigger than wecan even imagine.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Yes, yes, I think that's the point.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah, we don't put a ceiling on it.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah, that's a critical piece of this, critical
piece of the analogy.
So here's another movie cue foryou.
So those of us we love ourcomedies, guys, we might draw
some Nacho Libre quotes.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
We might draw some Anchorman quotes, but today,
today, what comes up for me isDumb and Dumber.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Okay, jim Carrey, magnificent performance, dumb
and Dumber.
If you've seen the movie thenyou know that Jim Carrey is just
this really kind of nerdy dude.
Nothing going for him.
And he has this coincidentalencounter to meet this really
beautiful redheaded lady, andshe lives in Aspen, Colorado,
(27:05):
and she's rich and all of this.
And he thinks he's falling inlove with this lady, right, and
he's so determined to be withher.
So, if I recall correctly, thelady leaves a wallet and he
decides oh my gosh, this is mychance.
I'm gonna go connect with herand we're gonna fall in love and
(27:25):
I'm gonna marry her and we'regonna write off into the sunset,
I'm gonna return her wallet toher in where she lives, in Aspen
, colorado or whatever.
So in this buddy, get on theirlittle moped.
You guys see the scene.
They're driving through thesnowy past, a snot, all over
their faces, frozen.
They get there and the specificscene is he's encountering this
(27:46):
lady and he asked her pointblank.
He's like what's the chancethat we go on a date or we could
be dating?
And she looks at him and she'slike brutally honest.
She's like she doesn't wannacrush him, but she's like
totally honest too.
She's trying to avoid him.
(28:07):
She's like man, it's probablylike one in a million that I
would go on a date with you andmost people are crushed.
But what does he do?
He says so you're sayingthere's a chance?
Right Like to him, that waslike the best news he could ever
receive, because there's a onein a million chance and he's
(28:31):
living for a chance.
So now I wanna apply that tothe two paths.
I live my life consciously onthe chance of achieving
something magnificent andunexpected and bigger than I can
imagine, and I'll take thatpath every single time by
(28:52):
default, over that secure pathand knowing what's at the end of
it.
Every single time by default,as a serial entrepreneur, I live
for the chance and there's noguarantees, but I'm cool with
that.
But I live for a chance to makesomething magnificent or do
something that's never been donebefore.
Critical philosophy, guys toprogram your mind to think that
(29:17):
way.
Think like dumb and dumber.
So you're saying there's achance.
That means you, if not me, thenwho?
Who's gonna be the one?
Why not me?
Okay, we've gotta believe inourselves, guys.
We've got to have a confidenceinside ourselves, even if it's
never been done, even ifeveryone's saying we're totally
insane.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Okay, and I think, something really important along
those lines that I'm justthinking about as you're talking
here.
I don't know if you've everread the book Principles by Ray
Dalio Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
So yeah, Ray Dalio is a Jedi.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
He is extraordinary, yeah, so if you haven't read
that book, I strongly recommendit.
I've been reading it lately andsomething that's really stood
out to me is the whole idea ofprinciples.
You know, and I think if you goback into previous episodes, we
talk about why, we talk aboutthe purpose for what we're doing
.
You know we go seven layersdeep, we do all this stuff.
(30:12):
But then if you take a look atthe two paths, you know, you're
wise, you know you're gonna usethat to push you through the
jungle, with the bombs and theanimals that rip you apart.
But in my opinion, the only wayto get through that, you know,
and make it the only way toactually survive the jungle, is
(30:36):
to live your life based onprinciples.
You know, we're not talkingabout setting goals.
We're not talking about, youknow, a New Year's resolution.
Yeah, yeah, hey, this year I'mgonna do XXX.
These are my goals.
I think goals are like they'reokay, but what?
In my opinion, when goals arepredicated based on principles,
(30:59):
that's where power comes.
You know, Goals aren't honestly, and maybe you have a different
opinion, but for me, goalsaren't necessarily super
inspiring to me.
What's super inspiring to me isthe principles that I've
created for my life that allowme to say this is my grand
vision.
My grand vision is I wouldn'tqualify that as a goal.
I'd say that's my, that's whatI'm to do, that's, you know, and
(31:21):
I don't even know what's beyondthat.
This is just what I can see.
The next step, but myprinciples are what I believe
guide me through when theinevitable storm comes right,
because your wise is gonna tellyou okay, I have to get through
this, but well, how am I gonnaget through this, it's you have
these principles engraved withinyourself.
(31:43):
I have 20 principles that I'vewritten down.
In fact, they're my lock screen.
I have 20 principles that Ibelieve guide and every part of
my life is predicated upon, youknow.
I think that applies to goingthrough the jungle.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
I think you're right.
I mean, I agree with you.
I think a New Year's resolutionis a waste of time and energy.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
And I think a goal to me.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
When you say goals and ambitions, that's.
It would be nice someday.
I wish it's a daydream.
Yeah, it's just bullshit.
Guys, You're just strokingyourself with daydreams.
Right Now, let's make adifference and make something
actionable.
Let's set a target.
Yeah, you either hit the targetor you miss a target.
(32:27):
There's no varying degrees on aspectrum of did I succeed or
fail?
You either hit the target oryou don't.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
I survived or I got eaten by an animal in the jungle
.
That's truly what we're talkingabout here, right?
Speaker 1 (32:42):
When you're talking about heading down the path with
a no guarantees and no security, then it really is driven to
results, and I totally agreewith what you're saying.
I think you almost live everyday like it's New Year's Day.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
I set weekly targets.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Ok, guys.
So for practical application,what's worked for me is I like
to take on a Sunday evening.
I'll spend a couple hours andI'll set targets for my week,
and I typically set only four.
