Empire Report: Why Optimism Is The Key To Success

Foreign.

Today we're going to switch it up a little bit. I am interviewing Ryan Daniel Moran. If you don't know, this is Chris Van Loan II, the podcast manager here@capitalism.com I've been running the show mostly for, I don't know, five years or so. And I was a fan of the show before that, back when it was Freedom Fast Lane and for a while it was the 1%. Then it was capitalism.com, before it became capitalism.com with Ryan Daniel Moran. And I've had a pretty close relationship to Ryan's work. I used to be a content creator who was overseeing all of the video as well before breaking off to run my own business and be an entrepreneur.

You.

And so from this part time position as podcast manager, I just really wanted to pick Ryan's brain on where his head is at, you know, the state of his career, what's happening behind the scenes@capitalism.com that we don't usually get to see right in our 1% community, in the incubator, the brands that Ryan is investing in and really just what lights him up. And I think this was a really great conversation for us to just kind of let our hair down and get a little bit of insight into Ryan's thoughts, what's led to his success so far and really where the future of his career is going. Back when I was the full time content creator overseeing Instagram and YouTube and Facebook and all those lovely things, I was going by the alias See Money, which I still like, but mostly today people just call me Chris Van Loan ii. So anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this conversation with none other than the future owner of the Cleveland Guardians, Ryan Daniel Moran. Well, shall. This feels weird interviewing you.

I'm so used to looking at you interviewing other people in zoom.

The tables have turned.

Yes, they have. They have.

All right, so we doing this?

No, we're just going to sit here and look at each other awkwardly.

So, you know, one of the things I've been observing with your content lately is I'm seeing this theme of like a lot of recent social media posts talking about abundance, but I think even more so optimism. So I wanted to kind of ask you where that comes from, why you think that's needed and why you think that's important to share with other entrepreneurs right now.

I'm really glad you opened with this question because it's very true that I feel a sense of responsibility to share that message. I have a lot of friends.

It's funny, my friends who were Democrats a year ago were like, the world's going to hell in a handbasket. And now all my Republican friends are like, the world's going to hell in a hand basket. Really? Has the world changed that much in a year? And they will all tell you, yes, they'll all tell you that here are the reasons why. There was reason to be optimistic a year and a half ago or two years ago, but now things have changed so dramatically, and I just don't buy that narrative. I don't buy that narrative at all. I think there's plenty of reason to be optimistic, and I'm really surprised that so few people are seeing them, that so few people are choosing to see all the negative that's happening. You'll find whatever you're looking for, you'll find either one. And I just consciously choose to find the positive things, the optimistic things, because from a business perspective, I make way more money when I bet on things getting better. The entrepreneur, the capitalist, has to be optimistic in nature in some way. You have to bet on things being better in the future than they are today. You're doing that when you invest, you're doing that when you order inventory, you're doing that when you start a podcast, you're doing that when you start a business, when you hire somebody, you're always planning on things getting better. And we have this narrative right now that that's not true anymore. Now that Biden's president or Trump is president or Covid's happened, or that the dollar is melting, there's no reason to be optimistic anymore. And I just think that perspective is wrong and that we need more optimism in order to reframe that conversation. So that is a very keen observation of yours.

Yeah, it's interesting. It makes me think about how much mindfulness and personal development and, you know, in business circles is about not being reactive, right. About having a sort of a centered self. And I feel like the older we get, we're about the same age. You just see enough cycles, right, where you're like, I've seen this story before. And you, I think you talked about when Obama first came into office, and there was a lot of fear around that. And once you've done it a couple of times, you know, I think it can help you keep from getting swept up in the emotions. And, you know, as the podcast manager, even just thinking about preparing for this talk.

I've noticed that also this show particularly isn't really beating the drum of capitalism that loud or that frequently. And it might be a really unique stance from other People in this space. And also this show used to be called the 1%, right? And in that intro, it was a little bit more fierce around, like, you know, only 1% of people are the real change makers, the capitalists. So where is your head at with that, like, in terms of, I think, being an optimistic voice in the political landscape? And yet at the same time, I guess what I'm saying is I almost want to see you be more pro capitalism. And it's kind of taken the backseat recently.

