Beating the Odds and Carving a Path for Success with Jason Nemes

Welcome to the Amberly Lago Show, stories of true grit and grace. Thanks for tuning in to the Amberly Lago Show. Today's guest is such an inspiration and proof that miracles happen. I have Jason Nimas here with us today. He is an entrepreneur, an author, a TEDx speaker who's got a new lease on life. I'm going to let him share his story, but you're going to want to get a notepad and pen and take notes because Because this conversation is going to be packed with tools, strategies, and a lot of inspiration and motivation. So, thank you, Jason. Thanks for—

Thank you.

Thank you for being here.

I am beyond grateful and excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

So, yeah. Well, we originally met at church.

We did.

And we got to talking and I was like, oh my goodness, you are a miracle to be sitting here. And I want you to share a little bit of how you got on this journey to where you are now. Because you have really decided to, you know, death gave you a PhD on life. In fact, that's the title of his TED Talk. Oh, that's right. And you help others reach their full potential, not just physically, but with their businesses and with your coaching and with your book, The Code of Behavior. But can you take us back to a life that was a lot different than what it looks like now? I mean, sure, you still looked fit. But it was almost like you lived a double life. Can you take us back to that moment where everything changed?

Yeah, for sure. So it's funny because growing up, I mean, my parents, like, no smoking cigarettes, no drinking, no using drugs. I came from a pretty much sober household from what I saw. And I always say, you are who you hang out with, you are who you surround yourself with. And always an athlete, working out, you know, I was big in Big into the gym, and then as I got older, I got into the nightlife and the cool people, quote unquote cool people, right? They were all doing certain things, drugs and you know what have you. And so it just kind of I just fell. I fell into the trap, I guess you could say, and I tried it, and it was a very very it was many years of substance abuse, and it got to a point.

What kind of substance? Did it start with one thing and lead to other things?

You know, it's funny you ask that because I grew up in school, like elementary, middle, and they always say that marijuana was the gateway drug. But to me it was alcohol because—

Alcohol is the gateway.

It is because I would drink and then I would do cocaine. And then it got to—

To get that artificial normal.

Correct. And then it got to the point where I would go drink on purpose So I felt better about doing the cocaine. Like, I didn't even want to drink. I just wanted to do the drugs.

Wow.

But in my mind, well, if I drink first, then of course I'm going to do cocaine. It helps you sober up and, you know, all the different things that I'm telling myself. And then it got to a point where I just started, you know, like, screw the alcohol. I'm not going to waste money on it. I don't even want to drink anymore. And it got to a point where, I mean, I was doing cocaine pretty much every day at some points, like every day of the week. sleeping minimally and somehow still functioning. But, I also had a business where I created a good monthly income. And so, I didn't always have a lot of responsibility. And so, I could do it all night through the next day and then just sleep. And, that's pretty much how I lived for a long time and not many people knew about it. And so, what you were talking about that pivotal moment, which actually It's like it was the pivotal moment before the pivotal moment because I had one other instance where I went back to it. So of all days, it was Easter, April 4th, 2021, and Sunday. And it was a beautiful day. We woke up, my girlfriend and I, a buddy of mine hit me up to go work out at the gym and then play some basketball. So We went to the gym, hit a leg workout, went and played basketball. And towards the end of playing, well, pretty much at the end, we got done.

So would you like do coke before you would go work out?

No, I never did that.

No?

No, no.

Okay. I've never done coke. I've always been too scared to do it.

Yeah. No, I at least had enough mental capacity not to do that.

Okay.

Yeah. Pre-workout, yeah. But not cocaine before working out. So it would always be at night. Well, and then it got to the day, but never before work. working out. So I, yeah, so Easter Sunday, so go work out, play basketball. And at the end, I'm starting to feel something's a little off. Now, I was 240+ pounds at the time. I'm like 217-ish right now. Was way bigger, was not really focused on doing much cardio because I was in like a bulk phase.

Wow.