I'm not going to go set 10,because experience has shown I
don't like to miss my target andI set too many targets for a
week, then I just overwhelmmyself and I don't get them.
(33:23):
I like to set a target.
That's a stretch.
It feels improbable but it mustget done.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
So what's the difference between a target and
a goal?
Well, the goal to me, is that'simportant, I think.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Yeah, well, the goal is it would be nice to have, and
typically goals you know youset a year out.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
And so what if we quantified this?
Ok, this year, say, it's NewYear's and I'm setting here and
I'm going.
Man, I want to.
I want to gain 20 pounds oflean muscle mass this year.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Yeah, yeah.
So the difference for me sothat's so.
That could be the goal, that'sa result.
So the way I unpack that forresults driven probabilities to
hit that as a target is I settargets within the process
required to hit the result.
So instead of me saying I wantto lose 20 pounds or I want to
(34:21):
gain 20 pounds, whatever itwould, be what I'm going to do
is each week I'm going to say,ok, I'm going to consume 3,400
calories a day.
Ok, yes, I'm going to do twohours in the gym at least five,
six days a week.
I'm going to hit this amount ofweights.
There are specific actionabletargets that I either hit or
(34:41):
miss on an ongoing, but then Iset weekly that lead to that
goal or the.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
So it almost.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
I still want to call it a target, but it's a year
away.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
But right, it almost sounds to me like by very
definition, a goal is kind ofvague, it's you can get specific
, yeah, but.
I think the day I want to lose20 pounds is that that's very
specific yeah.
But OK, well, how and why?
Speaker 1 (35:10):
How and why?
Why not?
Why not set a process?
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Yeah, why not?
So the principle process.
So here's, we're getting inprinciples, right, yeah?
Yeah, my principle in my lifeis we don't have to get into
that, but one of them could be Iam, so you become your
principles and your principlesbecome you.
I am fit.
Yeah, my process of being thatway is this yeah, right, that's
(35:37):
kind of what I'm hearing, yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Yeah, that's absolutely right.
That's absolutely right.
It's when I can establish aprocess and I trust the process
will lead to the result.
Nick Saban is a world renownedcollegiate champion coach.
Nick Saban if you study him, hetalks about processes.
(36:01):
You will not hear him talkingabout winning a national
championship.
What you will hear him talkingabout is what must happen inside
of the workout for the footballteam today.
Wow, and it's as a perfect aspros today's workout.
If today's workout is asperfect as it can be, and we did
(36:23):
these defensive drills andthese offensive plays and we're
focused into present and wetrust the process.
When we get to the end of that,we stack those reps up, the
likelihood we win thechampionship is so much higher.
It is an elevated consciousnessaround setting something long
(36:43):
range, long range target.
You're not.
We are not focusing on thattarget out there.
Yeah, like we are focusing onwhat I can control today.
That's all I can control.
It's just a yeah so take itfrom Nick Saban.
And how, how does every coachnot embrace that?
I don't know, you know you, Iunderstand you know huh, people
(37:04):
try to find motivation indifferent ways, but I don't want
to, I don't want to,beleaguered that.
That idea, that's a pure idea.
Trust the process, yeah.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Yeah, and I don't think it Ain't nothing to and
I've said this before but I'llsay it again it's not a matter
of necessarily.
You know, we're saying there'sonly one way, and there's so
many ways, absolutely to doanything.
Absolutely, you know.
But when you take a setback,the principles apply.
(37:33):
Yeah, right, and the principleof two paths, principle of
having or why, the principle ofyou know, being present.
I think these are Applicable tothat.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
Anyone in every, you know every one and look, we
could challenge not to interruptyou, but we could challenge
what you're saying to.
There's a hundred differentways to do it.
That's true, right, but let's,let's think about Trevor Moad
and his amazing book called it.
Takes what it takes, he, hepresents the concept of the
illusion of choice.
Yes, I could probably like todo a whole episode on the
(38:06):
illusion of choice, but to givethe listeners high level, you
should go get that book if youcan today and read it.
He talks about college footballplayers transitioning to the
NFL.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
What does that?
Speaker 1 (38:17):
take Trevor Moad's, a life coach for professional
athletes.
He was the.
He is the life coach for theSeattle Seahawks.
You know, quarterback, who'swon the Super Bowl?
And now I'm forgetting his name.
Sorry guys, I'm not a huge,huge professional, I'm not a
huge supporter of professionalathletics, but.
(38:38):
But what he talks about is likethese guys come out of college,
they're hot stuff and they getthe five million dollar contract
to be in the NFL.
Now they naturally think, hey,man, I got a five million dollar
contract, I can driveLamborghinis, I can go clubbing
on the on the week nights, theweekends, I got all these girls
to hang out with.
I'm gonna be putting this stuffon social.
I can drink my alcohol, I cando my stuff, and and there's a
(39:02):
rude awakening that happens forevery one of them.
And what happens is they getinto the league and the league
says Okay, we have two workoutsa day, and tomorrow, you know,
starting in the morning at 6, 15am, and you must perform at 90%
capacity in Both workouts inthe day.
Now, for a human being to dothat, the illusion of choice
(39:28):
starts to disappear, right, andand the college kid realizes oh
my gosh, if I am going toperform at that level, I Must be
in bed by 9 am.
Yeah, I cannot drink alcohol, Icannot drink drugs.
Do you use drugs?
I'm not gonna be out clubbing,I have to be.
(39:48):
I Can only eat these certainthings I might.
Meal plan is.
It's chicken and rice, bro,right, like you know what I'm
saying.
So, oh yeah, it's water, onlyit's no soda pop, yeah, like
Down to the details, right, and?
