Episode 050: Gerard Adams - The Millennial Mentor - Elite Daily - FOWNDERS - Leaders Create Leaders

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This is the Rise of the Young podcast, bringing you insights from the most innovative entrepreneurs and influencers of this era. Hosted by 17 year old entrepreneur, author, public speaker and branding expert, Casey Adams. Now let's get right into the show.

What is up, everyone? Casey Adams here. Welcome to the Rise of the Young podcast. Today we have episode 50 with we have a special guest. It's a pleasure to have you on, man. We have Mr. Gerard Adams with us today. And first off, man, pleasure having you on.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Absolutely. So before we get started, man, I know I've been following you for the last year and a half, two years, and you just, you've impacted me so much. It was just such a pleasure to have you on, man. But for the people that don't know everyone, this man, he started an amazing business. He got it acquired in mid-20s. So for everyone listening, I'd love to just give you a brief introduction before we get started.

Sure. Well, first of all, I'm so, I'm so happy to be on because I've seen how much you've grown and the impact that you're making on this generation and in your generation on Gen Z. And it's, it's inspiring. You know, I see a lot of myself in you in the sense of like you stepping up as a leader for, for your generation, going out there and telling stories and being. Episode 50 is kind of cool too because if leaders create leaders, you know, season three, we had just hit our 50, our 50 mark as well, so that's pretty. So I appreciate being on. You know, for me it's, it's crazy though, like, because it's been 15 years that I've been an entrepreneur and a lot of times people want me to come and speak about the success of my last company, Elite Daily. Everybody knows me of having that exit for 50 million to a multi billion dollar media company. But the truth of the matters is that like everybody wants to talk about the highlight reel, you know, saying we're so used to that with the gram, but they don't want to know about the truth behind it all on what it truly took. So as although people see that success, they don't really know that like prior to that, you know, it was just like so many years of different businesses, angel investing, partnering with other entrepreneurs, launching different companies. I had at one point in my early career, I made my first 10 million by the time I was 24. But then I had invested in on the stock market, the economy crashed. I lost all of the money that had saved up at that time. And that was like a pivotal moment in my life of ego. And a lot of people don't know that I had created that kind of financial freedom in my life prior to Elite Daily. Yeah, Daily was like my comeback.

Yeah.

I'll never forget like when that happened and I lost all that money before the Daily, like I, you know, I literally, my ego was shattered. Like I didn't know if I'd be able to come back.

Yeah.

From losing and finally, finally making it and feeling like I finally be able to give back to my family, my mom, my dad, everything that they've done for me. And then just like one day feeling like I have it all, you know, I had everything you can that, at that, at that time you can dream of, you know, like for me then it was like I wanted to be rich. So I had like the Bentleys and the Ferraris and a Penthouse and I'm traveling all over the world and I'm doing what I want, when I want. I would go into a sneaker store and literally buy every pair of like Nike dunks that were on the shelf. Like, you know, and it was just like that kind of freedom felt amazing. So when you finally get to that point and then if you like end up losing, it could, you know, you're, it's, it's, it's worse than ever than never getting it at all. It's worse because it's like kind of like you made it and then all of a sudden if your character's not prepared for that kind of success, it, Money can come and go.

Yeah.

So coming back from that was really, it was really a true test. And because of my mother, she was my mom and dad, my first mentors before all the mentors I've brought into my life at this point. But she told me that when she immigrated here from Colombia. My mom's Colombian. And she, when she immigrated here, they had a one bedroom apartment, basically a family of like my grandparents and then her brothers and sisters. So it ended being like about six people in this little one bedroom studio apartment. And it caught on fire and they lost everything. And then because of that fire, she went and got a job on Canal street in New York City. And my mom starts crying to me, telling me this when she was, you know, and I didn't know this point, I didn't know this in my mid-20s. And she basically was like, I never wanted to tell you that, but, you know, I went through our family losing everything. And we came to this country with literally not even a dollar in our pocket, but nothing. Yeah. So after finally getting, you know, you finally, you know, get that little apartment and imagine losing that for sure. Sixteen years old, having to go get a job in the winter in New York watching stands just to help a food on the table. She's like, so if I was able to get through that and rebuild and build a family, then you can lose all the money in the world, but you need to continue to just keep working on this, Keep working on this and go out there and do it again. Don't let anything stop you from doing it again, but this time be smarter, you know? And that was the inspiration I needed to go and start Elite Daily, which then led to the comeback story.

