Episode 056: Alex Morton - Momentum Catalyst, Entrepreneur, Author, Featured in Rolling Stone & Forbes

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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.

Today on episode 56, we have someone it's really a pleasure to have on. Mr. Alex Morton is here with us today. Alex, I really appreciate you coming on the show today.

Hundred percent, man. Glad I could find it in my schedule and super proud of everything you've been doing. So excited to be here and you know, just give, give, give, give for sure, man.

So, I mean, obviously I know I've been connected with you for the last year, year and a half, but before we kind of get into like the interview asking questions, I'd love for you to just fill in a brief introduction about what you, what you actually do just so the audience can know more about yourself before we get into it.

Yeah, you know, growing up, I wanted a lot of the same things that everybody, everybody wants. I wanted, I wanted money. I didn't have any. And I wanted, I wanted freedom. So, you know, obviously there's, I could go into a story of the last, you know, eight years of my entrepreneurial career. However, what I do now is I actually serve as the vice president of a. It's a foreign exchange educational company that's kind of like the front end. We teach people how to trade, we teach people how to invest the right way because obviously in society we're programmed the wrong way. That's why most people struggle financially. But on the back end, I have a personal brand Alex Morton mindset. And what I do is I basically just teach people what I've been taught over the last eight years that's allowed me to basically travel the world, do whatever I want and what gets me going is seeing other people like yourself winning at high levels for sure, man.

Yeah, definitely. Just wanted something brief to start that off, man, because I know regarding that, I just wanted you kind of give a brief interest that I was definitely on point, so kind of to take it back. This is definitely where I want to know, number one, just where are you from originally? I'd love to see. Just let the people know your story in a sense.

Yeah. So, you know, I'm from a small town in Ohio, Bexley, Ohio. You know, good old Midwest. And you know, growing up, we were middle class America. So I was very fortunate to have good parents, entrepreneurial parents that I saw what hard work looked like, I saw what sacrifice looked at at a young age. So as I got older, it was just normal to me to want to work hard and to dream big. I remember my dad giving me the magic of thinking big in fifth grade. Rich dad, poor dad in seventh grade. So I always had some really good guidance from my parents. But growing up, my grades were never the best in school. I think I had a 2.98 GPA. Made the honor roll a few times in high school. You know, played sports. I love football, basketball and tennis and whatnot. But I always knew I was going to find something to get passionate about. And it just so happened to be, you know, marketing. But I just knew that if I could get my hands on some opportunity, right, something where I could have unlimited earning potential, I was willing to do whatever it would take to become successful. And like a lot of young guys, you know, when you're young and you're 18 and you're, you know, 21 years old, you only want a few things. So I had to find that, that, that vehicle and that platform to give me, you know, what I desired out of life at a young age.

For sure, man. So. So you said like back to kind of take it back to high school in a sense, because that's. I know a lot of young listeners that are listening. I'm in high school. A lot of people that view my content, they're in high school or they're in college or whatever it may be, but so just kind of take it back. Like I said in high school, were you doing anything entrepreneurial or did you work a job or what did that look kind of look like?

Yeah, well, it's funny because I actually have vivid memories of being in like chemistry class. And I remember having the book, it was actually written by Donald Trump, which is funny because he's the President now. But it was called. I think it was called Think Big and Kick Ass was literally the title of this book. And I remember Ms. Blanchard, my chemistry teacher, getting upset at me because I had this book inside of my. Inside of my textbook. So I was always into entrepreneurship. I remember starting a cookie business with my friend David. My last name is Morton, so M. And his last name was Edelstein E. So we had M and E cookies. We literally baked these things in my. In my kitchen in Bexley. And then we sold them in the hallways of Bexley High School until we got caught enough and got in trouble because you couldn't sell things I. On a high school campus. But I always had a knack for, you know, selling things, marketing, doing. Doing things differently.

Okay, for sure. That's dope. Even for me. Like, I started selling, like, wristbands at school. It was like Razzie and wristbands back in sophomore year. I was selling them until they're like, damn, like, you can't sell them anymore. You get caught. So that's hilarious, right?

Right? Yeah, I know. It's just something in our. In our DNA that, you know, we're always selling and we're always marketing something somewhere.

For sure, man. Yeah, I was doing kind of, like, regarding some research on you. So you. You went to College. It was 2008, correct?

Yes, 2008. I left Ohio and went to Arizona State University. Yup.