And then I was gonna start cutting a couple weeks later. And so I, In my mind initially, I thought I was just outta shape, right? I'm not doing cardio and I'm a lot heavier than normal. And so then I'm still paying attention to the situation because I'm like, man, something just—

You knew something was off.

I did. But then as I'm leaving the gym, I start getting a really bad headache. My arm starts going numb. And now it's not just I'm having a hard time breathing, It's, I'm having some pains in my chest.

Oh, wow.

And so getting—

I've heard it feels like an elephant on your chest.

Oh, yeah. It hurts for sure. Because it was my second, I had a mild one where I had like a very, very 45 to 60-second experience of it happening. I kind of knew, but I didn't know yet. I still wasn't, because I had a stent put in before, so I still wasn't thinking that something is happening, but I am, Mindfully paying attention to it.

And you had a heart attack, you had a stent put in, but that still wasn't enough to make you go, huh, these drugs, this life might not be—

No, I still would do it occasionally, uh, but for whatever reason, I still wasn't ready to give it up.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And we all—

In my mind, I'm like, I'll be fine.

Yeah.

I'll do it a little bit less and I'll be good. Justification.

And how old are you?

Now I'm 39. The first heart attack was 34. Again, it was mild. I didn't even know that I was having a heart attack at the time until further things presented themselves. Had some tests ran, and sure enough, I had the mild heart attack. My heart actually grew from the good side to the blocked side to reroute blood flow, which stopped me from going into heart failure. Wow. Is what they discovered on all the imagery. Yeah.

Wow.

I had 100% blockage in my widowmaker.

And so, Now, tell people what a widowmaker is.

Yeah, so the widowmaker is the LAD artery. And if that is blocked, so that's the part of the heart that funnels your body of blood flow and oxygen. So if that part is blocked, your body is not getting blood flow and oxygen through it, which of course, that's a problem. Big problem.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So you're in the car, your head hurts, your arm's going numb, your chest is now starting to hurt.

Major pains, stops, Stopped at the gas station to get some Advil or Tylenol or whatever it was because of how excruciating the headache was. And then while I'm in the car, because of bodybuilding from back in the day, have a little bit of nerve issues and sometimes my arm will go numb if I'm leaning too much over. So I was in the car trying to adjust and—

So you were driving while having a heart attack?

Yes. Yeah, I was driving and people, they just can't believe that story. And then I remember looking over to the person that was in my car, and I said, yo, something is not right. I want to go to a clinic. And she said, let's go. And by the grace of God, thankfully, it was Easter because there were no cars on the road. And I found a clinic 5 minutes away, and I got there. And cool fun fact for anybody who ever goes through this, which I pray that you don't go through this, But if you're having a heart attack, you have to go to an ER urgent care. If you end up at a regular urgent care, they can't treat you. They'll tell you to go to an ER urgent care or the ER hospital, or they'll call the ambulance. Fortunately, I went to an ER urgent care because come to find out later on, they said a 60-second window and I wouldn't have made it.

That is unbelievable.

Right. So, find a place 5 minutes away. I get there in 5 minutes 'cause again, there's no traffic. And I lived in Austin and Austin has tons of traffic. So I pull up, run in there. Mind you, I'm having a massive heart attack. Run in there, they say, sir, how can we help you? I said, I'm pretty sure I'm having a heart attack. And they asked me for my ID. And I always make a joke like, I just told you I'm having a massive heart attack and you're asking me for my ID? Like, get me to the back.

Yeah.

And let's get this figured out.

But the thing is, they're probably looking at you, you look like this picture of health.

Right.

You're young.

Yeah, thank you.

They're probably, yeah, they're probably thinking, He's not having a heart attack. Oh, come on. Maybe he's having a little panic attack or something.

No, you know, nobody's ever said that. That's an interesting take. Yeah, like, sure you are. Yeah, let's get your ID.

Yeah, gimme your ID.