That is. That's insane. Yeah, for sure, man. So I feel like the biggest thing, the way I resonate with you, and I know you come from a small town in Jersey. I have family that comes from Jersey. And when I first started watching you, man, like, it's just something about the content. The way you said it just really resonated with me from the younger generation. So for everyone that's watching, listening, when it comes to just when you were 18. 17, 18, like, what was your current situation mindset and like, where were you originally from during that time?

I mean, right before I was 8, so. So at 17 years old, I hustled in a weed. I was like the dealer was like dealing out. So, you know, you can get Reed basically, anyway. But, you know, I was hustling weed at 17 years old, and I'm not proud of it, but I was actually great at it.

Yeah.

And I didn't realize, like, how much the skills of me being a young husband growing up led to being entrepreneurial for sure. So when. So what ended up happening? My mindset going into 18 years old was crazy because you Know, here I am at 17, and I finally. And I'm like. And I'm hustling, you know what I'm saying? Like, I feel good. I'm making money. I got the cars came out and like, a car to me was all I ever wanted. Turning 17 because it meant freedom. So I remember, you know, I finally got my clips. I'm, you know, I'm hustling, and one day I get pulled over by the cops when I was dropping off to, funny story, my friend's mom, who would buy for me apartment on the ground floor. And I never forget that day. I'll tell you the short end of the story, but long story short, cops surround me without me knowing, and I'm like, okay, my. My whole life flashed before my eyes was like, this is it. Like, I'm going to be a failure. And lo and behold, somebody was committing grand theft auto right in front of me. And the cops literally end up arresting the person in front of, wow. Telling me, hey, kid, get out of here. I left that day like, okay, hold up. Like, I was about to go to jail. Could have completely ruined my entire life. I got a second chance. Like, what am I going to do with it? And that was the day that I was like, I'm going to shift my mindset from being a hustler on the streets to a hustler in business. And so 18. I went to college because I wanted to make my mom and dad, you know, I wanted to kind of like pursue what was told to us by our parents, like, as to become successful. So I went to go to college route. But my first semester in college, I was like, man, this is a, you know, and I'm Pro education at college is adapted to entrepreneurship. At the time, there was no entrepreneurship classes. And I just remember getting, like, seeing the amount of debt you had to get into. They're telling me what class to take in order to earn certain credits to get to the classes I wanted to take. And I was like, yo, if this ain't in a business, like, this is like one of the biggest businesses in the world. And they're just. And I'm the sucker buying into it, you know? And I was like, the Internet is the move. Like, there's no reason why I can't find a mentor. You know, learn from a real experience, not from theory, and put it into practice and, you know, and actually learn how to become successful. So I found that mentor and that mentality of, like, you know what? It's my life. No one's going to hand me, hand anything to me, I have to take ownership of it. There's no plan B, only plan A. So if you're going to drop out, don't drop out to be a degenerate. Drop out because you're going to go all in for sure. At like really becoming the best version of myself. Becoming a great. What does it mean to become a great entrepreneur? How to launch a real business. And so, so that's what I did. I dropped out. And at 18 it was all about just growth, man. Like yeah, I want to hustle, but I had the mindset of like making money. Money was the motive for me. Where it's like now it's definitely more impact. It's not that I don't want to continue to create wealth in my life, but my, my strategy is different now where it's more impact driven and bringing value and how I'm help creating the next greatest entrepreneurs in the world and making them get to that next level. Rather than just like in the beginning it was more of, and this is what I'm teaching now is like how to actually become a digital entrepreneur and create income in your life. How do you. So you have revenue? Because it's true, like you're not a real entrepreneur if you don't make money. Yeah, you know, that's just the truth. Doesn't mean that you're not, you're, you know, you're not a good person. But if you don't know how to actually make a profit, you know, you.