So what was that experience like from a college standpoint? Business standpoint. What was happening in those years?

Yeah, well, college standpoint, it was amazing. I mean, the nickname was Spring Break University. And it was funny because I got. When we were all applying to different colleges, people were applying to Ohio State, and I had a buddy go to Stanford and Cornell and, you know, Indiana and all these, like, smarter schools. And I remember sitting there like, man, you know, my GPA and test scores, like, I'm not going to get into really any of these good schools. So I saw Arizona State. I googled it. I saw pool parties. I saw, you know, the women in Arizona, they don't make those in Ohio type of thing. You know, college was fun, man. But, you know, my freshman year, I got in a lot of trouble. I actually got written up too many times for. It was either alcohol. One night, it was, you know, being disrespectful. The other night, it was being too loud. And it got to a point where I actually got a knock on my door, 18 years old. And it was the Tempe police. And they said, you have you 24 hours to vacate the. The premise, you're gonna get. You're gonna get arrested and go to jail for trespassing. So that was kind of like, oh, my gosh, I can't just party my whole life. I have to do something different.

Yeah, yeah. So was that sort of like they kicked you out or did you kind of bypass that? Super interesting.

Well, I got kicked out. I mean, I got kicked out of the dorms and I actually had a good friend named Taran who are still friends to this day. She had. She actually has a big vegan Instagram page that makes a six figure income selling clothing and, you know, tote bags and stuff about, you know, veganism, which is pretty crazy. But I actually slept in her dorm, so she let me sleep, like in her roommates, like, bed, and I had to, like, use a card to get meals and all this crazy stuff to take my exams. And it was just a big mess. It was a big mess. But, you know, it made me adapt and it made me figure out ways to get creative in overcoming challenges.

For sure. I totally agree with that. So regarding, like, everything you do now, I know you traveling. I saw a lot of your content on Instagram. Amazing speaker. I've checked out a lot of stuff and you've definitely inspired me. So kind of when it comes to the college standpoint and then now what you're doing, traveling, speaking in front of, on stages and stuff like that, when was the transition with that? Was it during college? Was it after? When did you kind of transition into what you're doing?

Well, I found out pretty quickly once I got started, you know, speaking right in my company, I started to do some pretty, pretty cool things and, you know, hitting high levels as a young person in different marketing companies. So I was getting put on platforms, getting put up on pedestals, and speaking in front of 10 people. Then it was 30 people. And then I think the largest crowd was like 12,000 people in Vegas. So it started small. You know, it started with two people in a dorm room talking about a vision, talking about a dream. And then over the years, it just got bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. But I realized that I can move people, I can move people emotionally through, through my language, right through my language, through, you know, tonality and voice inflections, all these different things. So I decided to really use that to my advantage in. In the business world.

Okay, so was speaking something that always came natural to you or was it like, when you started speaking, was it hard at first?

I mean, man, my first My first speech was in front of 10 people in my dorm room. And I remember I was so nervous, I actually, I chugged two Bud Lights, Hell yeah. In the refrigerator to calm my nerves. And these are like 10 of my best friends. So the answer is no. It definitely didn't just come naturally. I mean, I know I have some God given ability to do certain things, but I got nervous just like everybody else. You get sweaty hands and you start hyperventilating and stuff like that. But you just gotta always remember that no matter what you say, people clap. That's what I tell all the younger speakers that I work with is like, listen, no matter what you say, they're here to see you, they're here to learn from you. And no matter what you say, they're gonna clap. So just chill out and do your thing.

That's what's up, man. So I wanna get you a number regarding how many speeches you've done. So everyone listening can kind of get it. Cause I've seen you've been traveling everywhere, man. Like how many speeches have you done?

I mean, I honest to God, I can't even put a number on it. It's definitely in, it's in the thousands, probably 40 states in America, 17 cities in Mexico, five different cities in Canada. Then you're talking about 10 countries in South America, all over Europe. I mean, I've been to 30, I've been over 30 countries around the world teaching, coaching, training, mentoring people on really the keys to the kingdom and how to get whatever you want out of life. And that's where I find my most joy, is waking people up to the idea that they have greatness inside of them. They just have to kind of operate by universal law and live their life a certain way and. And they'll get whatever they want for sure, man.

So kind of to flip the table, like regarding mentors, regarding learning from people, like when you were young or like just coming up before you had the success that you have now, do you recall having any particular mentor or people in your life that kind of helped you to get to where you are today?