Yeah. So I left my wallet in the car. So I had to run back outside to get my wallet to then give them my ID. Every second counts. Every second counts. So I give them my ID and then they do, they gimme to the back, they hook me up to the EKG. And I'll never forget the look on the doctor's face when he read the EKG. And the EKG lets the doctors know what's going on with the heart. And he was just like, man, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're suffering a severe heart attack. And in my mind, doctors exaggerate, they make it seem worse than it is. So I'm like, I'll be outta here in no time.

Mm-hmm.

That's what I was thinking. As a matter of fact, I actually texted my mom as they— so they rushed me to the back, they lay me down, and I would say probably every person in that clinic is in that room. They're all doing their different things. And, you know, somebody's giving me this to take and that to take. And I text my mom and I said, Mom, I'm having a severe heart attack. And I put my phone down. And I could only imagine what was going through my mom's— Your poor mom. My poor mom. And I lost my little brother to addiction. And that was on my mom, you know, that was my mom's son. That's 'cause he's a half-brother. So I'm her only other son. And so I, looking back, and it's like, well, why on earth would you send a text message like that? And it's because in my mind, I knew that I was gonna be getting out of that clinic. Like, I knew that this was not the end. Now, I did get out of that clinic, just not how I envisioned getting out of that clinic.

Yeah.

So, they lay me down, you know, and they're giving me all the medicine to take and doing all the things that they're doing. And I'm communicating with them how I'm feeling. Okay, the pain's coming back. Okay, I'm feeling a little bit better. And then I will never forget how, I felt myself running out of breath. I felt myself starting to fade out. And I just remember being like, y'all gotta do something. Please help me. God, please help me. And I was out. And everybody's like, did you see something? And I probably could have made up some amazing, crazy story and been on Oprah or whatever, you know? But I'm authentic to the story and everything that happened. So, it's like I went to sleep. Yeah.

Do you know when they put me in a coma, And, you know, my femoral artery was severed. And I, I didn't see a light. I didn't hear voices. I just felt like— I just felt like I had gone for a nap and I woke up and I had no idea that over— I had been in a coma for over a week.

Yeah, that's—

Clueless.

Insane. Your story is like mind-blowing.

Well, yours too.

I'm here and I just want to ask you about yours. I'm gonna have to start my own podcast so I can bring you on.

No, but I mean, you— I was afraid to go to sleep.

So So fast forwarding, and we can, you know, continue the story. But when I was in ICU, when they finished the surgery and everything, I was fighting to stay awake.

Yeah.

Because the last time I flatlined and I was out. By the grace of God, they defibbed me, did CPR, and brought me back. But I just remember the lady in the back was like, sir, you can go to sleep. Like, no matter what happens, it's gonna happen and we're here monitoring you.

Yeah.

So whether you sleep or stay awake, it's all gonna be the same result. And I was like, done. And I passed out. But yeah.

Well, I think everything was just lined up perfectly. And I think God was definitely looking out for you because there happened to be a nurse there that really saved you that—

Oh yeah, good old Debbie.

Yeah. Do you still keep in touch with—

It's funny you say that because I always tell myself I need— so I found her and 2 weeks after leaving ICU, I went and brought her a cookie cake and it said, thank you for saving my life.

Aw.

And took pictures with her. And I mean, it was a very emotional moment. My mom was there and yeah, it was a very emotional moment. She was crying, my mom, me. I mean, it was beautiful at the end of the day. But I know, she doesn't know like what, I mean, I talk about her. I think I talked about her in my TEDx, Debbie. Yeah, you showed a picture of her too. Yeah, I showed the picture, right? And then she's in my book. But what's crazy about Debbie is she normally didn't work at that clinic. She normally would be in the ER specializing in heart attacks. And she was there that day, and I come in with a heart attack. And yeah, she defibbed me and saved me. Boom.

Well, after that, you, you're like, okay, not once, but now twice I've had a heart attack.

Yeah.

Did something click? Did you make a promise to God? What— how did you start to—

I did. I was like, never again. But apparently I, I didn't mean it because I did do it again.

Thank you for being honest.

Yeah, well, there's so many people out there, uh, and I guess they're probably afraid to talk about it. Now, it's been over 3 years and I'll never touch it again.

Yeah.

