The Only Short Cut In Life - Is To Start Now!

Welcome to beyond you'd why podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Gary Sanchez. At the Y Institute, we've helped over 40,000 people discover, make decisions and connect using their why. This show will be much more powerful for you once you know your own why. So head over to whyinstitute.com and discover your why. Today you're going to meet one of the leaders who've discovered their why with us and is going to share their story and the powerful lessons they've learned.

Welcome to beyond you'd why Podcast, where we go beyond just talking about your why and actually helping you discover and then live your why. And so if you're a regular listener, you know that every week we talk about one of the nine whys and then we bring on somebody who has that why so we can see how their why has played out in their life. And so today we're going to be talking about the why of Contribute Now. Individuals with this why yearn to be part of a greater cause, something greater than themselves. You don't want to be the cause, rather contribute to it in a meaningful way. You want to make a difference in the lives of others in an organization or a cause that you believe in. You love to support others and relish the success of the greater good, the company's growth and the victory of the team. People with this why seek to add value in all that they do to do their part and help in whatever way possible. You are often found behind the scenes looking for ways to make the world better. When you show up in a more public forum, it is often to trumpet a message or support a movement. People with this why are the go to people the ones you look for when you need help with just about anything? You make reliable and committed teammates and are often found in all areas of athletics, performing arts and cause based nonprofits. Virtually every organization must have contributors in order to operate successfully. They act as the glue that holds everyone else together. They use their time, energy, resources and connections to add value to others. And so today I've got a very interesting guest for you. His name is Jake Kelfer. He is a lifestyle entrepreneur, life elevator and coach to rising entrepreneurs and freedom seekers. He is a best selling authority of Elevate beyond and Elevate youe Network. A high energy motivational speaker on a mission to inspire millions of people to achieve personal success and happiness. He is the founder of the Professional Basketball Combine which helps NBA Draft prospects turn their dreams of playing pro basketball into their reality. He and his work have been featured in Forbes Sports Illustrated, espn, NBC Sports, USA Today, Bleacher Report, and many other major media outlets. Jake, welcome to the podcast.

Oh, it's great to be here. Thank you for the introduction.

Well, this is going to be fun. So we found out before this that you went to USC as well as I did. So how was your experience at usc?

It was unbelievable. I mean I come from a family of Trojans so I think I was like the seventh person in my family to attend. My mom was a graduate school professor in the school of social work. My grandpa worked there as well in the cinematography area. So Trojan blood just bleeds through me since I was born.

Well that is awesome. So where did you grow up then?

So I grew up about 45 minutes outside of LA in a town called Santa Clarita which is mostly known for Magic Mountain. That's like the big landmark that's in our town. It's a great town to grow up in. But being that close to la, it was a no brainer when I got in to stay close to the family and also go to my, go to my dream school.

Okay, so take us through the, you know, like the three minute tour of your life. How did you go from what did you major in in college? You got out of college, did what? And now I know you're coaching and helping entrepreneurs and helping pro basketball players get into the NBA. How did all that happen?

So when I went to usc, it came after me realizing that I wasn't going to make it to the NBA as an athlete and you know, being, being intelligent and being somebody who loved the game and knew a lot of players, I was like, what do those skills have in common? And it was be a sports agent. And so I went to usc, studied business administration, minor in sports media, emphasis in entrepreneurship. Just checking the boxes that were going to get me the closest to where I thought was at the time. While I was there, did everything that I could to get ready to work for a sports agency and become what I thought was going to be the youngest sports agent to sign a lottery pick. Like that's what I wanted to do. Yet right before I graduate, the agency that was going to hire me actually couldn't hire me anymore. And I ended up using everything that I had learned and I scored a job with the Los Angeles Lakers, which being from la, going to usc, like that was the dream. I mean growing up we have a room in my parents house, it's called the Laker Room, painted purple and gold, like memorabilia everywhere. I mean it's unbelievable. So I worked for the Lakers. And while I'm with the Lakers, I, you know, we talk about our why a lot. Right. And we're going to dive deep into that. Is like, I was working for the Lakers on the corporate partnerships decide. And one of the things that I loved most about it was helping people have the greatest experience possible. And that mixed with an interaction I had with Jerry west, kind of turned into me wanting to serve people in a different way, in a greater way. And that led to me writing my first book called Elevate beyond, which was all about helping people get a job, helping people stand out in the job market and discover their passion. And that kind of put my career on a trajectory that we're in today, which has led to me writing a second book called Elevate youe Network, speaking all over the country, as well as starting the pro basketball combine, which was my way of. Of combining sports, entrepreneurship, and business all together to again, get people to the next level in their life. And that kind of brings us to today, where I've turned all of that experience, all of that knowledge into helping entrepreneurs and freedom seekers start and create their dream businesses.