Yeah, well, I always talk about my parents because you know, my parents story. We're not going to get in, we're not going to get too far into it, but they basically made a ton of money at a pretty young age. I think they were in their both 30s in the Houston real estate market. And then all of a sudden the market tanked and they filed for like a $35 million bankruptcy. And so they went from, you know, rock star to rock bottom really, really quick, and they had to figure it out. So I always had them to kind of give me guidance and mentorship, but really there was one specific gentleman I'm sure you're familiar at least a little bit, but Bob Proctor. Yeah, Bob Proctor. I've been to countless seminars and whatnot, but, you know, he got ahold of me when I was making, like a six figure per year income, and he helped scale my mind, which then scaled my, you know, income to the. To the moon based off of his teachings and, you know, mentorship. And even to this day, I give so much credit back to him because without. Without his guidance, mentorship, I don't know if I'd be sitting here talking to you.

So that's dope. That's dope. So when did you come across him as, like, a mentor?

Crazy man. So I actually spoke on my first stage in Charlotte, North Carolina, in front of like 300 people. And I see this old guy in the hallway, and he comes up to me. I don't know who the heck he is, and he's like, hey, listen, I just saw you speak on stage. He said, you're gonna go very far in this industry, young man. And he kind of walked away. And I went back in the room, and I was talking to some of our team members, and I'm like, man, this old guy came up to me and he said these things to me. And this one guy was like, is it that old guy? And I was like, yeah. He goes, that's Bob Proctor. You know, he gets, you know, people line up to pay him $100,000 for, you know, two days of coaching. And I was, like, blown away. Oh, my gosh. And from that moment on, I just dove into his. Dove into his information. And, you know, now I actually teach a lot of his stuff to people, a lot of young people all over the planet, and it helps them tremendously.

That's what's up. So when it comes to speaking in different countries, like, I'm super interested in this. Like, when it comes to, like, the bilingual sort of stuff, like, is there different languages that. Do you speak multiple languages? Or how does the language barrier work?

Oh, I don't. I wish I would have studied Spanish in college. Would have came in very handy. You know, espanol, poquito, you know, blah, blah, blah. But we usually have translators. A lot of it is. A lot of it's Spanish, whether it's Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, Paraguay. I go to El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico City, and Guadalajara in, like, 14 days. I go to South Africa next weekend. I go to Tulsa tomorrow and then Dallas and then Houston and then Atlanta. So I'm doing a lot of traveling, but lots of translators. And then sometimes if it's a much bigger event, they'll have headsets. So you can say, you know, what's up? My name is Casey. And then it's going to get translated into 40 languages, you know, Cool.

Like, through the bike itself, like, when you say something, it'll come out as a different language.

If I'm like, hi, my name is Alex. It's like, hola, me amo Alejandro to the audience. Yeah, make sure you got a good trans. A good service, though, so it's not all jumbled up.

Yeah, for sure. Now that's super dope. So I want to ask you a question, because I know you travel a lot. So when I was 15, actually, I took like a school trip to Beijing, Hong Kong, all these different places in China. So regarding traveling, that opened up my eyes. Like, have you seen some, like, mental shifts from traveling all over the world? Or like, what's been the three biggest takeaways that you've said when it comes to, like, a cultural perspective and just kind of what's uplifted you from traveling?

Yeah, I mean, one, I think, I don't think I know when you travel, especially to kind of more third world ish countries. I mean, I've been, I've been in the. I've been in the depths of places in Mexico that there are no, quote, white. You know, you don't go there, like, you don't like, hey, let's go take a family vacation to, you know, Guerrero, Mexico or Mexico, you don't, you don't do those things. So when I've traveled to places where peace, people are less fortunate, maybe it's Popayan, Colombia, right. Whether it's little town, little towns in Paraguay, places that, you know, you would just never go. Number one. You realize how lucky we are, you and me, to live in America for sure, because, like, just the ability to have a MacBook Pro right here and an iPhone, 7 or 8, whatever it is right here, a pool and air conditioning, like, these things are not. They're not just widely available to places all over the world. Number two, just being more grateful every time I travel, man, my levels of gratitude increases because I catch myself even to this day at 28 years old, and I live in my dream house, and I got my dream car, my garage, all these different things. And sometimes I get stressed out, pissed off, upset. And then I revert back to going into places in Mexico City. Going into place, I'm going to Nigeria May 12, you know, where you don't even have running water is like, it's like not a thing. Like, you know what I mean? So it opens up your eyes and you increase your levels of awareness. Like, damn, I'm so lucky to live in the US to have two parents and to know I can eat dinner tonight, you know, without hunting it in the, you know, in the jungle.