Do I think about it from time to time? Absolutely. But I also, on the flip side, think about— I love to— I'm very authentic. If I were to ever do it again— now, I can't say I'm over 3 years clean and then 4 and 5 and 6 years, right? I got to start back at day 1. not doing that. Uh, I care about where I'm going and what I'm doing in life and the value that I can provide for others and, uh, the things that I can speak on to give other people hope to get past whatever they're going through. Uh, my mom can't lose another son. I have so much life. I love life.

Yeah.

And so, why would I jeopardize? I'm so clear that, uh, any single time that I do it, I'm running the risk of death.

Yeah. And it's life or death. Addiction does not discriminate.

Yeah. I'm not willing to negotiate that. It's just, it's non-negotiable.

And I don't think, like, people who have not been addicted to something or any kind of substance, whether it's alcohol or drugs or porn or whatever it may be, might have a hard time understanding the power and the baffling, how baffling it is And how addiction— I remember when I became addicted to alcohol and I thought, I was sponsored by Nike.

Isn't that crazy?

I was like this, and I thought, how did a good girl like me end up here? I really thought that.

Something else I just found out about her. I swear, this woman's resume is unbelievable. You were sponsored by Nike? I had no idea.

Yeah, I mean, I was—

And then you're an alcoholic. Like, who would have guessed?

And then after my motorcycle accident, I became an alcoholic and just Like, literally was killing myself. And I wondered how, if somebody's out there struggling right now and they're ready to change their life and they might be addicted to something that's not good for them, how is it that you stay sober? What helps you and what could help someone listening?

Yeah, that's a great question. Well, first of all, main thing is who you're surrounding yourself with. So anybody who Whatever your addiction is, anybody who has that same addiction, you cut them off and you love them from a distance. You do not surround yourself with them. You do not put yourself in that environment. No ifs, ands, or buts. All my friends that I associate with, nobody is doing drugs, period. Now, do we drink a little bit? Yeah, we have a couple of drinks, but nobody's an alcoholic. Like, it doesn't play an issue in our lives and it doesn't lead to anything else. And so, that's the number one thing is cutting all of those people out of your life. I would also say you need to wake up with purpose because idle time is the devil time. If your calendar is not full, your mind can start thinking about it. And I actually made a post today about, like, stop eating so much. And of course, there are medical exceptions, right? Of course. But when you're bored, you tend to just eat. And when you're extremely busy, You're not focused on eating, like overeating, right?

Yeah, yeah.

And so it's just, if you're bored and you're centered on you're not doing anything, you don't have purpose, uh, then you can get tough on— you can be hard on yourself. And then you fall into the trap because you want to feel good, and you will associate whatever your addiction is with feeling good.

Yeah.

And it leads to feeling like crap every single time, not just how you actually feel, but how you feel about yourself.

Yeah.

Because I remember every single time doing it, which got to be daily, I would always think, what are you doing? Like, you're so much better than this. And any cocaine I didn't finish, I would throw away. And then I would order more the next day. You know, it's just like, it was this ongoing process of fighting that demon and that devil that was present. And it kept winning and winning and winning. And that, I just, I'm like, you're not winning anymore. It's just, you're never gonna win again.

Yeah.

Period.

Yeah. Well, how do you tell others, like, I'm sure there's a lot of people that are like, well, I don't know what my purpose is. How can you teach someone to discover what their purpose is?

Yeah, I mean, it's not an easy thing to do, and sometimes you're not going to know what your purpose is initially. But like I was saying before, you cannot be bored. You have to be doing something, whether you like it or not. Do something. Get out there, whether it be volunteer, whether it be, you know, helping other people get through whatever they're going through, even if you're still battling. When you talk to people about it, it'll actually empower you, right? And then you kind of figure things out as you go. You don't have to have the answer right away. What truly matters is that you are making strides to become better every single day. And I mean, we'll, you know, talk about Mr. Miletus, just that one more, that one more day. Yeah. Like be sober one more day. I mean, it is. It's really powerful. Yeah. That's something that I resonated with. Just one more. One more day without.

