Bankrupt & Crippled To Multi-Millionaire In 3 Years

Hello, my friends.

Welcome to capitalism.com today, I'm going to be joined by Jared Springer. Jared is a member of our community@capitalism.com who just went through a very sizable exit in his business, and he was starting his journey as a bankrupt cripple. Those are his words, not mine. So just a few years ago, he was dealing with a situation where he may never walk again, needed emergency surgery, went through a ton of rehab, and he was also completely broke. And just a few years later, three years later, he has a very sizable payday. So we unpack the entire journey on this episode. If I like to say if you're starting with nothing, if you've lost everything, well, guess what, you're right on pace, because most of the entrepreneurs that I know have gone through a period of losing everything. You should know that this was originally broadcast as a Wine with Wyan episode, which we do exclusively inside of the 1%. So there's a little bit more banter than usual between the two of us. But I wanted to have Jared on in a more casual setting because he goes into much more of the personal journey that you will experience as part of your entrepreneurial career. And this conversation about what comes out during the journey and what comes up even after you've made it is something that you'll really benefit from as a result of listening to this episode. I'm so proud of this, and I am so proud of this man. He gives me a lot of credit, but I'm gonna give it right back to him because he's the one who did the work. Quick plug. If you want to work with my team and me on the same type of experience that Jared went through, go over to capitalism.com Inc. And you can discover how you can work with us a little bit closer inside of the capitalism incubator. I so hope you enjoy this conversation with Jared. I believe it will change your life if you let it.

Hello, Jared.

Hey, Ryan. It's good to be here with you.

I think we need to kick this off with something that we call the simultaneous sip. You've got a glass all there ready for you. So all of you who are watching, grab your mug or your stein and join Jared and I now for the unparalleled pleasure of the simultaneous sip. Go.

Good work, everybody. Jared, I believe this is actually our first time speaking.

Yeah, we have done voice messages, things like that, but like, actual face to face. This is actually one of the first times. Yes.

So it is good to see you. Good to. Good to meet you, Jared. I mean, you originally reached out to me when you were featured in my book. Yes. So if anybody's watching, and this name sounds familiar, it's because Jared's case study was. Was talked about inside of 12 months to 1 million. Now, Jared, before we kind of get some of your background story, I want to skip to the end because you talk a little bit about your story in my book, about some of the challenges, the first product being a. Being a struggle, finally figuring it out, being up against deadlines, almost not making it, almost losing the whole thing, and then finding your way. You talk a little bit about that in one of the case studies. Yeah, but since the book was published, you've had some other things happen. You've had an exit, you've had some changes. So would you tell me what the story was from being featured in the book to selling the business till now?

So when we first you send out a message saying, who, if I've helped you out somehow, can you send me a little bit about what you've done and I might want to feature you? And so I sent you a message and I was like, dude, you changed my life. I saw, you know, your 0 to 1 million.

Video on YouTube at the time. I was like crippled, bankrupt, had nothing left, and went from there. Eventually made enough money to join your brand builder boot camp. But from the time we talked, I was like so blown away that just talking to you that I decided to write a book. And so it wasn't even done selling my company yet. I was in the middle of it. You know, it took three different buyers. The third one finally stuck and got rid of the company. And after that, the day we actually first talked is the day I started writing my book because it like really inspired me to tell my story to the world of what happened in my life. So I started writing the book. And, well, you know, from writing a book, I had no idea what I was doing. So it was like a multi year process to figure out, like what I wanted in the book. It transformed like 10 times. I sold the company, I moved all the way across the country. I lived in Wisconsin before now.

Jared, you keep glossing over, like the big bomb of. I just, I sold a company. Like, tell me what you can tell me about the exit. Like, can you tell me the amount? Can you tell me the structure? Can you tell me, was it a life changing amount? Like, just tell me whatever you can tell me about the business.

So it was over seven figures, but not eight figures. We'll just say it was in the middle. It Was in the middle. Good for you. And it was completely life changing in the hardest way. Because when you sell a company that you took years to build, it's like selling a baby. Like, if you have kids like you, you have everything for your, you know, last five years of your life into this, and then all of a sudden it's like, what do I do now? Like, I took. After I sold the company, we finally closed it. You know, it's a long process. I took a month long vacation with my family to like California, Utah, Arizona. I was like, you know what? I want to move. And well, if anyone's been to Wisconsin, I lived in Madison. It's. It's a beautiful place, tons of fun, but it's really cold and it's cloudy and gray a lot. So I was like, I'm gonna move to a new place. So I took a month trip with my kids and we just explored of all these places because I actually had grown up in California and Orange county, so found a place I love. I live in St. George, Utah. So if you've ever been to Zion national park, anybody, it's like 45 minutes from there, sunny and beautiful every day. But the problem was like, if you go from like, hold on, you keep.