I think for a lot of entrepreneurs, this is their first cycle. This is their first time where they're seeing things change really dramatically. I was an entrepreneur in 2006-2007-2008-2009, when everybody was pessimistic. People are used to starting businesses. 2014, 15, 16 on where we've been in the biggest bull market ever. So if we see the system shake up even a little, people have a reason to be pessimistic. Gary Vaynerchuk calls us getting punched in the mouth. They've never been punched in the mouth before. I mean, even COVID 19 was amazing for Internet businesses. It hurt for like six weeks. And then people were like, oh, everything's great. Things are booming. People are buying on Amazon.com right now. They're buying through my Shopify store. My Facebook ads are working. So that long term punch in the mouth hasn't really happened. And if you've lived through that, you realize that, yes, those times are hard, but you get through them, you move forward, you adapt, or otherwise you don't deserve to be in business. And that's how it goes. And we see all this disruption happening or on the cusp that is going to. It's going to displace a lot of entrepreneurs, displace a lot of people. I see that as a good thing. Long term, sucks in the short term, really does well in the long term. So I think part of the reason why you see entrepreneurs go negative is just because they've never been punched in the mouth before. They're not used to operating during times of uncertainty. And I mean, if this is uncertainty, it's the most abundant time of uncertainty ever. Economy's still good. People are still spending money. People are back to normal. This is the most wonderful time of uncertainty ever. We still could get punched in the mouth more times in the future. We'll see. And I understand what you're saying about wanting to be optimistic even louder. I just don't want to give more airtime to the pessimism. I don't even care to pay attention to people who are obsessed with the negativity. And yes, part of my job as spokesperson of capitalism on the Internet is to stay optimistic. But to try and rebuttal people on their pessimism just gives them a louder platform, whereas I've just chosen to lead by example.

Yeah, that makes sense. I really like that. I think in today's landscape, it really does feel like certain polarizing trigger words is like throwing chum in the water. And there's this feeding frenzy.

That's right.

And everyone's attacking each other. And you're like, hey, I was just trying to make a point about how awesome the world is and how many opportunities there are. You know, there's always that example people say of, like, your reticular activating system is tuned where, you know, you get a new car and you see that new car everywhere.

Yep.

You think of a yellow car and you see it everywhere. It's like, if you're looking for negativity and how the world's going to hell in hand baskets, like, the universe will present you with examples of how that's true. Just it doesn't seem like a good strategy at the end of the day.

You know, Esther and I play this game in the car. It's just called Red Truck. My dad drives a red truck, and my daughter loves it. So every time we see a red truck on the road, we yell red truck. And we have a contest between the two of us of who can see more red trucks on the road. And I'll tell you, Chris, if you play Red Truck, you see red trucks everywhere in Texas. I mean, there have been times where I'm looking for red trucks, and I drive by a car, Coca Cola semi. It's the biggest red truck ever. And then a fire truck comes by, and then there's nine Ford F150s. And I'm looking in the parking lot, I see red trucks everywhere. Because it's what I'm tuned to. It's what I am looking for. And we have become so soft because things have been so good for so long. That one little punch in the mouth and we start seeing negativity everywhere. We haven't built the muscle to see positivity in uncertain times. I mean, it's just like the classic example for me right now is the fact that people are so up in arms about Dave Chappelle's comedy special because people are getting triggered because they think he's being offensive to trans people. If that's offensive. We are so soft, like if you saw it and you're like, this is offensive. You have no idea what it means to be offended. You have no idea of, of, of what it actually looks like to live in a world where you are discriminated against. If that was offensive, man, are we in trouble because we're so soft and entrepreneurs right now are, are kind of in that period where things have been so good and so abundant and we're used to low taxes and easy money and capital everywhere that even the thought of a tax hike or a shipping delay or supply chain issues is like, well, the world just must be crumbling and we must be losing the value of our currency and there's all of this negativity just because we're not used to adapting through it.

Yeah, a lot of fearful thinking out there. And I don't know if I ever told you this, Ryan, but I actually used to. Well, I co founded a fight club back in high school. I'm not supposed to talk about it, you know, first rule, but you know, it was an interesting experience to like. It was sparring, you know, I tell people that and they think is weird, but it was really for self defense purposes of. I've literally been punched in the, in the mouth, in the face by people that outweigh me by 40, 50 pounds. And once you know what that's like, it just kind of gives you a different perspective on combat. And where I'm taking this is how can entrepreneurs become tougher, like get punched in the mouth without actually being punched in the mouth? Like, how can we foster the sense of resiliency?

I think it is a willingness to take risks and I think it is a willingness to be on kind of that bleeding edge in your business of taking risks, investing into things that may not work out, trying new things. A lot of entrepreneurs are in defense mode right now. It's protecting the empire rather than growing the empire. And I think we have to switch that if you're going to win and learn how you adapt to the punches. And you don't take punches when you're in defense mode. I mean, it's like in your case of being in fight club, that fear of being punched is way worse than the punch itself. Yeah, you're trying to avoid it. You're like, you're strategizing around it, but once you get punched and you realize you can just get through it, you're way better equipped to go in and throw punches and to win the fight, which is the point. The point isn't to not get punched. It's to win the fight, they have to be in the fight in order to win, which means you have to be willing to take swings and miss. And I think a lot of times people are still afraid of failure because they haven't failed, or their version of failure is so soft that they're unwilling to take bigger risks. And so without that failure, you don't have kind of a reference point for being okay, for making it through it. I was thinking yesterday, I saw this homeless person pushing a cart by me. He's reeked of urine. Just absolutely, just stank to high heaven. I had this thought to myself. I was like, I would be the best homeless person ever.

I don't think I would ever let it get to the point where I stank of urine. I would go find some way to shower and go make a sign that made people laugh and collect more money than everybody else. I would find a way to make it better. And when you can get to a place where it's like, even if I'm homeless, I'm going to be an awesome homeless person, then you're in the position where no amount of risk can scare you, and you're free now to go take real punches.