Wow. And then this is like a super fast track too, isn't it?

Yes.

So you did all this in five years?

Yeah, five years since I graduated, yeah.

Wow. So what was it like working for the Lakers?

It was awesome. I mean, as a basketball guy, I mean, it was so cool to work for the franchise that I had watched every day. Right. I mean, growing up, I probably spent more time with Kobe Bryant on TV than I spent with anybody else, you know, outside of my family. Like, I watched every game. And so to be able to be there during his last season was something that was just, you know, a dream come true in that standpoint. But even more so, working with the Lakers really got me to see how much impact we can have on somebody else. And it really showed me that when I brought a contestant down for the half court shot and they got a step foot on the court, what that meant to that person. And so I knew that if I could give more people that same feeling of acceptance, of value, of, you know, once in a lifetime memories, that was going to be something that I wanted to make sure I had in my life moving forward. So the Lakers set me on an unbelievable path that I'm very, very grateful for.

So what did they hire you to do? What was your first job there?

I was hired as a corporate partnerships assistant. So a lot of the stuff, the boring stuff in the office, great PowerPoint, scheduling meetings, all those types of things. But the great stuff was at the Laker Games, I was responsible for picking all the contestants along with the other students, picking all the contestants for all the contests. We got to pick and choose. And you know, that's the half court shots, the charity thing. And we were also responsible for executing on all the brand. The brand agreements. So if a company had a shoot around post game with a player, we would bring the people from the suite down and bring them on the court and give them that experience to meet and greet the player. Sometimes we do pre game dinners with some of the staff and their partners. So that was like my job on game days. And that was what made the job very exciting for me.

Oh, yeah, that would be so much fun. And so, okay, now how did you figure out who you were going to pick to do each of the different contests? What's the secret here?

Well, there was quite a few stipulations that we had through because for certain contests, you got to be located in one of the five counties that were neighboring other contests. You had to be certain age. I think for one of them, it was like a Vegas hotel and you had to be over 21 to qualify. So first we had to do that, and then secondly, we just kind of stood by an entrance and picked up. And you'd be surprised at how many people, like, would run away from you because you weren't in a suit. And people are like, I don't want to talk to the suit. But then you get other people who, like, kind of know what you're doing, and they just scout you out and like, try to grab your attention. So it was a lot of trial and error. You know, sometimes we pick people that were wearing jerseys that were like, okay, this person's got some skill. We would ask them. Other times we just. Random person luck would have it. Right? So that's kind of how we just, we did it. There was no real rhyme or reason.

Well, I have had front row seats at the basketball venue here in Albuquerque called the Pit. You might have heard about the Pit. So I've had front row seats since it opened 54 years ago, and not once have I ever been asked to do anything on any event, for anything. And so this one game, I give my tickets to a buddy. No, to a. To one of the gals that works for me here.

She gets picked. No way.

Yeah. So the one chance I had, I wasn't there.

That's a bummer. That's a bummer. But the gift of giving, you know.

Yeah. The gift of giving. Okay, so you started out there doing.

All of that for the Lakers, and then what happened? How did you suddenly say, okay, I think I want to move into my next phase?