And so now?
Now, discipline equals freedom,right?
It's a big cycle, but theillusion of choice like with all
(40:10):
that money and all thatquote-unquote freedom Right gets
it's like a vacuum gets suckedaway.
When you recognize if I'm trulycommitted to the result, then
my choices are finite.
There are only one or two orthree choices.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
Yes, in this equation , for me to hit that target.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
Yes, get clear about that, guys.
That's what I'm trying toconvey With with setting targets
.
Okay, so so we're at time.
Let's wrap it.
I think we've had a.
I've enjoyed it.
Have you enjoyed it today?
Yeah, hopefully the listenershave enjoyed it, guys.
Thanks for being with us today.
Aston incorporated.
We hope you'll tune in nexttime.
Welcome back, guys.
I'm your host, wayne Aston.
This is my co-host, dallinAston.
Yeah, and this is AstonIncorporated.
Thanks for tuning in, guys.
So we got into some pretty deepshit on the last episode.
I really enjoyed that, talkingabout the four pillars and
finding harmony on our lives.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Today I want to take this in a little different
direction.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
It's we're gonna be talking some philosophy still
and for you guys that arechomping at the bit to get into
some some more, you know nutsand bolts on educational stuff.
We're getting there, we'rewinding up, you guys, so stay
with us.
Okay, this philosophyconversation.
Some of these are justmust-have.
(00:44):
Concepts Like these arefoundational things that must be
must be addressed.
Yeah, so I want to drop aconcept I'm gonna refer to as
breaking the social agreement.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
And when I drop that out there with no explanation,
what's your knee jerk to thatDallin?
Speaker 2 (01:04):
It's kind of like the first image that I have in my
head is a school of fishswimming in one direction and
you have one that's in themiddle of swimming the other
direction.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
It's kind of the image that I get in my head.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Okay, that's a good one.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Yeah, that's a, that is a.
That's a tight analogy to whatI want to dive into here,
because when we, when we findourselves at the, the trailhead,
getting ready to set foot ontothe trail of becoming an
entrepreneur, starting thejourney to becoming entrepreneur
(01:40):
, starting a business, there arecertain things you can
calculate and there's otherthings you could never calculate
.
Yeah, oh for sure.
And and so there's thiswillingness, guys, that will
permeate all of all of whatwe're doing with this show, okay
, this entire show is.
We will jump out of that planewith no net and figure it out on
(02:02):
the way down.
Okay, that really is what we'retalking about here.
But breaking social agreementsis one of those things that, in
my, in my relationships, in mypersonal journey of 27 years in
the space, I never, never in amillion years, could have
calculated the casualties andthe sacrifices that would come
(02:28):
against my will, because ofother people's choices and
attitudes about what I was doing.
And you know, the, the, in fact, this, this sleeve on my
forearm here has it's got somegravestones right right here
(02:51):
above my watch, and thesegravestones represent people who
called themselves friends atone point in my life when I was
making good money and we weredoing this and we were doing
that and the money was good.
Everyone wanted to be my friend, right?
But when I got kicked in theteeth that first time and I was
(03:16):
no longer defined by money incars and houses and I had
nothing but Wayne left, yeah,nobody was left.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Everyone just ghosted , and so these gravestones are
here to remind me thatrelationships, relationships are
the key.
True, lasting, deeprelationships are critical for
long-term success.
For me personally, it's mynumber one focus Authentic
(03:46):
relationships.
So in my worst of times, mydarkest days, there are those
handful of people that I cancount on, always.
Now, when we, when we talkabout what does it mean that?
What do you have to do to breakthe social agreement?
Well, make a million dollars.
Make a million dollars whenyou're 24 years old.
(04:08):
You're gonna, you're gonnafucking break some agreements.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
And you don't even know what you're breaking.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
What's gonna happen is it's gonna show up with
friends and family saying likeWhispering oh man, who did he
have to screw To buy thosecondos?
Who did?
Who did he have to steal frominteresting?
Speaker 2 (04:28):
To make all that money and drive that fancy car
that he's got.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Yeah, okay, I'm talking about resentment and
jealousy and I'm talking aboutthe haves and the have nots.
Yeah, being being in one sideof the boat or the other the
haves or the have nots Is not acircumstance, it's a choice.
Yeah, anyone can be in eitherside of the boat and you can
(04:54):
shift between boats.
You can be in the have and havenot.
I've been in both boats backand forth three or four times,
yeah, but I choose to be in thecertain boat.
I choose to be in the boatwhere I have stuff and I have
success and I have relationships, consciously choosing that now.
Yeah, I just really quickly.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Yeah, it's interesting.
Something just came to my headand I don't like to so.
When I first bought my car, ithad these racing stripes on it.
Yeah, and there, and there's areason, there's a purpose.
I swear to this, okay, but youknow, and you remember it right?
Oh yeah, it looks sick.
It was sick.
(05:34):
But I would drive it and I felt,I was like man, it's just not
like I felt a little gaudy, youknow.
I was like, oh man, like it's alittle much for you.
So my first inclinationeveryone's different, but my
inclination is not to flaunt,and yeah, you know, I mean, and
so I ended up taking the mom off.
Because I liked how it looked,sleeker, you know, and but but
that principle applies to what Iwas doing in Moab.
(05:56):
Yeah, with these, this propertystuff, I would go to Moab all
the time and I have a lot ofpeople around me.
You know, whether it's, youknow, friend groups or you know
Acquaintances that I'd see at myapartment complex, they'd
always see me Leaving for, youknow a couple days of time,
coming back and my car iscovered in red sand, like what
(06:19):
is this guy doing?
Yeah, you know, and I'm gonealways, you know, like I would.