You were just glowing. You just keep glazing over like, well, I sold my business for mid seven figures. First of all. Congratulations, man.

Thank you.

This is, this is hot.

Yeah.

And, and, and I like, I know you want to get to like, what you just. You did a lot of deep discovery after the exit, right? And like, we'll get there, I promise, Jared. But like give the people what they want, right? Like you, you gave, you got this, this big check. Now let's back up a little bit. Okay. So like we, for those of you are watching, that was the cherry, right, Jared? At a mid seven figure exit. Awesome. Life changing amount of money, I assume, right?

Yeah. Okay, because.

Because if I remember correctly, it was like three or four years prior that you were like, am I gonna go bankrupt if I don't make this inventory order?

Mm.

Like, it was not that far removed from almost bankrupt to I just put seven freaking figures cash in my account. Am I remembering it correctly? And, and if, and if so, like, help me fill in the details here.

Yeah, I mean it, it's amazing how fast when you start to pick up some momentum that you can go from like point A to point B. I will say this because I kind of do gloss over it. I'm kind of shy about like putting out like. So I wrote that book. And it was, like, hard for me to put it out there, like, how much money I made, because most people didn't know how much money I made. Like, you know, sure. But I will say this. I'll give you a story. So, you know, on the day of closing, you hand over all the passwords, everything else, the escrow company, and then they send you a wire confirmation. And then you just sit there. So literally, I'm sitting there, like, and you wait for it to come through. You know, the money's coming. So I'm sitting there, like, every 30 seconds on my phone, and my kids were in school, and every 30 seconds I'm like, Nope. 30 seconds later, nope. And so I'm sitting there in my kids elementary school parking lot, and me and my wife are sitting in the car and like, literally maybe 30 seconds before they come out of school, I'm like, all right, last time, before the kids come out, I'm like, holy shit. All the money, like. And me and my wife just started crying. We're just like, oh, my God.

Like, we're millionaires.

Yeah. It didn't. It didn't feel real until the point, you know, it hits your bank, you know it's coming, you sign the papers, everything's good, you go, you get the confirmation that the wire's coming through, but it didn't feel real till it hit the bank. And I. We got out of the car to go pick our kids up from school, and it was like, we're both like, crying. We look like something bad just happened. We're just like, wow. That. That was the moment that I was like, holy crap. All this work, almost going bankrupt again and almost everything. Like, that was the moment that was like the life changing, like, holy crap moment.

Now, now back up a little bit. A few years prior, okay, so the almost going bankrupt, what was the difference? Like, in time? What was the difference? Three years? Four years?

Three years.

Okay, so I'm just putting it out there for any of you who feel like you're behind, any of you who are in financial difficulty trying to keep your business afloat, any of you who are still trying to figure this out. You are in the same place that Jared was three years prior to getting a multimillion dollar check. Good news, guys. You're right on pace. You are right on pace. So I remember you saying in the book that if you didn't make the inventory order, you were basically going to go bankrupt, that you were up against a wall.

So I had. So how it started was, is I Had, you know, one product that kind of flopped but sold well. It was a bestseller. Moved on some other products. They did really well. And I had to make an order that was, you know, hundreds of hundreds of thousands of dollars. And I had to airship it. And the airship bill was $28,000 to airship this stuff? Yeah, so I could get it before Christmas. And, you know, I was sitting there waiting and waiting, and then finally I lost it. And I called it, got shipped across just fine. It sat in Customs in St. Louis for two weeks. And all this was kind of like Christmas style items that, like, if people didn't want to get it for Christmas, they were just gonna refund their money. So I had like 10,000 orders that had to go out. I was still taking orders because I knew, okay, it'll get here and in time I'll ship it out. And it got stuck in customs for two weeks. And I called the customs lady. I was on, like, literally a verge of heart attack. I'm like, gripping my arm. I'm like, oh, my God, like, if this doesn't ship out, like, tomorrow. And it was literally, if it didn't ship out the next day, the people wouldn't have gotten their stuff for Christmas. And we finally. She finally was like, okay, I totally understand. You paid all this money. I mean, I was kind of a dick. Just, you know, if you're in that situation, it's. Stress is high.