Exactly. And I feel like when you can be of service to others and their success, that is what is so fulfilling to me. What is success to you? What's the definition of success for you?

Well, I want to touch on what you just said because my main mentor with the business that I was mainly affiliated with, that was the one thing that he would say. Whenever I was going through something or something was bothering me or I was I was having stinking thinking or dealing with whatever issue it was at that time, he would just say, man, go help somebody. 'Cause if you go help somebody, you're not focusing on your issues at that time. And the more and more people you're helping and you're contributing to society in a positive way, that is the most fulfilling thing.

It really is.

It is.

And you know what? I don't give to get, but I'm telling you, I'm always blown away of the kindness of people that step forward and they come help you. I don't help somebody because I'm like, okay, now you help me.

Right. Without expectation.

Without expectation. Exactly. But it always comes back.

It does.

It really does.

It does. And so how do I define success?

Yeah.

It might sound cliché. But I've made a good amount of money. I've lost all of the money. I've been there, right? To me, and I do love nice things, that's, let's put that out there.

It's obvious.

Yeah, I like to have nice things, right? But I'm very clear that if you struggle with addiction and you have, you're not fulfilled and you don't have peace of mind, like you don't wake up happy about yourself and what you're up to on a day-to-day basis, there's no success to me. Like, I don't care how much money you have. If you don't wake up and you have peace of mind, like, and fulfillment, there's no success. So, that is the ultimate definition of success is that you wake up, you have peace of mind, you love what you do, and you're contributing, whatever that looks like for you.

Mm-hmm.

Whether you're a teacher, whether you're an entrepreneur, Whether you're a barber because you have barber conversations and you maybe you talk to somebody in the chair and that changes the trajectory of wherever they're going or how they're feeling that day. But to me, that is the ultimate definition of success. And that's where I put the definition of success just based on the things that— my experiences through life.

Yeah. Yeah.

And with that, of course, I want to have the monetary success. But, I mean, again, I've lost it all. And then what? If you base success 100% on stuff, if you lose it, now, I mean, now what? You're just extremely depressed? No. Yeah, it sucks, but you stay positive, you stay focused on your mission, and you keep getting after it.

Yeah. I mean, I had a friend who was very, very wealthy and his business, it was all about the money.

Yeah.

That sucks. lost his business and he didn't— he committed— this is kind of heavy, but he committed suicide because he got so depressed because everything with success was just monetary. It just was about the money. Now I know that—

And the shame and guilt and all of the stuff that comes with it because he put such an emphasis on money and items.

Yeah.

And I've learned not to do that. I used to, but after that day of dying and going back to my house and seeing all this stuff that I had, I was just like, you know, it really doesn't matter. You can't take it with you. It doesn't define who you are. And if people hang out with you or don't hang out with you because of stuff and items and cars, those aren't the people that you want in your circle. Because if you lose it, then you lose them too.

Exactly.

And that's not, I don't want friends like that.

Yeah, I'm right there with you.

Yeah.

Now you have had people, I think, get a little upset with you sometimes on social media. Oh yeah, oh yeah. Because you say happiness Happiness is a choice, and there are some negative Nellies out there.

Yep.

And they're like, what do you mean it's a choice? So—

You don't understand.

Yeah, yeah. And it's, I think, so much about mentality, whether you choose to have— be the victor of your life or have that victim mentality.

That's exactly right.

If there's someone that is just— they're negative, they're always looking at that glass that's half empty, how do you think there's a way to start to shift their mindset and show them that yes, you can choose to be happy. You can have joy and happiness.

Absolutely. I was one of those people. I was always walking around with the RBF face, a chip on my shoulder, an attitude, ready for whatever came my way kind of thing. And I've seen it happen with other people. At the end of the day, who are you listening to? What are you listening to? What are you putting in your body as far as Music, content, food, drinks, substances. What comes in must come out. And so, if you're listening to nothing but negativity, it's only natural that you're going to be negative.

Hmm.