I was gone, I would go once aweek down there for three months
, you know, and it got to thepoint where I was living there.
But but the point I'm trying tomake here on this conversation
is one day I remember I wasgetting back from a lot of this
guy's like dude, what are youdoing down there?
And I was like you know I'm, Iactually just I've been started
(06:42):
this company and I started thiscompany and I started this
company and I again, I don'twant to just like look at me,
yeah.
so I said I was like, why?
You know I'm starting thisbusiness?
And he's like, well, what is it?
So he's asking specifically.
So I'm okay.
So I tell him.
I was like, yeah, you know, I'm, I just bought these properties
.
I raised this money, boughtthese properties and I'm running
in this nightly rentals.
(07:03):
And he's like, why would youever do that?
And I was like, what do youmean?
He's like, dude, just gettenants, why are you running him
as nightly rentals?
and I was like oh well, I mean,have you?
And I asked him I remember this.
I was like, oh, do you runproperty?
Like you have tenants.
He's like well, no.
And I was like then, why areyou?
And I was trying to be asrespectful as possible.
(07:26):
I was like what's the?
Have you ever done real estate?
He's like no.
And I was like so why?
And I tried to be as kind andas loving as possible.
I was like I don't, I'm justdoing it because I think it's
the best way I see fit, you know.
And he was like, okay, well,geez, that's good luck, is what
(07:46):
he said.
Yeah, and I was like, thanks,good luck.
Like you're a damn fool, youare clueless.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Right.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
And I just remember seeing it, I was like what?
And I was just so kind oftaking it back.
I was like why is this guy,who's never done anything of the
sort, telling me that I'm afool for doing what I've spent
so much time trying to figureout?
And it just made me feel kindof uncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
So I was like well, thanks, man.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Like yeah, I have a good one.
And I walked away and it justbugged me, it just nagged my
brain.
I was like what you know?
And the conclusion I came towas what we're talking about
here is you know, you havepeople that you know, and I
think now is you could go asksomeone that makes $50,000 a
year how to become a millionaire, and they'll tell you they will
(08:33):
have an opinion, they will havea strong opinion.
They'll be very vocal aboutwhat you should do.
But have you done it?
Is it?
Well?
No, okay, then why that?
And that's the biggest thing tome, it's like okay, well, if I'm
gonna try to do something, Idon't wanna ask just anyone,
because everyone will have anopinion, but the only one that I
care about is the one that'sdone it.
That's kind of what I, you know.
(08:54):
So when we're talking about thehave and have not, it's like
everyone has an opinion andthey're gonna tell you you're
wrong.
Everyone's gonna tell youyou're wrong.
Everyone's gonna say, well,maybe it's just not quite, maybe
you're just not meant to be.
You know, maybe this isn'tworking.
When I first started GuitarHacks, I was.
I remember my computerliterally broke and all my work
(09:14):
was gone.
I don't know if I've ever toldyou this but I lost everything.
All my courses that I had filmedall my e-book like everything
that I've written.
I lost it all and I had someonetell me you know, maybe it's
just not meant to be Like, maybethat's a sign, and I was like
what?
Get the heck out of here Likethat didn't even cross my mind
until you said that I was likethat's not even in the realm of
(09:34):
reality.
You should just give up.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yeah, I was like that's not even real, Like what
are you?
Speaker 2 (09:38):
saying you know?
So it's this concept, I think.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
It's just interesting .
Oh man, that's incredible.
You know Thomas Edison had afactory you just spurred a short
thing I wanted to share onthose lines had a factory and he
was inventing, you know, tryingto invent the light bulb.
Everyone knows that ThomasEdison did not invent the light
bulb in his first try.
(10:02):
It took, I think, 10,000 times.
He tried all kinds of things,but some crazy number yeah.
Crazy number he has all thisR&D, this research and
development to develop a lightbulb, and his factory burned
down and it was a total loss and, as it was, burning and blue
flames and all kinds ofchemicals and stuff in this lab,
(10:24):
the thing's burning down.
He grabs an apprentice and somepeople around him was like, look
at that, you know, and hewasn't in the give up mode, it
only motivated him to.
He's like man, imagine thepossibilities of just starting
from scratch with all theknowledge and experience I have.
(10:45):
Could look like.
Imagine what my investor, whatmy story to my investors will be
when we're starting fromscratch with all these ideas.
That didn't work.
And his perspective was totallydifferent.
It was a really inspiring story.
You'll have to Google it andlike actually read about that,
because I've given you very highlevel and didn't do any justice
(11:06):
to it.
But you're so right, it's crazy.
You know Sage Creek we'll talkabout all the time because
there's an example foreverything we're talking about
down there.
One of the biggest mistakes Iever made as a resort developer
was selling units to individualswhen it was designed to be
(11:29):
programmed as a resort.
Yeah, Resort programmingrequires that all the furniture
is the same.
It requires that theprogramming is consistent.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Right like a hotel.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Like a hotel.
I go sell 20 something unitsand guess what?
Every condo owner's aprofessional hotelier.
They're all telling me how thecolor should change, how we
should do this different, andit's incredible People with no
experience.
They were the most vocal,strong opinions on how to
(12:02):
program a world-class resortthat's so interesting to me.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Okay, yeah, and it's every level of anything.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Well, I just want the listeners to make a mental note
that when people are giving youopinions, strong opinions, that
you're crazy and you shouldn'tbe doing that, you should do the
opposite of what they're saying.
Most of the time, those folksare working jobs that they're
not willing.
They don't have the balls to goand take the risk and jump out
(12:31):
of a plane without a parachute.
So they're gonna tell you asafer path.
They're gonna try and protectyou.