Stressful. Yeah.

And they finally released it. But then I ran into a new problem, which was I had to ship 10,000 orders in one day. And there was no time to send it to Amazon. There was no time to, you know, send it to a fulfillment house. So I had literally one day to pack and ship 10,000 orders. So luckily, a long time ago, I was a manager at a Target and I had this Albanian army that was like, super awesome. So you're gonna remember I'm out of my house. It's a gravel driveway. It's the middle of winter in Wisconsin. The FedEx truck shows up. Like, a full FedEx trailer shows up. We unload the pallets of the product in my driveway. My garage is the shipping station basement of my house. It's 15 degrees out, snowing. And we set up an assembly line. I got like 16 people to come into my house, set up an assembly line of boxes I had made up for three days prior, just printing shipping labels. Like, if you've ever had to print out 10,000 shipping labels and figure, you know, just do all the logistics of it. It was a lot and right as the truck got there, I got a call from the postmaster because they were supposed to send a 53 foot ups trailer to load it and ship it out. Said hey, we got to come now. And I was like, what do you mean? They're like snowstorm, we got to come now. I'm like, dude, I don't even have a single box packed right now. You can't do that to me. And so they said, okay, we'll wait a couple more hours. And I believe it was like eight hours. We packed and shipped almost 10,000 boxes.

My goodness.

We were taking like one pallet of finished goods into the, you know, our raw goods into my garage assembly line. Packaging them, boxing them, putting them outside, wrapping them with shrink wrap, throwing a tarp over the top so snow didn't get into them and then kept doing this. And then the truck showed up and they're like, we gotta leave now. I'm like, no you're not. I'm a pretty big dude, I'm like six four and you know, fairly built. I'm like, no you're not. I like, I'm like, no you're not. Like you're not leaving. And they actually, the, the Postal employees started help wrapping pallets and like at like five o' clock I think it was, we finally got everything and the truck got on the road and everyone got their stuff for Christmas. But I would have been out, I believe it was around half a million dollars if that order didn't come in. We didn't get all that stuff together. Didn't get the truck out, didn't get it out of customs. So yeah, it was one of those make or break moments.

So I mean Jared, you're making, you're making starting a brand sound like a frickin dream.

So that was the heart, that was the hard one, right? Like that was the big bump in the road. You almost didn't make it. Would you please make me feel better by confirming that it got better?

Oh yeah. I mean that was like a once in a situation where, you know, you don't have time to send it to Amazon, you don't have time to have a film in house. It was really me betting all my chips on the table and saying I'm gonna keep selling this product because I was using my own website versus Amazon so I could sell it without, you know, having to have it in stock. So it was kind of putting all the chips on one thing and saying this is gonna make it or break it. Break the business.

I mean you, you you took a risk, and the risk almost didn't pay off.

Almost.

Yes, but it.

But it. But it did. All right, good.

But so it gets better from there. I mean, that was like the big turning point of my business where I re. I made a million dollars for the first time in my life that year. You know, that was the big, like, I put all the chips, put my big boy panties on and was like, I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna make the million dollars this year. But it definitely is. There's easier ways to do with Amazon, with tons of other stuff. There's. It's not always that hard. Like, I don't think it's that hard. There will be difficulties, but it's not like that's everybody's story. I just decided I wanted to grow really fast.

Put it all on the line and say, well, it's either gonna go good or it's gonna go bad.

I'm glad it paid off for you, Jared.

I'm glad.

I'm really glad it paid off for you. So. So that was three years ago. Ish. Back up against the wall. Almost didn't make it. Three years later, you get a seven figure check. And then once you got your seven figure check, life wasn't exactly how you expected it to be, which is why you wrote your book. So tell me about that transition.