Negativity is natural and positivity is on purpose. And so, if you want a purposeful life, be purposefully positive. So, again, what do you listen to? Like, every single day, I am, I read, I listen to motivational or business-style podcasts where I'm constantly learning from people who have whatever it is that I want or doing, you know, they're up to certain things in life that I would like to be doing that too. So, I'm constantly listening to those people because they're where I want to be in life. And I haven't really done it yet, but I hear that like yoga and meditation, And more of like a calming state is a very good thing to do for those things as well.

So I've just started doing meditation finally. And you know what helps me is I use an app.

What's your take? What is it?

I, I, well, because a lot of times at night especially, I got a lot behind the scenes going on that I'm—

as your mind is constantly going, it's just going and going.

And so I'm not great at meditation, but what I am good is listening to It's a directed. A directed.

Right.

And I am telling you, I will get like, I won't even finish the meditation. I'm asleep, which I don't know. I think you're supposed to meditate and really stay awake and stay awake. But it, it helps me just calm my body, be in touch and in tune.

Right.

And go to sleep.

Yeah. And I'll tell you, I've worked with and I'm currently working with people that they hate their lives. It's nothing but negativity. And their environment is negative. And so, it's like, well, what are you doing to get yourself out and what are you focused on? Because if you're always focused on the problem, you're just going to keep getting more of the problem. So, where do you want to go? And I like to reverse engineer. What is it that you want in life? What is it that they're going to take from you? Or is what you are currently doing going to get you there? Because if it's not, we got to flip the script. And I just think that people overcomplicate it or they're just not willing to be positive. It's like they like being in that state of mind and misery loves company and they'll just get with all of their friends that all have issues and problems and they all talk about it together.

Yeah.

And it's like, stop doing that.

Yeah.

It's not, to me, it's just, it's a choice.

Yeah.

You get to choose the conversations that you have to others and to yourself.

Well, speaking of choices, you're doing so much. You've got your Passive income. I know that, and I want to ask you a question about network marketing too, but you also have got this thriving online fitness business and you post all these videos. Do you feel like your fitness stuff took off even more after your heart attack because people are like, oh wow, if he can like rehab himself, get his life back, you know, not be addicted to drugs anymore, I can do it too. Do you think it— Made a difference in your business?

Well, I recently started pushing that more, so I, I don't know if I would say that because I don't, I don't think I really can compare the two, if that makes sense.

Yeah.

So I was more focused on the network marketing beforehand, and more so recently, probably the last 4 or 5 months, I've been pushing the online fitness coaching. And then I incorporate the products from the network marketing company with it. And so, but I have had a good amount of people Reach out to me. So probably yes, I guess to your answer. I'm kind of answering it as we talk through it. I've had a good amount of people that have reached out to me that have cholesterol issues, triglycerides. They have things happen with their heart, and I always do say, "Hey, I am not a medical professional, so always consult your doctor." But here are things that I have done, especially with studying because you know when something like that happens to you, you become a nut job of reading about what's not good with foods and what's good. And then I started doing tests and allergies. Tests. And it's a bunch of different things to know, like, what's the best for my body and what will support my heart as much as possible. So, yeah, I mean, given that, people are reaching out to me more saying, hey, I've got these things going. This is a part of my family history, and getting advice.

Yeah. Well, why do you think network marketing gets such a bad rap? It's like, I remember I had a speaker's agent and I've I'm with Plexus. I use Plexus products. And my girlfriend that got me doing Plexus, I didn't start taking— I didn't even know what— I didn't know that was— I thought she just gave me a gift in the mail. I didn't know that was her business. And I liked it so much. I was like, hey, I want to order some of that. How do I order more of that?

Right.

And I liked it so much that I started taking it, but I waited almost a year before I even like told anybody, yeah, you can order through me. You know, I don't—

A year? That's fast. I wasn't in it for 4 and a half years.

Yeah. I mean, I really liked it.

Yeah. I wouldn't even try it. I was like, no, get that away from me.

I probably wouldn't have tried it had my girlfriend, who I just love her, and she gave it to me.