So while I was with the team, I had an interaction with Jerry West. And for anyone that's listening, if you don't know who Jerry west is, Jerry west is an NBA legend. I mean, he's literally the guy the logo is made after. And he's a Laker. Laker icon. And I'm getting in the elevator, and if you're okay with it, I'd love to share the story with you of the big moment. I'm in the elevator, and I thought it was just like every other day, right? Go down the elevator, grab the contestant, take them out, do the whole thing. But this moment, the door's about to close, a hand stops in, and the door starts to open. Who walks in? Jerry West. Now, for me, he's all over my house, right in the Laker room. Like, we got pictures of Jerry west from his playing days. So my heart starts to pound, right? Like, I'm Bottom of the Tot employee, and he's Jerry West. So I'm sitting in the elevator, and the person who's working the elevator, he looks at Jerry and he says, excuse me, what floor do you want to go to? And Jerry kind of looks a little bit confused, but he tells me, I'd like to go to the court, right? Because Jerry's got courtside seats, or he's got to be down there. No one's ever going to question it. But the person working the elevator doesn't know who he is. And he goes, excuse me, sir. Do you have a credential? Otherwise, I'm going to have to ask you to step off. And Jerry looks at him, like, kind of confused, very politely, and he goes, no, I don't, but do you know who I am? Right? And the guy says, no, I don't, but please step off. And then pointing at me, I got to escort this gentleman down. He's got work to do. And I'm like, no way is this happening, right? So Jerry starts to walk out, and for some reason, I say, whoa, stop, stop, stop. I look at the guy at the elevator, and I go, excuse me. He's with me. He's my guest. And the person working the elevator says, are you sure? And I look at Jerry like, what do you think? And Jerry gives me the nod and the smile. So I give the same nod and the smile, and. And we go down the elevator, and as we're about to get off the elevator, I'm thinking, is Jerry going to be pissed that I stood up for him? Is he going to be pissed that the guy didn't know who he was? What's going to happen? Right as we're about to go our separate ways, Jerry sticks out his hand, shakes my hand, and says, thank you. I appreciate what you just did for me. And in that moment, I realized the true power of what somebody else can have on us. Because Jerry didn't need to do that. Jerry didn't need to thank me, didn't need to show his appreciation. I mean, he's Jerry west, right? He's made more money than I had ever had. He had played in the NBA. He's the NBA logo, and I'm just an assistant that he's never seen in his life before. But what it really showed me was that we're all just people, and we all just want to feel loved, to be appreciated and feel valued. In that moment, Jerry west made me feel like the most important person in the world. I mean, I'll tell this story forever. I'll tell it to my kids, because he made me feel such a great way. And so I asked myself right after that, come home next few days, I'm still thinking about it. I ask myself right after that, what do I know and how can I help people? What do I know and how can I help people? And those two questions led to me starting to write my first book. And that was the next phase of how I knew I needed to make my living elevating people and changing their lives and impacting people in a positive way. So that was the moment when I realized that I need to do something bigger than just myself, bigger than just have a career for myself. It needs to do something that's going to change the world. As my buddy who runs Liquid IB always says, it's ctw, right? We're here to change the world. And that was the turning point that really expedited my belief that I could do that at the young age.

Wow. And so you went home and you started writing. So people that are listening to this and they're thinking about writing their own book, and they just heard that you're one year out of college and you go and write your first book. How does that happen? I mean, what prompted you to want to write a book that quick?