So it's funny because the name of my book's called I'll Be Happy When. And it was because I kept putting my happiness on another goal and another goal. And. And no matter what I achieved, I never celebrated it. I just kept going for the next goal or the next goal or the next thing. And so my final, like, I'll be happy when moment was okay, when I sell my company, I can move across the country, change my life. And I realized once I moved across the country and changed my life, like, it didn't really change that much. I mean, on the outside it did. I had a house that was four times as big. You know, I had some really cool toys and a lot of fun stuff, but on the inside, it didn't really change everything. Like, it. What I try to say is, like, I don't want people to think that money, everyone's like, money won't make you happy. No, money won't. But it buys you a lot of cool shit that you can have really cool experiences with. Like, like, it makes things a lot.

You can buy a lot of temporary happiness.

Yeah, like, but it, like, for me, like, little example, like, I have dirt bikes with my Kids. One of my funnest experiences is going out with my kids and dirt bikes. If I didn't have money, I couldn't have that experience. So that is something that truly makes me happy, being able to go out with my kids and do that.

But yeah, it doesn't necessarily give you all the happiness you're looking for. If you think just because you make a million dollars you're going to be happy if you don't kind of fix some of your programming about what you think of your life when you're poor. Once you get rich, some of those things don't change. So for me, louder. Yeah, they get worse. Because now instead of, you know, when I was so busy building a business, you know, you're working so much, your mind's so tied up in business that you really don't have time to think about are you happy? Are you enjoying your life? You're just so focused on one thing, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I don't want people to think like, oh, I shouldn't go for that. You should. But you're so focused on that that you almost don't even live your life. You're like doing one thing and one thing only. And so once I sold, all I had was time. All I had was time to sit around and like figure out what actually made me happy, what I wanted to do with my life. Like, you know, I would say money gives like busy people time to figure out things. And if you don't know what you want, it makes things almost more difficult because you just have time to think about why you're unhappy.

That like, I have nothing to add. I mean, I mean that is, that is exactly true. It is exactly true. And, and I've shared this story before, but when I had my exit, I spent about two weeks reading books and then I went right back into workaholism and didn't, and didn't get out of that for another good 18 months. Right. So it was like up had my break, back to it.

Yep.

And, but the thing was that the things that I was focused on were not as meaningful or well done or put together as the business that I had sold. So now I was just digging holes now, now, now I'm just doing like non meaningful work for the sake of work, causing problems for me and my employees. Like that. That was me for a good year to 18 months post exit. And.

That'S not that, that, that's the, that's the activity of a crazy person.

Yeah.

And here, and here I am just had an eight figure exit. Look at me.

Yeah.

And. And the thing was, like, all of your habits, all of your tendencies just get louder, just get bigger. Because now you've got enough money and time to amplify them, to buy things that reflect them, to do things that reflect them. The crazy thing is, you could tell me if you're here yet, Jared.

Yeah.

It's like you're. This is still fresh for you.

Yeah, relatively.

But experience for me is once I got all of the other stuff in order, because they get louder when you put money and time into them. Because now you've got the ability to put money and time into them. They get so loud, you have to deal with them. And then once you dealt with. Once I dealt with them, the money thing's kind of easy.

Yeah. You know what?

There's no attachment to it anymore.

I've told a lot of people, like, honestly, making money is the easy part. If you can figure out your brain. Yes. Most of the time the reason why people can't go to, like, the next income level or the next bracket or the, you know, is because they haven't figured out their mind. Like, I grew up very poor, so I had this horrible programming about money didn't grow on trees, this or that. So, like, I had a hell of a time. Like, I almost burned my business to the ground multiple times because I was just like, oh, money's hard to make, so my money is too easy right now, so I should probably destroy all this. Just so you know, it doesn't. With the programming that's in my head now.

It's not like your brain was saying that, right?

No.

It's not like you were consciously thinking that.

No.

But there definitely is a very real thing where the brain says, something must be wrong, Something must, must not be safe here. And let me find ways to compromise this so I can go back to the place where I actually know how to keep some control.

Yep. And so that was. That was the hardest thing for me, was just, you know, honestly, it was really hard for me to accept that I didn't have to work. Like. So I bought some, like, cool toys, like a Can Am side by side and some cool stuff. You know, once I sold my company, I. I could do anything I wanted. I was no longer tied to, like, having to go to work every day or having to do. Get stuff done. And I was part of me that was like, you should be working right now. You shouldn't be doing this. And if it was, I will say this, if it wasn't for my wife, I would have dove right back into work. I would have done something completely different. I would have probably done the same thing over again that I had done before. But my wife was telling me. She's like, no, you promised me you were going to take a break. You were gonna spend some time with the kids. Because my kids are 7 and 8 right now. And she's like, you're gonna spend a couple years with the kids. You're gonna do this stuff. You're not gonna start another business. You're not gonna start anything else. She's like, I know you want to write your book because you started that when Ryan talked to you. She's like, that's what you're gonna do. And I'm like, okay. Damn it.