Yeah, for sure, man. Yeah, that's. I just want to touch on that because, I mean, I had the same sort of eye opening thing when I went to Beijing. In particular, we went to a lot of like the inner cities or people are like homeless living on the streets. We got to meet all these people. And I, I just wanted to ask you about that because I know like you traveled 100x more the times that I have. So that's definitely some good insights because I know gratitude, a lot of people take it for granted everything they have, you know?

Sure, for sure. Gratitude. Is that one of the biggest secrets? For sure? 100%.

So regarding just habits, I know like, for me, being around the right people, like doing the things that have gotten me to where I am when it comes to my network or whatever, what's been sort of the things that you tend to do daily or kind of keeping like a habit checklist that kind of keep you focused, keep you stable and focused on what you're doing.

Yeah, well, one, I tell people, you got to always, you got to always audit who you're spending time with. You got to audit. I call it your atmosphere. Some people call it their environment. You know, I'm in a positive environment. You know, it's, it's, if you're on negativity all day, whether it's Fox or cnn, you know, parents or girlfriend or boyfriend or husband, wife, sister, brother, people, you know, all that negative drains, it drains the living hell out of you. So you got to be, you have to audit your atmosphere. And it's funny because I feel like the more successful, you know, I've gotten or the most, the more successful other people have gotten around me. Their friend groups are smaller. They know a lot of people. Like, I can go in any city in America and say, hey, I'm here. And I'll have people DM me saying like, hey man, like, what's up? That doesn't mean I'm spending time with all of these people. So I think, number one, I always audit my environment, my atmosphere. Number two, personal development. My industry, you know, it's so, it's so important to be feeding your mind good information, whether it's John C. Maxwell or, you know, I love Tony Robbins and Les Brown and Jim Rohn, a lot of the same people that a lot of us all learn from and you know, listen to. So personal development, I always tell, I always say I'm always working harder on myself than I am harder on my business because I know if I grow, you know, our company is going to grow.

Yeah.

And then it's just being focused, you know, being young, obviously you're, you're younger than me, you know, you're 17 years old, but 28, it's like, you know, I live in Miami. There's, there's, there's something to do every night. And my friends text me last night, you know, come to this one spot called Club 11. It's like a, a lifestyle club, you know, entertainment place. And it's like, I can't, I can't be out till six in the morning because then I'm not going to wake up until 4 in the afternoon. So I'm going to miss out on hours of productivity. So being focused, auditing your atmosphere and always working on yourself personal development wise is key for sure.

That's the truth. So with personal development, I know like a lot of people, obviously they take it certain ways. When did you kind of get into like developing yourself? Because I know like being in high school, it's like they don't teach you emotional intelligence. They don't teach you like the gratitude standpoint. They teach you all the stuff that necessarily doesn't build you but just builds like your memory sort of games. Like when was your transition point to like building yourself in a sense?

Well, when I was around successful people, they told me to read certain books and listen to certain audios and watch certain videos and you know, and I'm not knocking school. I believe in high school, I believe in college. But it's like, you know the founders of the educational program, right? He said, I want a nation of workers, not thinkers. So the more, the more I got around successful people, the more so they told me, hey, work on yourself, invest in yourself. And it really wasn't until I was already making semi decent money to where I would spend five grand on a Tony Robbins seminar with my sister in Chicago and walk on fire or I'd spend 10 grand for a Bob Proctor seminar in, in LA, because I knew that if I invested into myself, it was gonna show up in my results yeah, for sure.

No, I totally feel you. It's funny because, like, the first time I went to an event, actually I spoke at one in San Diego. It's like, I need. Are you familiar with Caleb Maddox, by chance?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're friends.

Yep. Yeah. So, Caleb, it was funny. So, like, this is kind of like my first, like, time going out to California. This was like a year and a half ago, but he was a yo. Come speak at this event. And I just, like, booked my trip last minute. Kind of like, I started really making money from an affiliate marketing standpoint, and I just said, like, effort. I just booked a trip out to San Diego with my dad. And that, to me, opened up a lot of networking opportunities and really just like, put me in a position to learn from a lot of new people. And I think that hearing your story, that's definitely been something that you. Regarding traveling has definitely opened a lot of doors for you as well.