Yeah, that sounds like freedom. When you're not living in the fear of what could hit you. And, you know, it's funny you give that example, it actually sounds like it would be kind of fun to go from, like, nothing to double that, to double that, to double that, to double that. Just, like, keep going. Like, I'm going to come back. I'm going to come back from nothing.

That's right.

But, you know, speaking of empires, building empires right from a place of abundance, I was thinking about how, you know, on this podcast, it used to start with, and now the future owner of the Cleveland Indians, now it's Guardians Ryan Daniel Moran. And, you know, we don't really highlight that as much in the content or when you're on stage or through your, you know, through your social media. So I don't know if that's still in your vision or if that is the thing that really fires you up as much, but at this point in your career, what is the thing that really fires you up?

I am in the game right now for the enjoyment of the game more than anything else. I used to see the desire or dream to own a Major League Baseball team as something I had to do in order to feel like I was successful. But now I just use it as an anchor point for me to look forward to and work towards. So there's no longer this neediness over it happening, because I don't need that in order to feel fulfilled or successful.

Which could be a shortcut to having it actually happen.

That's probably true. Yeah.

Game in the system.

That's right. And I'm reading this great book right now. Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy's new book is called the Gap and the Gain. And they talk about how most entrepreneurs are operating from this place of idealism, but the idealism just always moves. It's like the end of the horizon. The closer you get to it, the further off it moves. And for me, that's how I was operating most of my career. It was like every success felt like failure because I wasn't there yet, wherever there was. And today, or as they argue, when you're in the gain, it is more about seeing the progress that you've made rather than where you haven't achieved yet. And if I think about where I came from growing up with nothing, Cleveland, Ohio, divorced parents, fought all the time, just wanting a dream. Maybe I'll make $100,000 a year one day. Maybe I'll be an investor one day. Maybe I'll be an entrepreneur. Like, I've done great. I've done fricking great. And the more I can be in that zone rather than thinking about what I haven't done yet, the more fuel I've got to go pursue buying the Indians or the Guardians or the Spiders or whatever they'll be called in 30 years when I'm in that point. Right.

The anti transphobes.

And like, by then.

I hope to be in such a place of not needing it that it's just an absolute choice whether I acquire them or not.

Yeah. It's just been interesting to work closely with you and see this evolution up close as the kind of solopreneur guy in the blue shirt, the entrepreneur shirt to becoming a better team builder. And now I really see you as an investor, a mentor for entrepreneurs and a teacher. I mean, is that. Do you feel like that's accurate? That's the place you're at now is kind of investing in early stage companies, scaling.

Is that the thing that is taking up most of your energy?

I view myself as an entrepreneur first, an investor second and a teacher third. I don't think I am a good teacher if I'm not actively investing and growing my businesses. Now, depending on when this airs, we may or may not have to bleep some things out here, but I am actively right now in negotiations.

But the fire that gets brought up in me. That is what I'm seeking now. As of right now, it may not go through. If it doesn't go through. What that has done is it has given me a lot of clarity over what I want to do next. Because in order to.

There'S a couple things that need to be in place. It needs to be properly capitalized, and it needs to have a connection with a really big audience that can put it on the map. That's the owner's model. It's what we talk about in the incubator. And I love the idea that I would have to play the owner's model at a really big scale in order to.

And I love the thought of having to go out and raise capital and cast a vision and create relationships, just like we teach our students to do, but do it on a much, much bigger scale. And I love that thought. And that's where this journey is kind of taking me next, of where I'm probably going to grow into, regardless of what happens with this transaction.

Yeah, I love this idea of just, like, following your fire. Like, I feel like this is. If I had to distill, like, you know, what Ryan's most core belief systems and the things you teach people a lot of, it's like following your passion.

Yeah.

And it kind of feels like that's really what we're here to do, like, on earth, like, the purpose of life, really. I think I said to you once that business is kind of like the only game in town, which is to say, like, we grow up and we're kids and then we go through school and college, and then, like, this whole middle chunk of our life is really about, like, what can we build and create and make an impact on? And so, yeah, I love that idea of just following your fire. And, you know, speaking of the incubator, it was really cool to meet everyone at the Capitalism conference recently, because so much of that's been digital and just witnessing the deep friendships that have come out of that. And one of the things I've noticed about your career is you really seem to prioritize friendship in business, almost as though, like.

Business just gives us an excuse to hang out together and build together and grow together.

That's right. Now, I don't know if that's healthy, like, genuinely, I don't know, but it's how I've chosen to operate. So there are plenty of people who say, don't hire your friends, don't work with your friends, don't partner with your friends, don't Be friends with your employees. And I've taken a very opposite approach. And that sometimes is a great thing, sometimes that is not a great thing. And sometimes I get it wrong, and sometimes I get it right, but it's how I like to play the game. You heard that podcast that I did with Todd Herman, where Todd was talking about how every athlete he works with says that being an athlete is way easier than being an entrepreneur, because in a game, in a sport, you have the rules and the lines drawn for you. In entrepreneurship, you're drawing your own lines. And most people haven't done it consciously. They're doing it based on other people's rules. So in my game, in my rules, I like the people that I work with, and I like the people that I serve. I like that, and I like to play that game. I don't want to play the game where I am not enjoying who I work with. That's not a game to me now. It is effort. And so I've just decided to be conscious about deciding on who the relationships are that are operating in the business.