You're right.

But it was hard. It was hard to not do anything. Like, if you're programmed that way from, like, a child, I. You know, I. When I was eight, nine years old, I was detailing cars with my dad at dealerships till midnight. Like, that's what I was programmed to do, was just work. I was a workaholic. And I had no idea how to actually enjoy the life I built because I was so used to just working and working and working and working. And so when I no longer had to work, I was like, the hell do I do?

You know, I want to. I want to tweak this just a little bit.

Okay.

Okay. Because what Jared is really saying is I was so used to struggling and struggling and struggling and struggling. There is a very big difference between working and struggling.

Yes.

Struggling has all kinds of thoughts around it about how hard this is, about how much this sucks, and about how I want to be out of this.

Yep.

Working from a place of contribution is when you. You stay up all night because it's fun, because you're compelled towards something, because you see something in your mind that you're working to build. There's something very different. One compels you. The other drains you. This is what a lot of people do not understand about people like Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary Vaynerchuk made hustle cool, but Gary Vaynerchuk is compelled by what he does. He is drawn by what he does. He is. He. It is a big game to him. Most people say they like what they do, but they like it enough just to keep doing it.

Mm.

There is something very different there.

No, that's a. That's, like, a huge point. So, like, one of the things that actually got me to figure out, like, not only writing the Book because I figured out, like, one of the biggest things that drives me is helping other people out. You know, helping people who are struggling in business, struggling in this, just helping other people out. So instead of, you know, when I sold it, I had nothing to do. I was so busy just in the process, the habits. But then when I started to help other business owners, friends I had made, it wasn't work anymore because I love doing it. I love seeing the look on someone's face, you know, when they, you know, make their business explode. I mean, it's probably why you do this, because you probably get more satisfaction out of these people, you know, creating a business and exiting. Like, you were the one responsible for me being a millionaire. Like, literally, like, I mean, how great does that feel? That has to feel amazing. Like, you took somebody who was bankrupt and literally crippled. Because that's part of my story. I woke up unable to walk and was crippled for a year. And you took that person to an entirely different spectrum of life. Like, that's what makes me tick now. And I hope that's. I'm sure that's why you do this, is because you get to see all these transformations, and it just makes you feel good when you see that I'm.

Just basking in that moment.

I appreciate that very much. You are like, that deserves a sip.

Yes, it does.

But it is like, I started helping out some of my friends businesses, and like, I saw one of my friends go from almost bankrupt to being making 200 grand a month, and he just, you know, revolutionized his life. And to know that I'm the direct cause of that, that makes me feel amazing. So knowing that you're the direct cause of me going from nothing to building something and going into a whole different life, I just couldn't imagine how that would make me feel. So.

Well, you know, it's. It's funny you say it in that way, because there is a difference for me in when I show up and it's struggling versus working or working in a positive way. Justice Marimi is on this call. We've been talking about that this week. The community manager here at. @ capitalism. And it is a very different way that I show up in a Q and A format versus, like, I have something to teach.

Format.

Yeah. Because when I'm teaching something, it's like, I know what I'm talking about, but I can't go into, like, the.

Person.

Right. But put me one on one with somebody, I can very quickly find out what's really making you tick and rearrange your. And that is. That is what I just love to.

Do. And so I've been thinking a.

Lot about, you know, can I build my whole job at capitalism around just that piece that, like, having an office hours Q and A format for almost all my content? Because I can change lives that way. So I tell all of you that. Because what Jared is saying, what I am saying is that we were wired our whole lives to struggle. And the hard transformation that both of us had to make was learning that you don't have to struggle, was learning that you can actually create rather than struggle. And they are completely different energies, completely different ways that you show up. But most of us talk about work as. As if it is one thing and that it is.

Struggle.

Yeah. But the real value is generated in your creating, not in your struggle. Struggle is what you get paid to do per hour. Creating is what you get paid to do for your life when you do it one time.

And that is the thing that actually creates value in the world. And it's a. There could not be a different way to show up. So, Jared, now that you've had these types of realizations, are you in that place yet of being able to practice creating more often, or is this still a challenge for.