Gotcha.

If I would've known it was like network marketing, MLM, I didn't know what MLM was, but I probably would've been like—

It has such a bad rap.

It does. And I had an agent at one time that said, do not ever post anything about Plexus.

Interesting.

She goes, because then you will never be asked to speak at other companies or MLMs. And I'm like, huh? Well, I just take it because I like it.

Well, and that's false because we know, I mean, Bosley, you know, RIP, one of the most amazing souls.

Oh, yeah.

One of the most amazing souls of all time. Yeah, she was a decently close friend. I mean, she spoke For every company almost.

She was the queen of sales.

Yes.

Queen of sales.

Phenomenal individual.

Yeah.

So, but why do I think it gets a bad rap? I just think people aren't educated. I think that there's just this stigma around it where people, they just, they just don't get it. And that was me for 4 and a half years. I was like, no, I'm not doing that.

But you've made a lot of money.

I've done very well with the network marketing business. Yes. I mean, you find a, you find a product or a service, whatever that, you know, whatever that looks like and something that you truly believe in that has a good, true comp plan. And I mean, as long as it's a legit company that's set up correctly, yeah, then you're good to go.

What is the thing that has helped you the most as far as making a sale for that, for network marketing?

Being a product of the product. I mean, Good.

That's good.

I dropped 17 pounds in my first 18 days, which isn't typical, but it's possible. And I didn't have to nap anymore. And I was a hard no for 4 and a half years. And because I was such a no, I was such a hard no. And because I was in the quote unquote body world, bodybuilder world back then, I wanted to truly put the products to the test. So I didn't change anything as far as like adding a bunch of cardio, changing up my diet. I didn't change any of that. I just, instead of taking these products, I started taking these products and I dropped 17 pounds of fat in my first 18 days. Didn't have to nap anymore. And, I made $1,100 in my first 18 days, $1,900 in my first full month.

Wow.

And, I was making $2,000 a month at my full-time corporate job working 60 hours a week that I had to have a degree. And, I have a business economics degree from the University of North Texas. And it's just, I made that $1,900 all from my phone.

Yeah. I will never forget, I was sitting at a, I was speaking at this conference and I got, you know, I'm kind of in the back and I'm looking through and I'm like, I just earned $1,200.

I was like, what did I do? What did I do?

What? Like, yeah, yeah.

So, and it's, it's so true. And people, they just, they just don't get it.

Yeah.

But those that I, I feel like—

But I believe in the product. Like, I, I really, I think for me, Because I don't promote a bunch of stuff ever. So when I did finally do a post about it, people were like, wow, you must really— you must really like this because you never— because to me, like, you are so authentic and I am too. I want to— I keep it real. In fact, I had a friend of mine voice memo me today to ask me about something. She goes, I'm asking you because I know you'll tell me the truth.

See how it's good?

That's important.

It is important.

Yeah.

Yeah. You'll shoot me straight. You won't BS me. You'll tell me what's up, even if I don't like the answer. And people know that's me. I'm not gonna tell you what you wanna hear. I'm gonna tell you what you need to hear and what I truly feel about it. And if you think that you're gonna call me and ask me a question and I'm just gonna agree with you, I'm like, well, what do you think? That's another thing that I'll do. 'Cause one of my mentors, he will lead me to my own answer versus answering His opinion. Makes sense?

That's good. That's good. Real quick, I know we're running out of time.

Usually we know what we want to do.

Yeah.

Usually we know, but we want validation from other people.

It helps to talk things through. It does. And speaking of mentor, how important to you is it to have a coach, mentor, be a part of—

It's everything.

Everything. I couldn't agree more.

It's everything. And I have people that I go to for relationship coaching. that have been married for many, many, many years, and I know is a successful marriage, not just a social media successful marriage.

Exactly.

'Cause I know that people have a social media life and a real life, and I was a prime example of that. But, and I have people that I go to for business coaching.

Oh, me too.

Yeah.

I'm a part of a mastermind and I have my own mastermind.

And you have your own, right. It's so important.