Yeah, speaking of drawing lines, the playing field here, I think we've been talking a little bit about you and your career, but I wanted to kind of separate that and say, what are the lines that you were drawing for capitalism.com, the company, the business that is bigger than Ryan? I mean, would you feel comfortable sharing a vivid vision, big, hairy, audacious goal? Where do you see things going with capitalism.com at this point?

I read this great book just last week called you'd Stand Is yous Brand. And it was written. I just saw it pop off the shelf at Barnes and Noble. And as I started leafing through it, I realized it was by somebody that I had met a couple of years ago. And he actually interviewed me for his documentary. So it was a cool moment where I didn't pick it because I knew him. I picked it because it popped off the shelf. And my favorite part of the book was him talking about how you find your purpose in your business. He describes it, the five Ps, and he walks you through this process. And the underlying foundation of it all was your philosophy. How you think the world should be, what you think is true about the world, what you're willing to stand for.

It was a moment for me where I realized those are the pieces that need to be in place in order for you to know what your purpose is. Your purpose is a reflection of your philosophies. And for me, that is things like community. Working together is better. Than an us versus them mentality. It's optimism. It's aligned incentives. It's giving more than you take. Those, to me, are the fundamental principles of a capitalist. A capitalist is not a dirty word to me because a capitalist gives more than he takes. Capitalism is not a dirty word to me because a capitalist builds bridges. She doesn't destroy them. So those are the things to me that I'm basing my decisions on. And so when I look at what we're doing next, it's things like. More like on a tactical level, we're rolling out this kind of V2 of the incubator right now, where we're taking our network of investors and influencers and putting them on the platform and making introductions and allowing our students to send their pitch decks and their vivid visions to influencers. They get one shot. Once they email them, they can't follow up with them. They can send them their pitch deck and they can open up collaborative conversations with having them on their board or giving them equity in the company by facilitating those relationships. And then on more of a visionary level, we are actively in the process of launching an nft for the 1%. Not because it's cool and hot and sexy to have an nft, but because it matches our values. What values? The fact that as soon as somebody is financially incentivized for something to work, meaning someone's livelihood improves when the value of their NFT goes up, they now are more committed to the community around it. The fact that my team and my customers will have the same aligned incentives to make the value of the community go up. That, to me, is a pure form of capitalism, maybe the purest I have ever seen. And so these are things that are matching that philosophy, matching those values. So the more that we can create those experiences and those incentives for our customers, the more the company will grow and as kind of a byproduct, the more everyone will benefit in terms of their wealth as well.

Yeah, I love that. See, this is why I was saying that I'd love to really see you beating the drum of capitalism louder. Just because I don't really see anybody else doing it. Right. Like, I.

I don't know, a lot of the content out there around these kind of ideas can be so polarizing and not from a place of, I don't know, love and compassion and building together. And it's like, I've told you that I like Ben Shapiro and he's really smart and I agree with some of his videos. But again, it's just like the Tone of it is so, like, attacking and nasty at times that, yeah, I feel like there's a big open space.

I agree with you. And actually, I'll just talk this out a bit with you where I happen to totally agree with you. I used to really like Glenn Beck, and I find Glenn Beck so blindingly closed off to optimism right now.

I saw him post at one point, this is what the left is. This is the America the left is trying to destroy. Come on, man.

You really believe that the other side just wants to destroy your version of America? That's what you think they wake up and think about. We're here to destroy America. Come on.

You are now the old person at the party. That is like, people used to respect their elders. There's so much good. Why are you giving so much attention and airtime to people who disagree with you? Do you think that makes your life better? And I see this happening, and when I speak up about it.

I feel like I have. I just don't feel like it gets attention right now. The building bridges or the unifying message, in my experience, just doesn't get the shares, it doesn't get the likes. And I don't feel like I'm not doing it. I feel like I'm not willing to be polarizing when I believe in building bridges. And perhaps I could be louder about building the bridges. I haven't yet found a way to do that without thumbing my nose at the other side. As of right now, there's a friend of mine who posted like, is there anything good that Biden has done? And I didn't vote for Joe Biden. I don't even really plan to vote for his reelection unless it's against Trump. Right? That's, like, the only way I would consider it. And yet I found myself defending Joe Biden because it was like, bro, if you can't say what somebody else did at all that was good, then you're just totally listening to the other side. And so I could very easily and articulately describe a few good things that Joe Biden has done despite not liking the administration. And guess how many people act convinced right now?

Nobody.

Right? Like, either one side was like, I can't believe that you can't see all the good he's doing. Or one side says, I can't believe you would defend a closet communist who poops his pants.