You? It's.

It's definitely. It's gotten a lot easier. I no longer struggle to go out and have fun. And I've learned that if things are hard, I shouldn't be doing them. Like, amen. Like, if I don't enjoy doing it, like, I'm not in my, you know, place of genius. I'm just forcing.

It.

Yeah. So, like, you made a big point of, like, forcing something versus kind of flowing with it or, you know, doing something you enjoy. And so that's the big thing for me is if I'm not enjoying doing it, I generally won't do it anymore. Like, it just. It, you know, it kills my soul. Like, if I'm. There's some stupid idiot task or something that I don't want to do. If I'm doing it and I'm like, oh, I gotta go to work. That's not what I want to be doing and what I shouldn't be doing. It's what nobody should be doing. You know, there's different types of people. Some people love to do the idiotic task because that's what they enjoy. So if you find people that love to do that, then it puts you in your area of, you know, genius, where you're just happy to do what you want to.

Do. That's.

Right. And so I've just learned that I just have to do things that I want to do. And if I don't want to do it, don't do it because it's going to be a shit. I'm not going to do a good job. Because if I don't want to do something now, I'm just like, hey, whatever I.

Want. I want to speak to the person who is watching. This is saying, must be nice for these two dudes who sold.

Companies. It's my most work, by the.

Way. Oh, yeah, yeah, right. Like we are the most resented people on the planet right now, complaining about our lives with our money and our good looks and our. And our wine. So I want to speak to the person who is saying, yeah, nice for you two dudes. I work full time, I have to go to work this. Look, you're gonna hate me even more after this statement, but if you can get your brain around this statement, you will find so much peace and happiness on the other side. And it's this. No, you do not need to go to work.

No one is showing up to make you go to work. No one's babysitting you. You don't have anybody coming to your house telling you have to go to work. Yes, but they'll fire me. Maybe.

Maybe. Well then I'll. Then, then I'll have to get another job. No, you don't. No, you don't. Well, then I would go bankrupt. Maybe, maybe. Well then, well, well, well then, well then if I went bankrupt, I would lose my house. Maybe.

If I lost my house, I might have to move in with my.

Mom. Maybe, maybe.

Maybe. And you know what would happen? You could find happiness there.

You would probably start creating.

You would start to find joy again.

All of our unhappiness comes from the negative thoughts that we have about the situations in our lives that are actually neutral. They are not good or bad. We simply make them so by the way that we think about them.

And if you can get your head around that, then you can go through life saying like this, don't like this, want this, don't want this. Like this, want this, can't afford this. But I still like this and want this. And so I'm going to keep this in the wanting and liking box in my brain and keep going on with my life. Don't like this, can't do anything about this right now. But I know that I don't like this and I want to get back to this, but I'm going to drop my resistance to it, because I know I don't want it long term. Therefore I choose not to have it long term. And you can go through life navigating, being at total choice rather than having this negative thought loop going around. Everything that you think is controlling your happiness because nothing is. Because no one is making you go to work work. No one is making you stay in that relationship. No one is making you run that business. No one is making you stay in that meeting.

Nobody.

No. It's all a choice. Like, I wish people could understand. Like, you have a choice. Like you can not go to work. And yes, you could get fired, but guess what? It could be the best thing that ever happened to you. Yeah, because. So we'll backtrack. Like, how I went full time into entrepreneurship was I woke up on warning, couldn't feel my legs, had a huge herniation that was crushing my spine and taking all the feeling from my legs. I was rushed to the hospital. They gave me two choices. Either you can never walk again or you have emergency back surgery. Well, it's not really a hard choice.

But at that moment in time, there was not one thought in my head going, this is fucking awesome. This is the best thing that's going to change my life. But because of that moment, that's what thrust me full on, head on into no longer working a job. Because at the time, I worked a job full time, did my business full time, I was doing tons of different things and I was so burnt out and my every, every fiber in my body was telling me to quit my job and just say it and just go head on into entrepreneurship, but I wouldn't listen. And after that moment, I no longer could work a job. So I was forced into it. And that I hope that doesn't have to happen. And it doesn't happen. You just have to make the choice to go, you know what? I'm going to focus on what I want to do today. I'm going to say, you know, maybe I'll call into work today and I'm going to focus on my business and see how that makes you feel. If it makes you feel better, then just have an attendance problem at work until you start getting your. There's a lot of different ways you could do.