Yeah. And it's always important to realize that you don't know it all. You know, I remember there was a time, and my biggest lesson was staying humble. You know, I was. I was the youngest ever in my first company to make a million dollars. And at that point, I thought I was the man. I knew everything you couldn't. I was untouchable. You know, I'm not listening to you, blah, blah, blah, blah. And if you don't humble yourself, you know, God. God's gonna come humble you anyway. Yeah, it's important, you know, for all the young guys and girls you have on your. On your show. Like, you know, you're making 10 grand a month, 20 grand a month. I mean, I know some people in marketing that are making $50,000 a month, hundred thousand dollars a month. But if you don't stay humble, you know, it's not going to turn out the way you want it to. So it's important to be grateful, be humble, continue to work hard, and always have the intention of helping others. And if you do that, you're going to get whatever you want.

That's the truth, bro. I feel like a lot of people don't hear that enough. You know what I'm saying? Yeah.

Well, you see all the cars and the houses and this, that and the other, and it's cool. Like, it's. You know, we're young guys, like, awesome. You know, like, you go down Dan Bazerian's thing, and it's like, yeah, he's got, you know, chicks and this and that the other. And it's amazing. But when you Break it all down. And I know people close to Dan that say he's actually not anything like that in real life. He's like a normal guy. He cares about people. He's not this big, you know, big show dude, you know, so it's like sometimes this, the stuff that we see isn't even the real. Yeah, real like it. It's like an Instagram version. Yeah.

So it's.

Don't buy into too much of the hype that, you know, you see all the time.

For sure. I totally agree with you, man. I even like we talked about before the podcast started, it's like, whether that be Chad Lopez, Gary Vee, it's like I met all these guys and I know you have as well. It's like you see like the way they position themselves, but it's like you meet them, it's like they're the most normal, humble, grateful people, majority of them. And I just feel like a lot of people tend to put people on pedestals and they don't really know them. And like, when it comes to the back end of things, I think that's something I've learned is like treating everyone the same with the same, like, respect, gratitude, whatever, maybe is like the key to really, number one, networking and just really genuine relationships, you know, no doubt, no doubt.

100% super important. Super important.

So when it comes to, I know obviously building teams, someone that has like a huge company now, it's like I always see, and this is something that I struggle with as well. It's like when you're building teams in your company, I'm sure a lot of people could really value from this, from like a practical standpoint, how do you transition your team to really obviously build the cause, build the impact of what you're doing. But what's been sort of like some takeaways from building a team and really building an organization that has impact, has income, obviously, but then really just has a culture inside of it. What's been some, like, breakthroughs?

Yeah, well, for one, you said culture is very, very important. And when you look at the word culture, you see the word cult in the word culture. You know, people that don't think Gucci or Apple is a cult, you know, you're sleeping, you know, like you're just at it. And I'm one of those cult members, you know what I mean? Spending $700 on a publisher. Why am I doing that? Because it's a cult level type of minds or the new iPhone, you know, it unlocks with your face like okay, I'm going to spend a thousand dollars. You know what I mean? So when you're building teams, you're building a company building organization. You know, just in my, in my current company, we've scaled from 1200 active customers to now over 70,000.

Wow.

The customers of our products and services. And when you're scaling like that, it's very important to identify leaders. It's important to identify people that have, like you said, emotional intelligence, that have influence, that have a work ethic. You know, I think work ethic is so important. And I can look at the 70,000 customers in our company and I can look at 100 people and say, this is why we have those 70,000, those 70,000 customers. So I think it's very important to, number one, identify leaders. Number two, you got to have a mission. A lot of people that have startups and stuff like that, it's like our mission is to, you know, transfer everyone's energy into solar. You know, that's not a mission. You know, you have to have such a, like, like, what is the food, what is it? World hunger, whatever. That food organization is like the world's biggest, like, food organization. Right? Their mission is to cure world hunger. Right. That's. I don't want to say it's impossible, but it's such a vast mission statement. All the people in that company, they're always going to be stretching and working and believing and thinking bigger because they're like, yo, our mission is to cure world hunger. So I think that identifying leaders, number one, number two, having a real mission for what you're doing. You know, one of my things that I've used for my whole career is being a vision. Caption. You know, the biggest leaders, the greatest leaders I look up to and model myself after, they have the ability.