So I would love to be louder about, I feel like I am being loud. I just don't know that a lot of people can hear it. So I will Continue to beat the drum as loud as I know how until people listen. Because I think eventually they will.

Yeah, it kind of breaks my heart sometimes when I hear you say something really well thought out and nuanced and, and from a place of empathy. And someone in the comments is like, I've been following you for years. You like beta cuck soy boy, You've gone full commie.

Really.

Yeah. The person, the model I look to who I think is doing this well, is Aubrey Marcus with his hashtag unitedpolarity posts he's been making where he's just inviting people to see the other side, I guess. And, you know, he'll. He'll say, hey, here's. Here's the same article from a left perspective and a right perspective. You're probably going to have an emotional reaction to one of these, but you should really explore those emotions inside of you. And, you know, it's interesting. I wonder if almost from a capital capitalism perspective, you could make people realize that they already believe in you and value capitalism. They just don't realize it yet. That what they say they dislike is actually crony capitalism and not free markets.

Like, I still believe that everyone's libertarian. They just don't know it yet. Everybody wants freedom. Yeah, I saw everyone's drive.

I saw a great post where, you know, someone was saying, you know, libertarians aren't this hodgepodge mix of like, part Democrat, part Republican, which people like to say, oh, I'm fiscally conservative, socially liberal. It's like, no, I'm just pro freedom, just across the board. Freedom of how you run your business, freedom of how you conduct your life, freedom of whatever you want to do, you know, as. As far as it. My fist extends to not hit your nose. That whole thing goes. Yeah, I just feel like there's a big open space. So I feel like if, you know.

Just keep doing it. I think we are getting there and.

I think we are. If you're listening to this and you agree with that, we're not currently in a place where it's safe to be that there is safety in being on the polar sides right now, because there's safety in numbers.

Yeah, totally.

If someone is coming for your house, you side with whoever is willing to defend you. That's where we are as a society right now. There is safety in getting on the polar sides. There's not safety in the middle or in building a bridge. That's the most dangerous place to be. It's where all the prey is. When they come for you, the people in the middle are the sitting ducks. So I just don't think that there is an audience to be built in the middle right now. But that day will come. And so even as you're talking this out with you, it's giving me more confidence in being like, I'll be the prey. You can come for me. I can handle it, I can take it. My ego isn't hurt. And so I think you're helping me process that as I talk about it. But I think that time is coming where people will see that person dancing in the middle and eventually start to dance with them. I just right now think I and a few other people are dancing by ourselves in the middle.

Yeah, yeah. Nobody wants to be caught naked in the breeze. It just reminds me, I was at an emo karaoke night the other week and 8 year old girl went up on stage and was singing.

My Chemical Romance and she was like so shy and one person ran out to go support her and be like, you got this girl. And everyone else slowly started trickling in. And that was just like so fun to watch because I've seen a video like that on the Internet. Yep, it was really cool to really witness that. That it was like, here's a like 10 year old girl who's singing on stage, like, we're gonna get out of our chairs and support her. You know, that was super cool. But I was thinking.

When you bought the domain name capitalism.com, didn't you tell the previous owner that you wanted to show and not tell? That's right, yeah.

So that discussion that you're referencing, the person who is sitting on the domain for over a decade said, I think the best way to bring people over to our side of the argument is through healthy debate. And I said, may I offer you a different opinion? His name's David. And David said, yes. And I said, I think the best way to win people over to our side of the argument is by leading by example. If you turn someone into an entrepreneur and they see how many taxes they pay and they see how many regulations are in their way, they start to become less in favor of government. And he said, I would like to sell the domain to you. And that is true. You don't see how many taxes are paid or how hard you have to work until you have a lot of responsibility. And as soon as you have responsibility, you say, why are people deferring to the government for this? This is our job. We can handle this better than they can. Here's how I know that things are going to get better. I'm seeing so many of my friends on the left, my friends on the right are going crazy. They're losing their minds. They're completely off their rockers right now. The people on the left, they control the White House and Congress, so they feel all safe. But I'm so gleefully watching my friends on the left go, what is this unrealized capital gains tax thing? This seems like an absolutely ridiculous idea. And I'm like, welcome to being a libertarian. They're starting to see how their side is letting them down.

And I think the right has had that. Where their side has let them down, the left is seeing how their side is letting them down. That's how I know we're gonna be okay.

This is why it's great to have a really boring president. Cause people aren't swept up in the charisma of the personality. They're just looking at policy a little bit more. Wait, what? What do you want to do? How much are you going to tax me?

I like having a boring president. Right. For that reason. Exactly right. And I think we now are questioning policy more than questioning the personality. Unless you're on the losing side. Right. The losing side always questions the person and the personality. But those who are more on the left are starting to question the policy. That's a really good sign. That's how I know we're all going to be fine. Going to take some time. I think we still have about four more years of divisiveness. But that's why I'm confident we're going to be fine is because I believe that freedom expands. I believe that freedom always increases. I think you can hold it back, you can threaten it, but that only increases the demand and the desire for more freedom. We never enslave ourselves for long. There's always a counter movement to that in the favor of freedom. The abundance in this world always expands. Goodness always expands. You can hold it back, you can ignore it, you can push it back for a hot minute, but it always creates more desire for it to expand. And right now, I think we're holding a lot of it back and it has to crash forward at some point. So I remain confident that we're going to be fine.