Okay.
Now, it's well known amongstpilots in the military that if
I'm flying a B-12 bomber and I'mnot taking enemy fire, I'm
probably not over the target.
(12:51):
If I'm taking heavy enemy fire,I'm right over the target.
I'm right where I'm supposed tobe Interesting, okay.
So mental note guys, you'relistening here the opinions of
all of the folks that are notdoing what you want to be doing.
Not only do they mean nothing,but they should serve as fuel to
(13:11):
show you you're on the rightpath of doing something they
would never dare to do or it'snever been done before.
So there's another common tenetof becoming an entrepreneur
You've got to be willing to dosomething that's never been done
before and be passionate, andyou've got to have an internal
navigation system that canresist all of the naysayers and
(13:33):
the have-nots.
And you're breaking a socialagreement because when you press
forward with your crazy idea,everyone's angry.
I don't know why.
Another example in Moab.
You know we're designing thesecondos.
Okay, you love this.
Realtors listening, you lovethis one?
(13:55):
Listen to this.
I'm talking to one of the mostexperienced old real estate
agents in Moab.
I'm not going to name his namebecause this is a very negative
situation.
What I knew was I had a floorplan.
I know that the unit's threebedrooms, two and a half baths.
(14:16):
I know it's 1,610 square feet.
I go to the professional inMoab and I ask him to help me
price it and he says well, Imean because you know the
highest condo we've ever sold inGrand County, sold for 387,000.
I think you probably should bepricing it 383.75 and we could
(14:40):
sell through those.
No perspective of resortprogramming, no perspective of
the finishes, no perspective ofcash flow potential.
Little did he know the cost ofeach condo was $480,000.
Right, so how am I supposed tosell a condo at $100,000 lost
(15:01):
per unit?
Yeah, right.
So I'm doing something that'snever been done before.
So I decide that we're going tohave a sales meeting, a
pre-sales meeting.
We're going to go down to theMoab brewery and we're going to
invite all the agents in Moab.
We're going to have them comeand we're going to unveil the
project Sage Creek at Moab.
(15:21):
We're going to show them thesepretty plans and these
renderings and the site andwe're going to tell them all
about it.
And we're going to roll out theopening price.
And we did that and I decidedwe'd roll out at 450 a unit.
That was a slight loss.
Yeah, I figured you know what.
We could probably take a loss,a few, a few condos for loss
(15:45):
leaders, just to prime the pumpand get some sales.
And guess what the agents did?
They all sat and gave me theseprice per square foot
calculations and laughed me outof the room.
They're like you are out ofyour mind.
You can't sell a condo for 450in Grand County.
This is stupid, I mean.
(16:07):
They were laughing at me.
It was a very embarrassing anddegrading meeting for me to
stand up and have them alllaughing and telling me how
wrong I was because I was toogreedy.
Right and again, socialagreements.
Guys, keep your focus on thesocial agreements.
Wow, these are realtors thathave lived there for their whole
(16:28):
lives.
They don't have the resourcesto know how or the balls to go
build something of value.
They just want to sell whateversomeone else creates.
Right, but they have a verystrong opinion about what it
should be valued at.
Yeah and so, wow.
So here's fast forward a couplemonths.
Here's what happens.
Another competing project downthere in Trotta.
(16:50):
They end up having a salesagent with a little different
attitude.
They end up selling a unit for470,000.
That broke the records and set anew record, so I decided we'd
better one up it and I bring aninvestor in.
And we sold an entire building12 units for 550 a unit 6.6
(17:12):
million cash for one building.
So we shattered the the countyrecord.
Yeah, fast forward two moreyears.
Condos well, just got a praiselast year for a million and
fifty a unit.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Yeah, okay.
So you can imagine what all theagents in Grand County now are
doing.
They're looking at this andsaying, shit, we could make so
much money if we were, just ifwe would be open-minded and
support the growth and supportthe values rising Right.
And now, if you go look on theMLS, every condo in Grand County
(17:47):
is going to be six.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
There's not one below Seven hundred thousand dollars,
maybe five hundred.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
I mean to find something at 385 is going to be
rare now, if it ever happensagain.
Yeah, so there's a lot to besaid and I'm not tuning my own
horn, I'm just saying I feelblessed that we stuck to our
guns.
We knew the value we werepresenting.
It cost a lot more to deliverthat unit with all that value
(18:14):
Three and a half million dollarpool.
We built the pool a year beforethe first condos were finished
so that people could drive byHighway 191 and see these big
rock cliffs, 17 feet tall, withfire features and water and the
changing color in the water.
It's like, oh, it was like abillboard, right, everyone knew
(18:35):
before those condos got built.
Oh, my gosh, this is an amazing, world-class pool complex.
I'll bet those condos are gonnabe incredible 100%.
But that takes determinationand willingness to go blaze a
new trail when everyone else iscalling you crazy.
Yeah, okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Just an example, right?
Speaker 1 (18:56):
So when the nays?
And so Huge.
So get back to what I talkedabout casualties.
You know, I shared a little bitabout the friends that all kind
of left in 2008.
It's been one of the hardest,most impossible things to
calculate in my life, being anentrepreneur, a successful
(19:17):
entrepreneur making millions ofdollars, just with the
understanding that there's sofew people who actually are
happy about that.
For me, yeah, what I find is 80%of the people I'm talking to
(19:38):
don't really care, and the other20% really want me to fail.
So there's a very small group ofpeople and it's because of just
in my experience, they feellike I'm leaving them behind in
some way.
Right, you know, I could applythis to some family members.
I could apply this to many,many folks that I would call
(20:01):
friends at one point in my life,who are clearly not friends,
and so it's really important forme to surround myself with
authentic people, people whoauthentically support my success
, who authentically support mycrazy ideas with an open mind.