Still here, My bad. There we go.

We're back.

We're back.

They have the ability to see the future, you know, before it's even. Before it's even in the, in the present. And the number three, just managing expectations. You know, I don't know how your company works, but I'm sure you have income opportunities for people associating your company, whether it's affiliate or network marketing. It's marketing, right? And you got, if Josh joins your company, you got to let Josh know, hey, if you do ABCDEFG in six months, you can be expecting to make X dollars a month. You know, Josh enrolls in your company and thinks he's gonna make a hundred grand his first, you know, seven days. And doesn't Then he goes out there and tells everybody that, you know, you're a scam or it doesn't work. That's not a good look on you or him. So that's what I would say.

Okay, for sure. No, that's. I totally agree with you. Especially like I was talking to Andy Vercella. I had him recently on the podcast and he spoke at 10x Growth Con. He was talking all about culture and kind of like how he's grown. First form, from zero to now, $100 million company. And I feel like the more very successful people I talk to, it's like it's all the general concept of culture and really building that team. So I definitely love to touch on that with a lot of people and those points were fire. So I definitely appreciate you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 100%. Culture is very important. Very important.

So a couple more things, man, like regarding this whole social media age, I definitely like to touch on this as well because I know obviously the reason you're in Miami, I'm in Virginia. It's like we only connected via Instagram, right. So it's like the social media in this modern day is huge. So my number one question on that sort of topic is when did you start using social media for number one, like your business, your personal brand and then how was that kind of helped and transformed you into what you do now, man?

It's been, it's. I mean, social media is a huge component to why I am where I am today. Probably. Probably the same for you. Obviously same for Gary B. And Kai and great. All these people that we all know. It's very important and it's very, it's very crazy. The age we're living in is mind blowing. I remember taking my old school iPhone in 2011.

Yeah.

Making videos. Yo, yo, yo. What's up, guys? This is Alex Warren coming to you live from Cleveland, Ohio or Baltimore, Maryland. This is what I'm doing. I remember there, you know, I get like six, six views.

Yeah.

And you know, three of them would be. They have the same last name as me, you know, mom, dad, and so. So it's important that you got it. I tell people, you got to tell.

You got.

You have to tell people what you do. Like, if don't know what you do, they're not going to buy from you. Like, I have friends that are in real estate and I'm like, no one knows you. So you sell homes.

Yeah.

Well, don't know. You sell homes. Why are they going to call you? They're not going to call you. Oh, you do insurance? Well, I didn't even know you did insurance. You're not. You got to go out there and give value and tell people what it is you do. And I think a lot of people are held back by, you know, fear or getting judged. And one of the things, for me, I was very lucky in 2011 when I got started as an entrepreneur. I got a lot of fire back. I got a lot of people telling me I was never gonna make it, I was never gonna work, and, you know, the whole nine yards. And for some reason, deep inside of me, I just didn't care what anybody said, and I just kept pressing forward. And I think that's so important in today's world that you can't worry about other people. You just gotta press forward for sure, man.

Dude, it's funny that you say that, cuz, like, even for me, like, I used to do a lot of Snapchat marketing and like, even some of, like, my good friends are like, dude, what the hell are you doing? Like, this and this and that. And sort of like what you just, just said, like, my intuition was just, like, ignoring them, but, like, not like, from a means standpoint or anything like that. It was just like my intuition was like, just go with it, go with it, go with it. And I feel like, because I've talked to a lot of young entrepreneurs at some events I do, and like, they just let, like, limiting beliefs, their parents, their friends, whoever, like, limit them, and they just agree with it and then settle, you know, So I think that's definitely something that a lot of people just tend to fall into, you know.

Our society, it's crazy. And sometimes the people that they do genuinely care about you, when they do genuinely love you, they're. They're afraid for you to leave. They're like, man, if Casey's right, he's. He's gonna maybe leave Virginia or, right, he's gonna move to Miami, you know, live on the beach. You know what I'm saying? It's not that they don't care about you means, you know, viewers listen in right now. They're afraid of you being right. And then you're just gonna, like, you're gonna. You're gonna transcend that. You're gonna go live your goals and dreams and you're gonna kind of leave them somewhat in the dust. And that's not. That's not fun for them. So that's why I tell people you gotta have tunnel vision and just block out the negativity. And just go, go for it.