Well, it's funny, when you're saying freedom, it takes me back to really, the reason why you and I got connected and I started working with you as, you know, way back in the day. I don't know if it was, you know, I'm talking 2016 or something. I was doing brand builder, boot Camp video testimonials recording, people get their results. Like, I mean, Sean Coyne, Rita Andy Redmir, Jeremiah Klingman, Jeremy Shirt. Kevin Pascoe.

Good memory.

And my impression was, I guess there's a lot of scammy Internet marketers on the Internet, right? And I got to see firsthand from a really close perspective like, this is real. Like that woman used to be a teacher and now she has the freedom to live her own life, to employ a staff. This guy hated his job and now he's running a seven figure business, eight figure business. And there's just been at least like 500 of those. And from my perspective in content, I just got to see it up close, which is I got to see what they were like when the camera was off, when, you know, people are just talking. And I saw how real it was. So I was going to ask you, I guess, like, what does it feel like to have had these year long relationships where you see their success? I mean, just to kind of get out of the head and into the heart for a second. I mean, what is that like? You know, I've seen it from my perspective, but you have such a direct role in helping people create their own freedom in their own lives.

You know, this is going to surprise some people. I have only in the last six to 12 months really started to.

Recognize that about myself. I've only in the last.

Let'S say last year, given myself permission to accept that I've been a big part of their journey. There's a really good moment for me at the Capitalism conference with our friend Mark Cuda.

Mark has been on the road to 1 million several times. We funded him in the Capitalism Fund as of the time of this recording, he hasn't even launched yet. But I know he's sitting on a multimillion dollar business. We've just done it. He and we have done everything right. And he was at this event and I'm watching him interact. And while he was there, he had dinner with the influencer that we connected him to. I helped him broker the deal and make sure that everybody had aligned incentives for this launch to go well. And I noticed that he was interacting with people who might invest in his business or support his business and people are trying his product at capcon. And I had this moment where I was like, I've really helped this guy. I gave him the capital to start.

I introduced him to the influencer, helped him clarify his idea, help him make really good decisions, have given him a platform by having him on the podcast frequently. I really helped this guy and that was a big moment for me. It was a big moment for me because I was able to honor the fact that I played a significant role in this business. Not because it was unique, because it was the first time that I saw it for myself. And I started to look around the room at capcon and see that oh, a lot of these people view my content or my courses or the advice I gave them on a Q and A call inside the 1%.

As just as impactful as what I did for Mark. Having that aha moment made me want to double down. It's like now that I can see the impact I can make, it makes me want to go harder, it makes me want to give more, it makes me want to be more aggressive, be more confident, be more optimistic because I'm seeing the fruits of that. Whereas even as recently as a year ago I was thinking about why is my following not bigger. I was thinking about why don't my videos go viral. I'm thinking about why don't more people buy my book. Total self deprecating thoughts that just make you feel in lack. That's where I was. And it took addressing those to see the contribution that I've made to and that has really shifted the way that I show up in my content, in my coaching calls. We have a coaching call on Thursday morning. I can't fricking wait. They're like my favorite things to do now, right? I frickin love doing those. Whereas before I saw it as a thing on my calendar. And so the difference has been not how I'm serving or who I'm serving. It has been me acknowledging the difference that me serving has and that has made me want to do it more.

Yeah, that makes sense, right? Like when you're just lasered in going forward you can't sit back and appreciate how far you've come and the impact you've made. It's interesting here you talk about the metrics and numbers because you've also said that you want influence, not fake.

You know I always think about this Tim Ferriss pod post he did. I think it was like on Medium where he talked about like the 11 things about becoming famous nobody tells you about. It's like it kind of sucks. You know, people want to find out where you live and you know, if you have 10 million followers and a high percentage of people are, you know, a little, a little crazy, some of them are going to find you.

That's right.

Where as I have the people who recognize me feel Like, I really contributed to their lives and that means a lot to me.

Yeah. It feels like a lot of what you've done is give people permission at times, help them see things from a different perspective to take the action they know they need to take. Or maybe they don't know they need to take. I wanted to ask you about the book because it's really starting to take off. It's doing well.

70,000 copies. Yeah.

You've talked about doubling down on promotion, right? Going on other people's podcasts and stuff. What is your goal for getting the book into new hands? I think from the outside looking in before I got into this e commerce space, there's almost a thought of, if you've got the goods, why are you just giving it away for free, man? It's going to be too crowded. There's going to be too many E commerce sellers, you know, what is your thought around just getting 12 months to 1 million into more hands?

I think I am just stubbornly committed to the ideas and goals in my mind. Right. I've wanted to have a six pack since I was like 12.