Don'T know how to.

Yeah, it's a hobby, you know. And I think, you know, I think one of the biggest milestones for me at that age was becoming a millionaire. For me was like, I want to be a self made millionaire. I want to do it while my, I'm young, in my young 20s, because I don't want anybody to ever tell me what to do ever. If I want to go and I want to take a plane and I want to travel the world, if I want to go buy those sneakers, if I want to go, you know, get, you know, whatever. Like if I want to eat dinner every single night at the best restaurants, if I want to go to the club and pop bottles, if I want to go to a Ferrari and test drive it and say, all right, I want to take one of those home, I want a penthouse. If I want to like this freedom. Yeah, freedom. If I want to go and surprise my mom and dad with a car, like I could get all those things.

I would do it.

Yeah, you know, so he was. That was it, you know, like, that was it.

That's what's up. That's the truth, man. And I, coming from a small town, I'm sure you know as well, it's like you never hear that sort of thing, you know, it's like coming from you sitting right here and following your content. It's like, where I'm from, man, like, you never even hear that side of the planet, you know, the entrepreneurship, the stories, and I feel like just the current generation, it's just. That's why, like, everything you're doing is just so impactful, you know?

It's cool, man. It's dope.

Super dope.

In a better time, I'm seeing all you, the young, young entrepreneurs on the rise. You know what I'm saying? Just. Just completely.

You.

You all. You have so many resources now.

Too many.

You have mentors. Like, I feel like I'm a big brother to you.

Yeah.

You know, I want to be here for you as a big brother, as a mentor to all of you. To you. That's why I'm doing this. I got your back. Because that's why my show's called Leaders Create leaders, not followers. You know what I mean? At the end of the day, that's why I'm successful, is I was able to find mentors in my life to relate to that help guide me. That's only one part of it, Right? Like I always say, hard work comes before the dream, so you can have the best mentor in the world, but if you're not willing to put in the work, nothing's going to happen. But if you're willing to put in the work and you're willing to surround yourself with the right circle of influence, right? Who you're hanging out with and the right mentors in your life, that's the formula, you know, you will succeed. It's inevitable if you're patient. So for me, I want to just be that mentor. I want to be that role model. I want to be that leader. That is someone out here to guide you to be somebody who y' all can see, like, okay, you know, G was able to do it. I was a young kid from a small town, just like you.

That's how I resonate so much with you, man.

Same thing, man. The first time I went to go buy my Ferrari, you know, they were like, this kid can't buy. They tried to close it down on no way. They told me, go home.

That's insane. You know, like mid-20s.

Yeah. You know, so it's like, you know, they, and then, and then they judged me, you know, and because I'm Hispanic and you know, it was, it was a tough, it was a tough feeling. But like, I know the feel that, the feeling of like having that, having that freedom, that self made freedom, there's nothing greater than that in the world. And that's why my motive right now is to help find the entrepreneurs, the aspiring entrepreneurs too, that want to really, truly create self made freedom in their life.

Yeah, for sure, man. So obviously talk about leadership. Leaders create leaders as your show. And it's funny because I asked Andy for Sal this question as well. So when it comes to leadership, I know that you've inspired and really dwelled that into your content. It's impacted me when it comes to just creating my inner leader, trying to be the leader for people that follow me and all that sort of stuff. So for you, what's your definition of a leader and what makes a good leader really stand out from one another?