I have a coach and I coach plenty of people on how I—

The best of the best have coaches.

Oh, yeah.

The greatest of the great. The greats like Michael Jordan have Tim Grover. And Michael Jordan, in my opinion, is the best basketball player of all time, one of the best athletes of all time. And he had a coach.

I'll never forget when I first met Tim Grover.

I haven't met him yet.

So we were speaking at this event together. And so I had gone to dinner with some of the other speakers and stuff. It was the night before the event started. I'm walking out of this really nice steakhouse and I'm like, oh my God, it's Tim Grover.

And you don't do that with a lot of people, I'm sure. No.

Yeah. I was like, because I'd never met him before.

Right.

And he looks at me and he goes, hey, Amberly, how'd it go? You know, I saw you went to the gym this morning. And I was like—

He pays attention.

I was like, he was watching my social media? Oh my God, he knows my name? You know?

Right. I would think the exact same thing.

I was like—

That's how I felt when you asked me to be on your podcast.

Oh my God, Amberly Lago.

Oh yeah, right.

I just paid him to say that.

I'm telling you, it's true.

Well, you have a huge social media following and I love that you keep it real. It's inspirational.

Thank you.

Your TED Talk was amazing. I watched that. And where can people find your book, find you, whether they want to get involved with your fitness or your coaching for entrepreneurship or hire you speak or grab your book, what's the best place for people to reach you?

Yeah. So, my website is jasonlnemis.com, www.jasonlnemis.com. This is my book. You can find it— Amazon is where most people order it, but it's on walmart.com, barnesandnoble.com, all of those good old sites. And, yeah. And then, my Instagram is @tattedprez, which I might be changing soon.

T-A-T-T-E-D-P-R-E-Z-Z-Z.

Yeah. Yes, I might change it to @JasonNemis because I can get that.

Why aren't— I think you need to do that today. That's what I tell all the ladies in my mastermind because I was actually trying to find you and I couldn't remember. Yeah.

Oh man, that's crazy you say that.

And I was putting in your— couldn't find— I was like, I know it's something tatted, I know. And you brand your name and that way when people search you, they can find you. Yeah.

It's funny you say that. There was somebody I asked you about earlier that goes to the same church and he hit me up about this. He's like, dude, that is not you. You're Jason Nemis.

Yeah.

And you need to change that. But I was so in the network marketing company. I'm known worldwide as Tatted Prez. Like, a lot of people don't even know my name, but he's like, man, you're Jason Emes. Like, you're not Tatted Prez.

Especially since you have your book. I'm about to go get it today. You've got your TED Talk, you've got your book, you're doing more speaking. I tell all the women in my mastermind that you need your name. You own your name. You know, and so—

All right, today I'm going to do it. It's a done deal.

Yeah.

I'm doing it today. You inspired me.

Yes. And you know what? All the links for your book, well, we'll put— I'll make sure that this is coming out this week.

This is coming out this week?

Yeah, yeah.

Ooh, I might have to hit it. Yeah, I'm going to.

Yeah, you better get on that. So we'll put that Instagram handle, we'll put your website in. And just want to say thank you so much for tuning into the show. And if you got some value out of this episode, Make sure you take a screenshot and tag me @AmberlyLagoMotivation. Amberly Lago wasn't available, by the way, so that's why it's Amberly Lago Motivation. And tag you? Are we going to be Tatted Prez? Are we going to—

So you check both Tatted Prez and Jason Nemeth. So I'm working on it today.

Okay.

And I might be able to get you your name, by the way. I've got some connections.

Oh, okay. You can't change it when you're verified.

Yeah, you have to undo it and then change it.

And yeah, and I got verified back when verified was actually a thing.

Yeah, because you are, because you're the real deal.

Like, you don't have to pay, you know what I mean?

Yeah.

So anyway, thank y'all for tuning in.

Thank y'all so much.

Thank you for being here.

Thanks again. Beyond grateful. Beyond grateful. And hopefully I touched some lives today.

Yes, you are a miracle. And we'll see you next week.

Bye, y'all.