Still working on it. Right. But I'm not letting that one go. And I want to sell a million copies of 12 months to 1 million. I know it's deserving of that because I've seen the feedback now. I used to, Chris, I used to be like, I am not good enough. Until I've accomplished that goal, I am not good. I am not a valuable human being. And therefore I will sell a million copies to prove to myself that I am valued. And that was the energy that I ran on until a year, year and a half ago. I would say the majority of the time that we worked together, I was operating in that zone.

I think it was at capcon. I apologized to you until I realized as a leader that I was operating from that place and therefore I didn't give clear direction to people. I was just thinking about the lack that I had rather than what I had to share with other people. It was a humbling moment to realize I had been operating from that place. Now I say I want to create great stuff and get it in the hands as many people as possible. And I'm operating much more from a place of genuine contribution. And I just want to. To give because it feels good to give.

And the more I'm in that place, the more things grow.

And that's awesome because now you're amplifying happiness rather than amplifying lack.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's been great. To see you, like I said, like, evolve so much as a leader.

Leading a team, employees over the years. I mean, I'm curious, do you have any advice you would give to other entrepreneurs to step up? You know, being a manager and being a team leader and whether that's inspiring people or just, you know, making people feel like they're part of a team and fired up to do their best work?

Well, the way that you fire people up and you align the team is giving them a common goal that is in service to the customer.

When I have been the worst leader is when I'm thinking about what I'm going to get out of something.

If you and I are working together and I'm trying to get accolades and fame, then I am going to be micromanaging you to make sure that I get what I need out of it. Whereas if the goal is to create as much as possible for the end viewer or listener or customer, then I need to be in full sprint towards serving that person. And when I'm in full sprint, serving that person gives you a heck of a lot of content to catch and to create and organize. That's in service to that person. That's growth. Whereas if we're just trying to shine the light on making me look awesome, and I only know because that was me for most of my life, worried about what I look like, worried about how people perceive me and what my status is, trying to get more of that, the more that you are in that mode, and that's always a mode of fear. It is always out of lack and fear. And that is really hard to motivate people from. Like, nobody wants to work in a way that just amplifies the boss's lack, the boss's fear. Those are the shitty bosses that everybody's afraid to work for. The way that you flip that is being in total service to the customer, totally aligned with the vision that you are creating, totally in contribution to somebody else. And that requires you to get really clear with your own junk. That's why entrepreneurship is the greatest path to self development and self discovery ever invented on planet Earth. Better than Oprah.

Yeah, I found that a lot personally over the last year, year and a half or so, you, all of your junk, all of your insecurities really come to the surface and you learn a lot about yourself and end up growing kind of on fast forward, you know? Yeah, I feel like, I don't know if there's any people who are listening to this podcast and aren't entrepreneurs or on the fence, but it really is, it really is a great path for growth.

It, you know, it's the fastest because all of a sudden you are responsible for everything. Most people see freedom and responsibility as antithetical, but it's the opposite. The more responsibility you can handle, the more freedom you have earned. We love to talk about freedom isn't free from a political sense, but we don't talk about it from our own personal sense. Freedom is not granted. You earn it and it requires more responsibility when you have freedom, it's a beautiful paradox. We think it's the absence of responsibility, but it's actually the acceptance of responsibility. And in entrepreneurship, first things, you gotta accept all responsibility. Only then are you in the position to earn your freedom.

There's another thing I was thinking about because I'm just content brained, which is I loved your recent YouTube video. You did. I just found the tone kind of amusing where you said, hey, we hit 100,000 subscribers. And you know, I'll be honest with you, it kind of took longer than we expected. It's like, it's very anticlimactic, you know. And when I was overseeing all the video, that definitely was like a pressure, I think on my shoulders to feel like, oh, we're at 70, we're 80.

How do we get this going?

Yeah.

Do you feel like you ever got any answers to the question that everyone asks, which is like, why isn't this, this channel more popular?

Yes, loud and clear. And I'm embarrassed to tell you the answer.

So.

We hired somebody to help us with our YouTube strategy. And basically what I told this person was, look, I'm, I'm tired of trying to learn to fix my own pipes. I just need to call a plumber and find out what we're doing wrong. And I worked with this person for three months and he helped us with a lot of tactical things. That was awesome. But the biggest takeaway was one thing, and it was I finally saw my positioning in the marketplace after 10 years of content.

What? The seven figure guy.

I now know that my positioning in the marketplace is I'm the seven figure business guy.

At least in this part of my career. Now you'll recall from us working together, I talked about dividend paying stocks and I talked about politics and I talked about philosophy and I did religious videos.

That sure was fun though.