It. I totally believe in this. I completely believe in this. I mean, I've talked this out with friends before who are like, once you have this conversation, it's like, I mean, I guess I could go to work and slack off for a couple weeks.

You probably.

Could.

Yeah. Like, you are always at total choice with how you show up. And we create these complicated excuses in our brain that just perpetuate the struggle. If you can just give up the struggle, everything you want is just on the other side of the.

Choice. Yep. So you have to make a choice. What. What do you want? Like, if you want, you know, a million dollar a year business, you have to make the choice and have the actions that follow that. You know, it's a choice you have to make. You know, do you want to maybe slack off at work and just work on your business while you're at work? Now, I don't condone that all the time, but you have that choice. Or if you call into work and, or, you know, a lot of people are just worried about losing what they have. But if you don't enjoy what you have, say you have a nice house and you have the nice cars, but you hate your life, why don't you downsize into some other things and then work on yourself and your business for a year? Like they're so worried about what other people are going to think about their lifestyle or everything else. It's. If, if it feels right for you, then that's what you should be doing. It's, you know, it's a very simple thing. Like, if it feels right, if you enjoy doing it, do more of that. That's what I've done this last year and a half. And like, I tell people, they wouldn't have any idea of the person I was two years ago. Everyone who I've met recently because like, I used to be an asshole. I was angry all the time. I didn't smile. I was just so mad at the world because I was forcing everything to try to go through. And now I just flow with the world and drink wine with.

Ryan.

Like, what was, what was the moment where this became the priority? Because it can't be that you had an exit. And then you're like, I need to work on my happiness now. That never happens. Like it usually happens because you're like, I can't do this anymore and you hit rock bottom. Or because in a moment of sadness, somebody gifts you Eckhart Tolle. Or like there's, there's usually some sort of rock bottom moment that begins the prioritization of happiness versus the struggle. What was that for.

You? So it happened after I sold and after I moved to Utah and I was like, I should be happy now. And every morning I would struggle to get out of bed and do anything. And I was just like, I have everything I Should want. And so I started to just figure out what I was missing in my life. And the big thing that happened for me is I started being vulnerable and talking to people about my past, my problems, just being honest with people. And one of the cool things that happened once I moved here is I met like a whole new group of people that brought me in like family. And the most amazing thing happened was once I was honest and vulnerable and like they opened up to me and welcomed me into their homes, I just felt like I was me again. And I started to just do things that made me happy. Like it was a weird, I don't think there was a rock bottom moment. It was just like I was sitting there one day, took my kids to school, I'm like, what the fuck is the whole point of this? I did everything that I should have done and I'm sitting here with everything that everybody wants and yet still not happy. And so that was kind of the start of me just doing, doing different things until I figured out what it was that made me.

Happy. And your book is called I'll be Happy.

When.

Yes. Can you give a quick summary of how you began the journey for happiness once you decided to make it your.

Priority? So I mean it's kind of a life story, goes through all my different events.

Really. I.

Decided. One of, one of my friends once told me, we're all basically just 5 year olds and we need very simple needs. You know, we just over complicate things with life once we get older. And so how I prioritize it, I was like, what did I want to do when I was a kid? Like what did I enjoy doing when I was a kid? I enjoyed playing outside, I enjoyed riding four wheelers, doing stuff, you know, the just random things. And that's how I started prioritizing my life was like today I had some stuff I needed to do. I just got back from Vegas late last night and I took my kids to Mandalay Bay. And my buddy calls me and says, hey, he's, he works a job, he's like, I've got one last day of vacation. Do you want to go to the beach and ride side by sides? I'm like, yeah, I do.

So it was just, it was kind of just turning into a child again and realizing, trying to figure out what it was like just to be happy, just to, you know, not have a care in the world and just decide that you're going to do the things that you enjoy. And so that's what I've done for the Last year and a half is just figure out what makes me happy. Like, if it doesn't make me happy, I don't do it anymore. If it makes me happy, I do more of that. It's a very simple thing, but people over complicate it. Like, if you don't like doing something, it's probably not going to make you happy. If you do something and it makes you happy, do more of.

That. Do more of that. And I predict, Jared, that you will make more money over the next few years because of this.

Exactly.