So for me it's all about like, you know, finding the leader within. You know, I used to think that a leader was, you know, some title and like meant the fact that like you were, you're, you're the, you're the CEO, right? Like, I love working with CEOs and building, building founders and CEOs, but you know, and I used to think that being a leader just meant, you know, being someone who is inspiring, obviously building a team, helping guide the team. But I realized that like leadership now is, is so much internal first. Before you can ever lead anyone, if you ever think that you're gonna be a great leader and be able to create a great culture where you'll have an unbelievable team around you. Like, you need to find that leader within yourself. And for me that means truly understanding what your values are, understanding what your belief system is like, really holding yourself to a standard where it's like, you know, you every single day are living by those values. You know, you're pushing yourself to be better every single day. You're inspiring the people around you, regardless if it's the garbage man or a billionaire. You know, you are living authentically to your truth every single day. You're okay with your imperfections, you're okay with like your failures, you're okay. But you, you're like every single day, no matter what, you're pushing yourself to be better and better and better. And you're a living, living, breathing example. I think we live in a time where, and I think we're seeing a Huge shift in humanity. I talked about this in my finale. You know, where our generation has gone from. I feel like so many of them are sheep. You know, everyone's paying attention to what everybody else is doing. Everybody wants to copy everybody, everybody cares about how many followers you have. Everybody wants that blue check on their profile, you know, and I get it, you know, because it's. Social media is dope. You know, I'm saying it's cool.

Yeah.

But I think being a leader more now than ever is figuring out who you are on the inside. Like digging deep to understand what it is. What is it that you actually want to bring to the world? What do you want to bring to the world? How do you want people to really see you and know you pass the Instagram pictures when they actually meet Physically, physically, like, how are you making people feel? How are people inspired by you and you sharing that message that, you know, you want to inspire others to find their truth and to live out their truth. And I think that's the kind of leaders that we need right now.

That is the truth, man, for sure. And I think a lot of young people, coming from what you said about like seeing all the perfectness or seeing all of this or that, like people, they tend to feel down about themselves and they think, oh, I can't do something because they see someone else's life, they think it's picture perfect and all that stuff. So regarding not leadership, but just accountability for yourself, Obviously anyone that has created and really built something of scale has accountability. They have success tips that they've been able to really program within themselves. So what's been like the three biggest things that keep you grounded day to day, that keep you going and keep you on track towards things you're working on?

Yeah, for sure. I mean, self accountability is so important, you know, I think it's also important when you have a mentor in your life or, you know, it's something that I offer with my clients. You know, if I'm working with people, like, I always try to help give them that only strategy, but also like helping them be accountable because it's so easy to get distracted nowadays. But ultimately, like, you yourself have to hold yourself accountable. And I think mastering that discipline is super important. I mean, for me, the first thing is just clarity. Like no matter what, it's being very clear as to where I'm going, like, what are my clear goals and this quarter, you know, this year and like, you know, reverse engineering all the way to like a daily basis so that I know that like hey, where am I focusing my time? Is it really leading me to like my ultimate goal, you know, both from an impact standpoint and an income standpoint for my business, for myself. So I think just you know, getting clear and making sure that you understand what is your vision, where are you going? Where are, what are your goals? You know what I mean? And writing those goals out and reverse engineering all the way down from a yearly to a quarterly basis, down to a monthly basis, all the way down to okay, every single day. What are the micro things you to do to actually, you know, be able to hit the macro vision, right? I think your daily like routine, self made routine is so important for me. Just like meditating is really my personal, my sleep is really important.

Yeah.

Like I used to be when I was your age. The truth is I would work till 4 or 5 in the morning every night. So I ain't hating on anybody.

The late nights for sure.

I'm just talking about for me now, I think there's so much noise that if you could every day make sure like obviously you get a good night's sleep and then you actually have your goals, right? You start writing your goals the night before. When you wake up, you're reviewing your goals. But then you also just meditate. Just like, just really, really like take some time to clear the air, you know, think through. Like how am I gonna focus today? For me, the meditation, even for 15 minutes, it just gives me a whole nother level of energy and focus because it's so easy. The first thing you do when you wake up, what do you do?

Take your phone.

Boom. And then what happens? You're on your phone.

That's like your phone get distracted.

Like you're immediately pulled in, you're scrolling, your mind goes everywhere, you're overwhelmed instantly. So all I'm saying is like the meditation part, you know, really having a routine to like meditate, put your phone away, get clear as like yo, like calmly envisioning, you know, envisioning like what it is that you're looking to accomplish where you're going when you're clear with that like getting. Yeah, I think that's, that's huge for.