For sure, man. So what. When was your kind of, like, go for it moment? Like, did you always have, like, people saying this and this and that or like, bro?

And it's like, you know, I'm like, you know, I'm not.

I don't.

I don't like to talk about money, but, you know, where I'm at in my career, it's like, you know, not many people have done what I've done in their. In their twenties. It is what it is. I'm a normal person. I'm in a hoodie, in Nike shorts. But, you know, I don't know anybody else, actually, that done the numbers I've done in the last five years in their 20s. It is what it is. That's so bad, you know, but there's been so many breaking points, man. And, you know, whenever my back's been up against the wall. When your back's up against the wall, you only have one direction you can go, and that's Ford, you know, And I actually got. It's funny, you know, I was in the Rolling Stone magazine, my first company, and it was like a halfway positive, happily negative thing. And they kind of spun it into a negative thing. And it was just like. It was crazy, man. So even though, like, it got that. So that crazy, that's such a level of, like, hatred, I just never let it. I never let it affect me. Like Les Brown said, if you can look up, you can get up. So no matter how bad it is, just know you're gonna make it better. You just gotta focus more. You gotta work harder, and you gotta not make excuses. And you just gotta grind. You'll get there.

That's the truth. So, last question before we wrap it up, man. Just everything regarding this current state. I always like to ask people about leadership. What makes a leader to them? Obviously, everyone that I bring on the show is a leader for themselves or and thus for an organization. So, number one, just how do you define leadership, and what does being a leader mean to you at the end of the day?

Yeah, it's a great question. I think leadership is doing it first. You know, in my. In our company, you know, I would never tell someone to do something I'm not willing to do. That's why I travel constantly. That's why I'm never home constantly. Because then I can like, hey, this is what I'm doing, you know? What are you doing to have success? I would say leadership is doing it first. It's leading with action, not your Mouth, you know, people watch your feet. They don't listen to what comes out of your mouth. And it's just treat people right, you know, the level five leadership of John T. Maxwell is people follow you for what you represent. They don't follow you for your work ethic. They don't follow you because the money you've made, they follow you for who you are. Do you keep your word? Do you have people's real genuine intentions at heart? Do you look at people in your company as dollar signs? Or do you look at people in your company? People, relationships, close friends, family and a leaders just. I think the best quality of a leader is someone that just want to put it all on the line, risk it all and just go make it happen. I mean, just burning the boats fully and just going out there, making it happen. I think that that's where. That's why I am where I am today. That's probably where. Why you are where you are today. It's such a young age. It's because you made decisions. Leaders make decisions, they commit to them, they stick to it, and then they do whatever it takes.

Good fire, bro. Good way to end it, man. So last thing before we wrap it up. I know obviously I'm gonna put all your social media links down below in the description. But for everyone that may not know where to follow you or the best place to get in contact with you or check out your stuff, where's the best place for people to connect with you?

Yeah, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube and it's all Alex Morton and then Alex Morton Mindset. Alex Morton Mindset. That's the handle. And I post stuff every day just to help people. I don't sell people stuff. It's all free. I just want to help you guys.

So, dude, for sure, man. So, dude, I really appreciate you coming on. Everyone listening. All of his information social media websites will be down below, so you'll make sure to go check that out. Let him know that you came from the Rise of the Young podcast. But that being said, Alex, definitely I really appreciate you coming on. And little quick note for everyone, when I reached out to Alex to get him on the show, he told me that he hasn't said yes to a podcast for like the last, like 18 months. So I definitely appreciate you coming on, man. Definitely feels good to get your story out there and have someone like you on the show, man.

Beautiful. Appreciate you, man. Proud of you. And man, at 17, I don't even know what I was doing at 17, so I'm excited to see you at 23, 24, 25 to 28. You're going to be running laps around a lot of people, man. So keep it up.

I appreciate you, man. So, yeah, everyone listening. If you haven't already subscribed to the Rise of the Young podcast, make sure you subscribe and make sure you leave a review. Share it with a friend, and I will see you guys on the next episode. Peace.

Monarch. Legacy of Monsters. An Apple original series. The world is on fire. I decided to do something about it on November 17th. This place, it's not ours. Believe me. The most massive event of the year arrives. If you come with me, you'll know everything. I promise.

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Go, go, go. Monarch. Legacy of monsters streaming November 17th only on Apple TV.

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