(20:23):
Right, I mean, I have closefriends that still think I'm
crazy and they'll tell me, ohfor sure, you're crazy, but they
support that.
I'm willing to go maverick,yeah, and something might happen
.
So I want to transition intothis concept and if you guys
have seen the matrix, theoriginal matrix, kind of this is
(20:47):
where the concept comes fromfor me.
There's a scene in the moviewhere Trinity is in Neo or in
the car and Neo doesn't realizehe's the one yet he doesn't
realize he's the chosen one, butTrinity and the other rest of
the group they believe he is.
And they're trying to help himunderstand his potential.
(21:07):
And they pull up and it's rainyand there's all this chaos
happening.
And they pull up to thisalleyway and Trinity's like Neo,
look down that street, you seethe end of that street, you know
where that ends.
And he's like, yeah, and she'slike you don't want to be there.
That's the problem, you knowwhere that ends.
(21:28):
That really impacted me, guys,because the analogy I'm sharing
now is what I call the two paths.
Okay, the two paths critical,foundational work for an
entrepreneur, super, super,applicable for me and my life
and how I operate On the lefthand.
So imagine we're alwaysstanding in a crossroads.
(21:49):
On the left hand, there's astraight, narrow path and I can
see what's at the end of it.
It's safe, it's comfortable andsecure.
Yeah, I could have a job, Icould have benefits, I could
have insurance, I could have mybills paid, I could have all of
those things that are familiarand comfortable.
(22:11):
The only problem is I knowwhere it ends, right, and it is
a house with a white picketfence and nothing beyond that.
The American dream, but nothingbeyond that.
So the American dream is afallacy.
We're talking about a whitepicket fence in the house.
Okay, that will serve 90% ofthe population.
(22:34):
I think I mean I'm being bold,guys.
If you hate me already, thenyou're fair to chime in and tell
me how much I suck.
I don't want to be degrading toanyone, but unfortunately so.
There's that path.
That's the safety of theguarantees.
On this other path it's a windything.
It's a windy trail that goes upa mountain.
(22:55):
There's trees, wild animals,landmines, all kinds of things
that could kill me.
There's no guarantee, there'sno security.
It's up to me solely to survivethat one.
If I have the guts to go downthat path.
I'm relying on myself solelyand some faith in God that he
(23:22):
can help me, help me avoid someof the snares on that trail.
So it's again, it's a me andGod partnership.
But the question is under whatcircumstances do I choose either
path Right?
Is this resonating?
Speaker 2 (23:41):
with you yet?
Yeah, yeah it is.
It's interesting.
I think you could think about alot of ways, and I don't think
it's being degrading.
I mean, if we're talking aboutwhat we're talking to here, this
is the entrepreneur, right?
I mean there will probably havea wide group of people who
listen, so all you guys outthere listening it's, you know,
what we're talking about here isthe light.
(24:01):
An entrepreneur, that's notyour job, right?
I think it's your lifestyle.
It's not a career.
Yeah, that's right it is alifestyle that you live.
Yeah, and I think this ispainting the picture of what
that actually means and I thinkit's important.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
You know and so I don't know.
You think about you can see theend or you don't know the end.
I it's interesting.
It's almost like you're goingup a staircase where you can't
see the next step, almost.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Yeah, Martin Luther King.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Martin Luther King talks about faith.
He quantified, he defines faithby only being able to see the
next step on the staircase.
That's a great analogy, yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
And that's what kind of speaks to me here, you know.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
And what's crazy to me is I think we oftentimes
think, oh man, if my life werethis way, I'd be happy, yeah.
Or oh man, if only this, or ifonly that, if only.
Or, you know, I think mostpeople will say, man, this is my
biggest dream.
(25:07):
Yeah, if life were perfect,this is how it would look.
And some people might not evenhave that idea, they might even
know what that would look like.
But I think even when we thinkthat way, this is what my
perfect life would look like, Ifeel like even that is limiting
in a way.
Right.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Because, if you can see it, it's almost like well,
that's it.
When you get there, you'regonna stop.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
It's like with fitness oh man, I wanna be
X-weight.
When you get there, it's likegreat, now, what?
Now, what right?
That's not the idea.
I think the switch is.
My goal is not just X-weight orX, you know, lifting or
whatever X miles on thetreadmill, it's I wanna be fit.
That's a race with no finishline.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Yeah, yeah, that's you know, you're never gonna
okay, I wanna be fit.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
I guess I'll have to.
I guess I have to keep going.
Then I could hit my dreamweight and just feel like, oh
man, I'm good, now I'll just sitback.
Or I could say, no, I wanna befit, so I'm gonna keep going.
What's the next level of that?
Speaker 1 (26:08):
What's the next level ?
Speaker 2 (26:09):
So when you're thinking about the one where you
can't see the finish line, it'salmost like man.
It's probably bigger than wecan even imagine.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Yes, yes, I think that's the point.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah, we don't put a ceiling on it.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah, that's a critical piece of this, critical
piece of the analogy.
So here's another movie cue foryou.
So those of us we love ourcomedies, guys, we might draw
some Nacho Libre quotes.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
We might draw some Anchorman quotes, but today,
today, what comes up for me isDumb and Dumber.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Okay, jim Carrey, magnificent performance, dumb
and Dumber.
If you've seen the movie thenyou know that Jim Carrey is just
this really kind of nerdy dude.
Nothing going for him.
And he has this coincidentalencounter to meet this really
beautiful redheaded lady, andshe lives in Aspen, Colorado,
(27:05):
and she's rich and all of this.