Yeah. Because anything that you decide to do will be out of choice, which means that you will enjoy it, which means that you will put energy into it, which means that it will become immensely.

Successful. Well, thank.

You. Congratulations.

Jared. Thank you. I appreciate it. It's. It's been a journey, and I'm happy. I went down the.

Journey. And how old are.

You? I'm only.

35. All right, so your journey is still.

Beginning. Yeah. So I still got a long ways to go, but it's. It's just the start of the next chapter. We'll.

Say. Yes, it is. What words of advice do you have for entrepreneurs who are in the grind, in the thick of.

Things? Honestly, the biggest things I would say is just keep going, but make sure that it's what you want to be doing. And if you can design something that is something you want to do and you at least kind of enjoy, makes the process a whole lot easier.

I think the reason we get unhappy is because we're in the gap of where we're at to where we want to be. And because we're kind of in this weird gap of from there to there. We get lost in not knowing where we're going. So just kind of know where you're going, but just do something you enjoy every single day. That's my advice. Because I'm at that stage where I wish I would have enjoyed the process a little more. Because as you look back.

You know, everyone has the good old day.

Syndrome.

Yes. As I look back at, like, my days of being in those grind phases, I'm like, oh, those are the good old days. Yes, I remember that. That was so much fun. But the problem was in the moment. I didn't enjoy any of it. I was just, you know, so try to enjoy some of the moments, because when you get later on in life, you'll realize those were the moments that.

Mattered. That's exactly right. I experienced this for the first time. I remember I was driving on Lamar South. Lamar Boulevard and South Texas, South Austin, Texas. Looking at Ben White Boulevard, thinking, oh, the house I used to live in was down there, and my heart sank. It's like, I miss that house. And someone in my brain went and Googled when Ryan lived on Independence Drive. I freaking hated that.

House. In the moment. You hate.

It. I hated.

It.

Right? I never liked living there, ever.

But as I'm driving, I'm like, oh, the.

Memories.

Exactly. Because our brain looks for problems. And so when your brain looks for problems, we tend to only see the crap that's in front of us. And so we experience the good stuff as this sense of longing in the rearview mirror. So can you recognize that you're in the good old days now? Can you recognize that your brain gets happiness as the result of solving problems? And so the problems that you face right now are actually the source of your happiness? When you can flip that, man, life gets real good. Real.

Good.

It's when you can get into that moment when you realize, these are the good old days and enjoy the process. And I've finally, after all this time, gotten to that point where I'm good for you. Join the process. Although I will say this, I just recorded my audiobook. I did not enjoy that.

Process.

That was long. That was a.

Long. I was in a closet for four days, my walk in closet, because it was the only place with the good audio. And I was like, oh, I don't think I'll ever look back at this. Although I did put some funny pictures on. On social media. I'm like, yep, still in the closet.

Today. Maybe I'll be out tomorrow.

It'll be worth it. Because when you'll start to get those DMS from people who download your audiobook, it gets pretty.

Cool.

Cool. So, Jared, great to see you, man. Congratulations on your success. Congratulations on your happiness. Congratulations on figuring it out at 35. You got 65 good years ahead of you. So congratulations, my friend. Thank you for hanging out with.

Us. Yes. Thank you for having me. And honestly, just thank you for everything you do for everyone that you do it for. Like, I know you probably maybe hear that, but there's probably thousands of people that you don't even know that you change their lives. And that is something to be truly proud.

Of. I appreciate that very much. Thanks.

Jared. It's a true stat that 99% of business owners never clear a million dollars. And that is why I started a mentoring group called the 1%. I have helped hundreds of entrepreneurs cross seven figures. There's a reason why that's the case. And it's because we have a formula that works really well and this year in 2021, we've introduced mastermind groups at each level in the process. That's the grind, the growth and the gold. So when you come join us inside the 1%, you'll be partnered with other entrepreneurs who are at your level to help you get through that level you and accelerate onto the next step in your journey. You'll be following the same roadmap that I teach in my book 12 months to 1 million. That's why we have such a high success rate getting people to where they want to be. So go to capitalism.com one scroll to the bottom, hit the join button and for less than you spent on eating out this past month, you'll be in a room of entrepreneurs who are pushing you to go from where you are right now to the next step in the process. It'll be the best investment that you make all year. Come join us. We're ready for you. Go to capitalism.com 1.