So it actually didn't start as me writing the book. This is the interesting part, because I thought to write a book, you had to have a lot of Life experience. And meanwhile, I'm a year out of school. I just wanted to help my friends who were in my fraternity and in college, and my younger brother who was a freshman in college at the time. I was like, here, I'm going to write all this stuff for you guys. It's going to save you so much time so you have more time to party but still get the best jobs. That's all. That my intention was, because I knew I could help them get all the jobs. So I was like, I'm gonna write blog posts. But the greatest mistake you can make when writing blog posts is writing too many and too much. Because nobody, especially college students, want to read that. So I meet with the mentor and I'm like, what do I do here? I don't know how to get this message out. And he says, you need to make it into a book. And I'm like, what are you talking about? I'm 22. And he goes, so? And I say, so who's going to listen to this? Who's going to read this? And he goes, well, the message and the content is here. I would add this, this and this to add more credibility, but I would make this into a real book. And I was like, let's go. So I come home, I tell my friend, mom, dad, I'm writing a book, right? And my mom and dad were like, okay, Jake, kind of like, we support you, but also like, are you serious? Like really? And so every day from that point forward, I would leave before traffic, before the LA traffic, I'd get to the office, I'd spend about an hour, two hours, whatever I had that day, writing and typing on my computer. And I do the same thing over and over again. And then I decided, like, I don't know what I'm doing, right? Like, I didn't have a following. I was just trying to share a message. So I tried to go like, okay, when do I launch this thing? And Kobe was going to retire at the end of the season. So I was like, you know what? Kobe's retiring. I'm retired. So I put the launch date on the first of the month right after he retired and I launched the book. And the biggest thing that I've like learned from that process is, of course I had the fear. What if nobody buys my book? I had the fear. Who's going to listen to me when I'm a 22, 23 year old talking about career development, right? What do I know about that space, right? I had all the fears. Should I even do this? Like, why put myself through this? And then what if no one, like, is it worth it? And my dad told me something as we're in the process, and he goes, jake, as soon as you do this, as soon as you release it, things that you never could have imagined are going to start to happen because you took action. And then he said, one of the most powerful quotes that I literally say all the time and think about is everybody wants the shortcut to rich, to fame, to success. He goes, but the true shortcut, the only shortcut in life is to start now. And that just was an eye opening moment where I was like, yes, let's do this. If five people read the book, that's five people that have a chance to land their dream job that wouldn't have had this content before. And I did it one step at a time, one action at a time. Day of the launch, Amazon bestseller. And the message got out there all over the world, which is like, oh my gosh, it really happens. And then it just continued to spiral into, into the great, the great things that have happened.

Wow. And so tell us what now, what happened from there? Launched your book? Did you stay with the Lakers the next year or did you?

I left the Lakers. When the book came out, I left the Lakers and I actually went on my first Euro trip. I've never been to Europe. And I was like, you know what, we're doing this. And at the time, like, I didn't have a ton of extra money to spend, like the books, you know, when you write a book, like, I didn't make hundreds of thousands of dollars off the book launch, but I was like, you know what, I need to treat myself. I need to start building out this principle of like celebrating the wins along the journey. So I take this trip to Europe, move into my first apartment, and I'm like, okay, now, right? I was like, okay, I did all this thing, but what's next? And people were like, well, how are you going to talk about your book? How are you going to like get your book out there? And I was like, I don't know, like, I'm gonna go back to trying to be a sports agent. Like, that's kind of still was my, like in my heart. And someone told me I had no idea who it was on this journey, but someone's like, you should be a speaker. And I was like, what are you talking about? They go, you can get paid to be a speaker and talk to people. And I was like, there's no way, like you're telling me That I can get paid to speak. Like, I love talking. This is incredible. And so I started speaking and I literally was like, I could talk to anybody about anything, right? Of course, use my book as credibility. And that kind of started it. But I didn't really gain too much momentum because I didn't have a specific audience, I didn't have a specific message. I was still kind of figuring it all out. And as I was doing that, I was building, I was grinding, I was hustling, I was doing whatever I could to make it happen. And the following year was when I was like, okay, this is starting to go well. I like this idea of where the career is going, but I need to get into sports somehow. I need to scratch that itch. Like, I didn't want to give up on that dream yet because basketball was one of my first loves. Like, that was it. So it just so happened that the NBA had announced a new type of contract called a two way deal. And I said, boom, that's it. And so that's when we created the secondary NBA draft combine to help prospects get additional exposure and elevate their chance of playing pro ball.

So just out of the blue, you were able to create this. No money, no nothing, no support. You just said, okay, I'll create a secondary combine.