Me.

And I don't know, the next thing for me is like just execution, bro.

That's the main, you know, I mean that's the only part of my, my.

Accountability is single day making sure to complete tasks. I think so many people, even developers, if you hire someone to build a website so many times or an app like so many times, they'll build it to the 80%, the last 10%, it's not even there. It's like, when are we getting.

Yeah.

So my, my thing is like one of my accountability. My routines is like, finish the job, it's done. It's like my favorite thing to my team, to myself. And, and even if you make a mistake, you launch it, whatever, that's okay because you're going to figure it, you're going to adapt to the market, you're going to test. But like, don't be afraid to finish and launch. Get things out there. Like, that's the only way that you're ultimately going to grow.

That's what's up. So with team building, you say. Because I know that you brought up like keeping your team accountable. I know building something such as Elite Daily, you've developed a team inside that organization. And I feel like a lot of people that make money online or whatever it may be, but people that are building real companies, people that are developing teams and really trying to manage people. Someone like you that's really been able to do that successfully. What do you think are like the biggest things people need to know with, like, managing people, developing teams that get things done consistently and effectively.

Guys, a loaded question. There's so many different things. I mean, I love working, Mike. I think I owe all my success to my team.

Yeah.

You know, ultimately, I think where it all starts is self awareness, you know, and just really understanding, like what you're great at. What is it that you love to do? What are you actually great at? Consistently trying to push yourself to learn different skills. But ultimately, building a good team means putting people around you to do the shit you don't want to do and you're not good at.

Yeah.

So go and find someone who actually is good at it, is passionate about it, put them in the place where they're gonna win. And like, that ultimately is. Is how you're gonna actually, like, really build that team, you know, and it's having those people that you can delegate to that, doing the things that you don't love to do. And I think too many times entrepreneurs get caught up wanting to do everything, wear every hat. Jack of all trades. I was like that. Yeah, you like a jack of all trades.

Yeah. Trying to be Superman.

Exactly.

Yeah.

I think you need to learn how to actually, you know, really have that self awareness. What is it that you're good at and drop the ego and put people around you that, that can fill in those positions. One thing that I, you know, one thing is, is. Is communication. Skills is everything like learning how to be a great listener, learning how to build rapport. That's good in sales, that's good in building your team. You know, I think those are all like the emotional intelligence, like skills that you need to, to really master so that you have, you do have empathy for others. You can put yourself in their shoes, you can empower them, inspire them ultimately, like if you're a great leader, you're someone who's really an inspiring person. You're good at storytelling, you're good at selling the mission. You know, got to like. And I think that's a huge part of building your team. You know, stepping up as a leader and having the EQ to understand and have the awareness of like who is on your team. Having empathy for them, pushing them, motivating them, putting them in a position where they're going to grow, but yet they're still challenged. And also like I would say, I would say get up, get a piece of paper, draw it down into a quadrant, right down the line and across and there's four buckets. There's people with high skill and high will. Then there's people with low skill, high will. Then there's people with low skill, low will. Right. And then there's people with high skill, low will. And I think whenever you like work with someone, where do they fit in that category? Because ultimately what I would tell you about building a team is this. You want people that ride or die for you. You want the people that, of course you want people that are high skill and high will. You have somebody who's high skill and high will go in winning. Right. That's the first you want on your team. But if you also find someone who's low skill, high will, you still want them on your team. Why? Because like you don't need to have a massive team, you just need the right people. You. I've built multi million dollar companies with literally like two, three people. Yeah, you know what I mean? But they weren't the most skilled, but they were ride or die. They were with it and everything to see it through for the mission, for the purpose. Those are the kind of people you want on your team. Because even though they have low skill, they can learn the skills. You can invest into programs, you can hire mentors like myself to work with them, to help build them up, you can help mentor them, but it's really hard to find loyalty, it's hard to find hard work, it's hard to find people that are really willing to grind.

Yeah.