And he thinks he's falling inlove with this lady, right, and
he's so determined to be withher.
So, if I recall correctly, thelady leaves a wallet and he
decides oh my gosh, this is mychance.
I'm gonna go connect with herand we're gonna fall in love and
(27:25):
I'm gonna marry her and we'regonna write off into the sunset,
I'm gonna return her wallet toher in where she lives, in Aspen
, colorado or whatever.
So in this buddy, get on theirlittle moped.
You guys see the scene.
They're driving through thesnowy past, a snot, all over
their faces, frozen.
They get there and the specificscene is he's encountering this
(27:46):
lady and he asked her pointblank.
He's like what's the chancethat we go on a date or we could
be dating?
And she looks at him and she'slike brutally honest.
She's like she doesn't wannacrush him, but she's like
totally honest too.
She's trying to avoid him.
(28:07):
She's like man, it's probablylike one in a million that I
would go on a date with you andmost people are crushed.
But what does he do?
He says so you're sayingthere's a chance?
Right Like to him, that waslike the best news he could ever
receive, because there's a onein a million chance and he's
(28:31):
living for a chance.
So now I wanna apply that tothe two paths.
I live my life consciously onthe chance of achieving
something magnificent andunexpected and bigger than I can
imagine, and I'll take thatpath every single time by
(28:52):
default, over that secure pathand knowing what's at the end of
it.
Every single time by default,as a serial entrepreneur, I live
for the chance and there's noguarantees, but I'm cool with
that.
But I live for a chance to makesomething magnificent or do
something that's never been donebefore.
Critical philosophy, guys toprogram your mind to think that
(29:17):
way.
Think like dumb and dumber.
So you're saying there's achance.
That means you, if not me, thenwho?
Who's gonna be the one?
Why not me?
Okay, we've gotta believe inourselves, guys.
We've got to have a confidenceinside ourselves, even if it's
never been done, even ifeveryone's saying we're totally
insane.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Okay, and I think, something really important along
those lines that I'm justthinking about as you're talking
here.
I don't know if you've everread the book Principles by Ray
Dalio Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
So yeah, Ray Dalio is a Jedi.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
He is extraordinary, yeah, so if you haven't read
that book, I strongly recommendit.
I've been reading it lately andsomething that's really stood
out to me is the whole idea ofprinciples.
You know, and I think if you goback into previous episodes, we
talk about why, we talk aboutthe purpose for what we're doing
.
You know we go seven layersdeep, we do all this stuff.
(30:12):
But then if you take a look atthe two paths, you know, you're
wise, you know you're gonna usethat to push you through the
jungle, with the bombs and theanimals that rip you apart.
But in my opinion, the only wayto get through that, you know,
and make it the only way toactually survive the jungle, is
(30:36):
to live your life based onprinciples.
You know, we're not talkingabout setting goals.
We're not talking about, youknow, a New Year's resolution.
Yeah, yeah, hey, this year I'mgonna do XXX.
These are my goals.
I think goals are like they'reokay, but what?
In my opinion, when goals arepredicated based on principles,
(30:59):
that's where power comes.
You know, Goals aren't honestly, and maybe you have a different
opinion, but for me, goalsaren't necessarily super
inspiring to me.
What's super inspiring to me isthe principles that I've
created for my life that allowme to say this is my grand
vision.
My grand vision is I wouldn'tqualify that as a goal.
I'd say that's my, that's whatI'm to do, that's, you know, and
(31:21):
I don't even know what's beyondthat.
This is just what I can see.
The next step, but myprinciples are what I believe
guide me through when theinevitable storm comes right,
because your wise is gonna tellyou okay, I have to get through
this, but well, how am I gonnaget through this, it's you have
these principles engraved withinyourself.
(31:43):
I have 20 principles that I'vewritten down.
In fact, they're my lock screen.
I have 20 principles that Ibelieve guide and every part of
my life is predicated upon, youknow.
I think that applies to goingthrough the jungle.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
I think you're right.
I mean, I agree with you.
I think a New Year's resolutionis a waste of time and energy.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
And I think a goal to me.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
When you say goals and ambitions, that's.
It would be nice someday.
I wish it's a daydream.
Yeah, it's just bullshit.
Guys, You're just strokingyourself with daydreams.
Right Now, let's make adifference and make something
actionable.
Let's set a target.
Yeah, you either hit the targetor you miss a target.
(32:27):
There's no varying degrees on aspectrum of did I succeed or
fail?
You either hit the target oryou don't.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
I survived or I got eaten by an animal in the jungle
.
That's truly what we're talkingabout here, right?
Speaker 1 (32:42):
When you're talking about heading down the path with
a no guarantees and no security, then it really is driven to
results, and I totally agreewith what you're saying.
I think you almost live everyday like it's New Year's Day.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
I set weekly targets.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Ok, guys.
So for practical application,what's worked for me is I like
to take on a Sunday evening.
I'll spend a couple hours andI'll set targets for my week,
and I typically set only four.
I'm not going to go set 10,because experience has shown I
don't like to miss my target andI set too many targets for a
week, then I just overwhelmmyself and I don't get them.
(33:23):
I like to set a target.
That's a stretch.
It feels improbable but it mustget done.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
So what's the difference between a target and
a goal?
Well, the goal to me, is that'simportant, I think.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Yeah, well, the goal is it would be nice to have, and
typically goals you know youset a year out.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
And so what if we quantified this?
Ok, this year, say, it's NewYear's and I'm setting here and
I'm going.
Man, I want to.
I want to gain 20 pounds oflean muscle mass this year.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Yeah, yeah.
So the difference for me sothat's so.
That could be the goal, that'sa result.