Amazon, yeah, they're all fun, right? But like, the reason why my audience didn't grow the way that we all expected it to when we were working together on the video stuff is because we weren't Clear on the positioning in the marketplace. And now we're really clear. Like I'm the seven figure business guy right now. It's what I'm better than. I'm better at that than anyone in the world. I am not the best at talking about dividend paying stocks, although I'm good at it. I'm not the best at talking politics. I wish I was Ben Shapiro. I really wish I was the kind empathetic Ben Shapiro. I would love to be that I'm not right now. But I am the best in the world at talking about building million dollar businesses and doing it from a place of contribution and self discovery and doing it in a way that is sustainable. And as that audience builds then I can talk about politics from a place of empathy and kindness and understanding and it'll be interesting. Until then, it's a distraction from the building of the audience. So that's the answer is that I never committed to whatever the lane I needed to commit to was. I mean imagine if when the 12 months to 1 million video hit and it was doing hundreds of thousands of views per month that I committed to being the million dollar business guy at that time.

I think knowing you then you would have been. There was a lot of resistance.

I didn't want to be defined by that.

Yeah, that's kind of cheesy. I don't want to be this Amazon million dollar guy.

Right, right.

I didn't like the Amazon guy because I've never been good at Amazon. Something about it being the million dollar business guy is like, oh yeah, I'm totally that. Right. And now I can use that as a way to bring like if I wanna talk about Biden, I can say, well, Biden's tax policy and here's how it affects your million dollar business. Amazon made a change. How does this affect your million dollar business? Whereas when it was the Amazon guy or even the capitalism guy.

There was difficulty tying that back to a central message. In fact, strategically, what we just did, the ryan Daniel Moran YouTube is we're doing two videos a week that are all building million dollar businesses. And Alex just launched the second YouTube channel, Capitalism TV, that does all our interviews, our Capcom keynotes, it's our video podcast, it's our wine with wins, it's like all the other stuff and we'll find that branding and messaging as it grows. But I now feel very confident that staying in the lane of being the seven figure business guy will result in the growth that we always expected. And it's okay that it took me 10 years of content to figure out what everybody else saw was obvious. It's okay that I'm not as big as I thought I would be because I wasn't ready then anyway and now I am.

Well, I like this idea of doing kind of whatever content you want, whatever fires you up through that lens because I really hope you don't neuter yourself from not talking about philosophy. And like, I'm a big believer in that. Like, people attach to personal brands because they see that person as a fully three dimensional human being where there's just all these little details that don't actually matter that actually help you create an emotional connection to that person. It could be, you know, Joe Rogan, he's really crazy about elk and DMT and hunting and just even, even little stuff. I think I've heard Ramit Sethi talk about how much he loves like super fancy cardigans and sweaters and stuff. Like that's his splurge and.

But you would have never followed Ramit Sethi if he was just talking about his cardigan sweater.

No, of course not. That's gotta be like a footnote that's got like a little sprinkle of personality on top of I came here for this. But also if your personality slips into it and leaks out, then now we're building a connection. Me as a consumer of content and you as a creator of content.

That's exactly right. You just nailed it. I like that that container needs to be there. Of why do people trust you? And what is that positioning in the marketplace? And it just took me 10 years and finally hiring a specialist to help me answer that question. And it was probably obvious to everybody else.

Well, you're more patient than most. I mean, 10 years is a long time of doing YouTube videos.

Yeah, yeah. I'm stubbornly committed.

That's the real secret to success. Stubborn commitment.

Amen. Yes, man.

Okay, this gives me a question. I just have to ask. It's so cliche now, but if you had a billboard, Ryan, and you could put one message non commercial on the side of the road, what would be the sentence or slogan you want to put out there to the world?

You are enough.

You are enough. I really tried in that sentence to think of a different tagline, but it would just be, you are enough or abundance abounds, freedom abounds, goodness abounds.

You are what you believe.

All of those.

I think that's enough.

Good to see you, my friend.

Right, man. Well, this is fun.

Thanks for. Thanks for having me on the show.

Thanks for Sharing the state of the empire. All right, capitalists. Well, there's one important thing I left out, or maybe felt too timid and awkward to include in this conversation as I was focused on trying to ask good questions. And that's just to say thank you publicly to Ryan for the opportunity to get to work together and, and grow together all these years. I started working with Ryan almost five years ago, and I'm a big believer in the idea that you are the average of the five people you spend most of your time with. And when you spend a lot of time with someone like Ryan Moran, well, you can't help but level up your mindset and beliefs and way of operating and moving through the world. And the time we've spent together has really changed my life for the better. You know, in a lot of ways, Ryan and I are very different, but I always felt like we connected very deeply on this value of simply wanting more out of life. We nerd out about biohacking and health and politics and personal development and business strategy because we don't want to accept the status quo ways of thinking about the world and settle for a mediocre life. And if you're listening to this show, I think I'm describing you too. So if there's one thing I've learned from Ryan over all these years, it is to surround yourself with good people that really light you up inside and challenge you to think bigger. Whether that's physically or in digital communities or masterminds, it truly is the fast lane to freedom. As always, thanks for listening. And if you enjoy this show, do me one favor. Can you give us a five star review on Apple Podcasts if you haven't already? It actually isn't that obvious how to do this, but you just scroll down past the recent episodes to ratings and reviews and boom, you're there. Alright, thank you. And we'll see. See you on the next episode.