You know and eat dirt with you. Right? So I think those. That's what you need to analyze. And then if somebody is low skill, low will, cancer, no shot in hell.

Yeah.

And so sometimes you'll find someone with high skill, and you're like, this person is so talented, but low will. And they actually don't have the character. They don't bring it to culture. They don't get along with others. They're not team players. They're egotistical.

Right.

They are cancers. And even though they may have high skill, you cut them. Because what matters most is that you build a culture of high morale. People empowering each other, inspiring each other, and literally respectful, grateful for each other, even if it's somebody. At Elite Daily, we praise the janitor. Like, we made him.

That is so dope. Yeah.

You know, he was like a pop Marley guy, redhead. Like, we had, you know, he was part of us. You treated everybody the same, no matter what. And that's the kind of culture that you want to build. If you want to be a successful leader and build a successful team, that is what's up.

That's the truth. So I noticed that everything's people. You know, it's whether that be the team, your mentors, your network, and something with you. When it comes to, like, whether that be going from selling drugs to now being in a position to where you are now, obviously there's a change of people. And that's something that I've seen in my life when it comes to where I'm from or the people that I used to surround myself with versus now. So with you, what's your mindset on just networking when it comes to the young people watching and listening, how important is it to really separate yourself from a negative situation, to really surround yourself with mentors and the right people?

Yeah, I mean, I talk about it all the time. I mean, look, if there's three core takeaways from this interview, it's, you know, it's one, find a mentor, right? Find a mentor in your life. It's just one person. Two, surround yourself with the right community. And then three, commit. Take ownership of your life. Commit to yourself, bet on yourself, commit to this. The fact that you genuinely want to succeed and that it's. It's on you. You know what I'm saying? And that means you have to lie completely in you. And it's gonna be ups and downs, but you're committed. And that middle one, the community, is everything. Because I think that. I think it's. What is the. What is the Statistic, I believe it's out of the five people you hang.

Out with.

If you do the average of all of their income, like, you are literally the average. I think it's like, what is that? What is that?

Where's Brian?

Brian, you are the 20 to 25% of your 5 friends network. You're 25% of your 5 friends net worth. Is that what it is?

Wow. Yeah.

So think about that, right? Like, you're within 25% bright, you know, range of your. Your net worth will be the five people you surround yourself.

Yeah.

So analyze it doesn't mean that you may not have some friends that you want to go out every once in a while. Party.

Yeah, yeah.

But the five people you spend your most time with, are they really, truly pushing themselves? Like, pushing you, empowering you? Like, are they out for greatness? Are they out with a billion dollar mindset? Like, I have a billion dol mindset, you know, period?

Yeah.

You know what I mean? I already know I'm a billionaire. You know, I'm saying, like, I just. That's it. Like, I'm gonna treat myself, you know, in that. In that way. Because once you have that belief, it's already yours. It's inevitable. It may not be right now, but as long as you believe it and you are acting, you know, every day as if, because you believe it. Like you're putting your actions, you're working on, your mind, your body, your soul. Every day you're hustling, you're focused on, you know, that's the kind of people I want to be around. And regardless, you know, regardless. Even for me, like, it's. It's not all correlated to the amount of money they make. Because I don't necessarily care how much money you make. I care about how you actually are living your life. Like, if you are pursuing greatest. Because I've been at a point in my life where I've been like, broke, lost my money, but I was dedicated every day not to let that hold me down. I was dedicated every day to serving. I was dedicated to build skills and to like, you know, bounce back. And because of that, I built my next company to 50 million. Right. So, you know, it's just a matter of, like, find the people around you that inspire you, that are pushing, that are willing to die, that are doing the work. If they're smoking weed all day, you don't want to be around them. Plain and simple.

Yeah.

You know, and it's not. Well, you know, some people actually work better.

Yeah.

But I'm just saying, like, some people who are just, like, taking life, you know, and not really understanding the gift that we have. You know, if we're lucky, we have a hundred years. We last to 100.

Yeah.