So I've been talking with some agents because I was still always building my network. Like, I'm always talking to people and trying to connect dots. And there was an agent who kind of had had a couple ideas. And I was like, what if we did this? Because I was always thinking, like, there's always that guy that just misses out, but he's good enough. And his agent introduced me to a couple of people and I was like, look, I'll. I'll put the money up. Like, I'll do it. Like, I. It was what I had, you know, and put it up was like, I gotta make this happen. Because here was the other thing in my mind was like, if I can pull this off, not only is it gonna be incredible just in general to do something like that, but I'll be one of the youngest people to have relationships with most of the NBA teams. I'll be able to spend hours talking to all the agents that I think I want to work for. So I thought I was like, I'll get to know all the people by selling them, right? I'll get a practice. Because I picked up the phone hundreds of times talking to agents about this idea and trying to sell them on the idea and try them to talk to an agent and sell an agent who are the master salesman, right? The talkers, the cutthroat guys. Like, that was such a great learning experience. But I was like, all these things are going to pay off eventually. It just so happened that the event really, really blew up, and we had over half the NBA show up. The first year we filled up our roster, we had 23 guys out of 24 Cape possible spots. All 23 guys ended up signing a contract that year. And we ended up having the g league rookie of the year. And it was just like, wow. Like, we put this together. And one of my favorite things about it was the whole staff that we hired and the interns that we brought on. Because I wanted to give people a chance, right? Because I was always thinking, like, of the people that gave me the chance. So we hired everybody that was on our team except for one person was in their 20s or younger. We only had one person in their 30s who was just an unbelievable guy that we needed to bring on the team, who's now assistant coach at Boise State. But everybody else was younger because we were like, let's create this from people that are passionate, who are willing to do whatever it takes, just like the players who are willing to do whatever it takes. And, you know, it's just been a fun ride. You know, it's been a fun ride, but that's how it happened. And the gamble paid off. And it's continuously, I keep thinking, my dad, do something and good things will happen. When you take action, good things will happen.

We're taking a quick break to give you a chance to find clarity in your life instead of just listening. Ready to put an end to your frustration. Ready to unlock the code to your personal and business success. I know you can, because I have, and I'm giving you my exact system. It's time for you to discover your why, how, and what. Head over to yinstitute.com and get started. Let's get back to the show.

I love that and I love what you said. Start now. I mean, how many people just, okay, I'll do it later, okay? Next year when things are better, okay? When I've got more experience. You just said, forget that. I'm doing it right now.

Yeah, well, look, there's never going to be a perfect time. You know, the people that said last year, I'll do it this year. Now, at the time of this recording, coronavirus hits, right? You know, you say, oh, well, I'll wait till things get better. Well, maybe something else happens, right? If you Say, I'll do it later. You really just means you're not going to do it. And here's the thing. Most of us, I don't have time to. We always have time to do it. We always have time. Just do. We prioritize what we're saying we want to do to put it in the time that we currently do have. So it's always an interesting, interesting standpoint, but there's never going to be a perfect time. The best time for anything is to take one small step today, then to keep building off of that and celebrate it along the way.

Wow. And so what happened to it this year?

So this year, yeah. I mean, you talk about good things happening and readjusting and saying something else. So this year we actually had to postpone the event. You know, we were hoping to be able to pull it off, but obviously when May came around, which is normally when we have it, NBA restructured everything for their prejudice process. We had to restructure everything, and it was a huge bummer. We were on pace to have our best year yet with some of the ancillary programming and partners that we were going to be bringing on. So that was obviously a huge disappointment, but it really asked me and, like, internally asked me, like, what is the purpose of everything? Why, you know, why am I really doing all this and what can I do to continue to build this up? But also, what can I do, you know, with the time that I do have? Because obviously, you know, I wasn't going to be traveling to all these events. I wasn't doing the same amount of recruiting, the same amount of, like, research. So it was really a period of introspection, and I expect to be back better than ever. But who knows? There may be more changes that are out of my control. So I just try to focus on what I can control and keep people's spirits high and keep rolling.

Yeah, it's interesting all the. And for myself as well, so many of the things that we all have had lined up just either got postponed or canceled. And that's a pretty scary place to be in, you know? And that's your livelihood, right?