So the way I unpack that forresults driven probabilities to
hit that as a target is I settargets within the process
required to hit the result.
So instead of me saying I wantto lose 20 pounds or I want to
(34:21):
gain 20 pounds, whatever itwould, be what I'm going to do
is each week I'm going to say,ok, I'm going to consume 3,400
calories a day.
Ok, yes, I'm going to do twohours in the gym at least five,
six days a week.
I'm going to hit this amount ofweights.
There are specific actionabletargets that I either hit or
(34:41):
miss on an ongoing, but then Iset weekly that lead to that
goal or the.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
So it almost.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
I still want to call it a target, but it's a year
away.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
But right, it almost sounds to me like by very
definition, a goal is kind ofvague, it's you can get specific
, yeah, but.
I think the day I want to lose20 pounds is that that's very
specific yeah.
But OK, well, how and why?
Speaker 1 (35:10):
How and why?
Why not?
Why not set a process?
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Yeah, why not?
So the principle process.
So here's, we're getting inprinciples, right, yeah?
Yeah, my principle in my lifeis we don't have to get into
that, but one of them could be Iam, so you become your
principles and your principlesbecome you.
I am fit.
Yeah, my process of being thatway is this yeah, right, that's
(35:37):
kind of what I'm hearing, yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Yeah, that's absolutely right.
That's absolutely right.
It's when I can establish aprocess and I trust the process
will lead to the result.
Nick Saban is a world renownedcollegiate champion coach.
Nick Saban if you study him, hetalks about processes.
(36:01):
You will not hear him talkingabout winning a national
championship.
What you will hear him talkingabout is what must happen inside
of the workout for the footballteam today.
Wow, and it's as a perfect aspros today's workout.
If today's workout is asperfect as it can be, and we did
(36:23):
these defensive drills andthese offensive plays and we're
focused into present and wetrust the process.
When we get to the end of that,we stack those reps up, the
likelihood we win thechampionship is so much higher.
It is an elevated consciousnessaround setting something long
(36:43):
range, long range target.
You're not.
We are not focusing on thattarget out there.
Yeah, like we are focusing onwhat I can control today.
That's all I can control.
It's just a yeah so take itfrom Nick Saban.
And how, how does every coachnot embrace that?
I don't know, you know you, Iunderstand you know huh, people
(37:04):
try to find motivation indifferent ways, but I don't want
to, I don't want to,beleaguered that.
That idea, that's a pure idea.
Trust the process, yeah.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Yeah, and I don't think it Ain't nothing to and
I've said this before but I'llsay it again it's not a matter
of necessarily.
You know, we're saying there'sonly one way, and there's so
many ways, absolutely to doanything.
Absolutely, you know.
But when you take a setback,the principles apply.
(37:33):
Yeah, right, and the principleof two paths, principle of
having or why, the principle ofyou know, being present.
I think these are Applicable tothat.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
Anyone in every, you know every one and look, we
could challenge not to interruptyou, but we could challenge
what you're saying to.
There's a hundred differentways to do it.
That's true, right, but let's,let's think about Trevor Moad
and his amazing book called it.
Takes what it takes, he, hepresents the concept of the
illusion of choice.
Yes, I could probably like todo a whole episode on the
(38:06):
illusion of choice, but to givethe listeners high level, you
should go get that book if youcan today and read it.
He talks about college footballplayers transitioning to the
NFL.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
What does that?
Speaker 1 (38:17):
take Trevor Moad's, a life coach for professional
athletes.
He was the.
He is the life coach for theSeattle Seahawks.
You know, quarterback, who'swon the Super Bowl?
And now I'm forgetting his name.
Sorry guys, I'm not a huge,huge professional, I'm not a
huge supporter of professionalathletics, but.
(38:38):
But what he talks about is likethese guys come out of college,
they're hot stuff and they getthe five million dollar contract
to be in the NFL.
Now they naturally think, hey,man, I got a five million dollar
contract, I can driveLamborghinis, I can go clubbing
on the on the week nights, theweekends, I got all these girls
to hang out with.
I'm gonna be putting this stuffon social.
I can drink my alcohol, I cando my stuff, and and there's a
(39:02):
rude awakening that happens forevery one of them.
And what happens is they getinto the league and the league
says Okay, we have two workoutsa day, and tomorrow, you know,
starting in the morning at 6, 15am, and you must perform at 90%
capacity in Both workouts inthe day.
Now, for a human being to dothat, the illusion of choice
(39:28):
starts to disappear, right, andand the college kid realizes oh
my gosh, if I am going toperform at that level, I Must be
in bed by 9 am.
Yeah, I cannot drink alcohol, Icannot drink drugs.
Do you use drugs?
I'm not gonna be out clubbing,I have to be.
(39:48):
I Can only eat these certainthings I might.
Meal plan is.
It's chicken and rice, bro,right, like you know what I'm
saying.
So, oh yeah, it's water, onlyit's no soda pop, yeah, like
Down to the details, right, and?
And so now?
Now, discipline equals freedom,right?
It's a big cycle, but theillusion of choice like with all
(40:10):
that money and all thatquote-unquote freedom Right gets
it's like a vacuum gets suckedaway.
When you recognize if I'm trulycommitted to the result, then
my choices are finite.
There are only one or two orthree choices.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
Yes, in this equation , for me to hit that target.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
Yes, get clear about that, guys.
That's what I'm trying toconvey With with setting targets
.
Okay, so so we're at time.
Let's wrap it.
I think we've had a.
I've enjoyed it.
Have you enjoyed it today?
Yeah, hopefully the listenershave enjoyed it, guys.
Thanks for being with us today.
Aston incorporated.
We hope you'll tune in nexttime.
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