You know, by the time you're 20, 25, you know, you already lived a quarter of your life. There's, like, a limited window, and I think, like, when you're, like, 18 years old, to, like, that 25, you know, call it even 30.

Yeah.

That window, those, like, 12 years is like your prime to go all in on yourself, to get ahead.

Yeah.

You know what I mean? Billionaires in their, like, 40s and 50s. What's stopping you? Like, you're the generation that has it. Like, that has everything right in front of you. Like, you have all the leaders that look up to you, the resources you have the technology. Like, I want one of you, whoever is watching this, I want to see one of you become a billionaire within the next, before you're 30, in your 20s. Like, impact a billion lives. Like, who is it gonna be? Because there's nothing stopping you.

That's the truth, man. So one last thing before I let you go, man. I mean, this is just amazing, man. Just, like, I think the biggest thing about young entrepreneurs or young people in general that watch this, that follow me, that follow you, is just the lack of action. You know, you could learn everything. And I feel like I was in that stage at a part of my life where it's like, you're taking in everything, but you're not putting out anything. So the last thing to really help people jump that curve, what's the one thing that really would allow someone that's young to really get things moving from your perspective?

Just start. You know, at the end of the day, the best. One of the best lessons I ever learned, like, when I started Lead Daily, my last company, even when I started founders.

Right.

Like, right now, I'm building founders.

Yeah.

A platform for entrepreneurs. And basically, like, when I started it, I didn't, you know, I didn't have, like, the whole perfect business plan laid out just yet. And, you know, and then I basically, I started thinking about, like, oh, how amazing this platform is going to be, and the end, you know, this huge vision. And I think, like, a lot of times you can get so caught up in that business plan, that huge vision, that you. You forget to just, like, all right, what's step one? Like, how do I get an mvp? How do I just, like, test the market and see what people actually want? See if there's actually A demand for my product, service or technology, whatever you're creating. And I've seen a lot of people waste a lot of time and a lot of money overthinking and trying to perfect everything and. And nine out of ten times, they wasted a hell of a lot of money, including myself, and a hell of a lot of time that you'll not get back. So the best thing that you can do, like we did this really daily, is just start. We bought a domain name for 9.99 on GoDaddy. We built it on a WordPress site, and we literally just started interviewing each other, interviewing our friends, posting content, getting it going, you know what I'm saying? And then slowly adapting, slowly figuring it out along the way. And I think that's what it is. Like, it's about the process. You know, you guys hear this all the time, but it's about. It's about the journey. So the sooner that you start, you got this podcast going, before you know, you're at 50 episodes.

Yeah.

You know, literally every episode is going to get better and better and better and better. I started Leaders Create Leaders. You know, if I would have waited to know if the name's gonna be perfect, if the. You know, how the content's gonna be and everything, like, I probably never would have gotten it. Yeah, it is today. So it's just like, just start and embrace the process, and before you know it, you'll be looking back and saying, like, you know, yeah, 50th episode. Yeah, literally with my mentor, for sure.

Absolutely, man. That's the truth. So for everyone watching, I'm sure a lot of you guys already follow Gerard, but if not all the links will be in the description, you'll be able to check them out. Go to Founders. What's the. What's the correct. The website.

Yeah. So founders.com it's spelled with the word own in the middle. Because we all talk about, like, taking ownership of your life, your destiny. So it's F O W N d e r s.com or just follow me at gerardadams. Also, I'm launching right now a program called Self Made Freedom that'll give you the strategy and accountability that basically I wish I had when I was 18, 19 years old on how I actually made my first million dollars, how I actually became a real digital entrepreneur. So I've been wanting to do this for a really long time. I feel like this is something that I wish I had when I first started, for sure. So actually that's what we've been working on.

Yeah, I'm gonna be in it. You already know.

Thank you. Thank you. So if you guys are interested in that also, you can sign up@gerardadams.com for sure.

So everyone, that being said, make sure you go there. Like I said, the link will be in the description. And last thing. I appreciate you coming on, Gerard. Thank you. For sure. It's a pleasure. Absolute.

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