Oh, it's. It's terrifying. I mean, I'll be the first to say. And, like, in the beginning, you're like, oh, this is only gonna last, like, a little bit, right? We're gonna be back in a few months. Like, I'm not worried. Well, then it doesn't change, and you start to panic. You start to worry, like, okay, shoot, what am I gonna do? How am I Gonna change. And you start giving all these negative thoughts come into your mind, and you kind of have to sit there and have this hard conversation with yourself, like, who's the type of person you want to be, you know, and what are the types of things that you want to focus on? Because like I said, like, I was so concerned about all the things that were out of my control, but I had worked so hard up to this point, like, literally leading up to this year and previously, like, to work on the relationship I have with myself, to look inward to understand, like, how to have a positive mindset, a positive money mindset, all these things. Because everything I was tested, it was like a test for me. And there were some days that sucked. I'm not going to lie, you know, like, questioning, like, shoot, do I need to go get, like, a real job? Right? Because all of these things. But those were all just momentary thoughts, right? Because I know that the path for where I'm headed and the path that I'm already on, that's the path I'm supposed to be on, and that's what I'm supposed to be doing. So now I just need to find other ways to make that happen. Create new partnerships, build new relationships, expand on the current relationships, create better offers for the people that need me right now. And that's what I've done. And I'm going to come out of this exponentially better than I went into this across the board and everything that I do, because I've really been able to understand myself and also my customers better because of this, of this time.

So what got you on the journey of self, of understanding yourself, of self awareness, of focusing on you? How did that happen for you? Because there's going to be a lot of people listening to this that are struggling with that exact thing. You know, who am I? What direction should I go? Where do I find my passion? All those kinds of questions. What got you on that path?

So I'm probably going to reference my mom and my dad multiple times throughout our conversation because they've had an incredible influence on me and my mom. I mean, just growing up, she would always say, be your own man. Be your own man. She didn't tell me necessarily what I had to do, but she always told me to make the choice that I believed in. And if it was a choice that someone disagreed with, be ready for the consequences, Be ready for the rewards as well. Right. It's not always a negative thing when you make a choice that's against the norm. But she always told me to be my own man. And that enabled me to be willing to try things and to go for things. And so like that, that for me was something that was huge. But also my parents are super into it. My mom's also a social worker, psychologist. So she always knew how to help me figure out who I was. But growing up, I was just an ambitious person and I always looked forward instead of inward. Right. I was looking at the next thing, trying to cross the next thing off the checklist. And look, I still have a long way to go in my life. I don't have all the answers. I don't think any of us do. But being aware of that fact and being able to say, well, if I could get a little bit better today than I was yesterday and I could have a great day today and I could have a great week this week, well, I'm going to end up with a great life. It's about enjoying the little moments in the pursuit of something bigger that really make the journey so great. And so for me, like, you know, you think about like, how did I really develop all this stuff? It was like I practiced it. I soaked myself with the right knowledge. I don't listen to the news, I don't, I don't surround myself with people that aren't lifting me up. And that's been hard because some of your best friends in college may turn into be people that you don't, you shouldn't be communicating with. But they were great friends in college. They were great friends in your first five years of your career, great friends in your first business. And so I think it's all about just being open to understanding that we're not going to be perfect, understanding that we're going to make mistakes, understanding that it's okay to ask for help, understanding it's okay to be vulnerable. And all these things make you a stronger human being and give you more experience doing the things that make you uncomfortable.

I love that. And how important was self awareness for you on this journey?

Thoughts? It's been huge. I mean, the moment I realized really to stop just chasing something because it's what I expected people or people expected of me or what I expected of myself. And the moment I started to really take a second to enjoy, enjoy everything that's happening around me and be more present rather than just future oriented was the moment everything started to change. I started to become more aware of my surroundings. I started to pick up on different cues. I started to understand, okay, this is how I operate and perform at a higher level. And when you could do that, then I started to have more freedom. And I define success as being able to do what I want, when I want, with who I want, and help others find that same freedom in their life. And once I found that, I was like, I'm not chasing something or chasing what I think success is because it's what other people define it as. I'm chasing what I think success is. I stopped comparing myself because I wasn't worried about what other people were doing versus what I'm doing. I stopped feeling guilty if I wasn't hustling non stop because I was like, this is my life, right? I get to choose what I do with my time. And I stopped worrying about, like all the little things that were out of my control because I was aware of things I could control. And I tried to do those the best that I possibly could with information that I had and had at the time.

Awesome. You know why I was thinking about it when I knew you were coming on the podcast today, and I was thinking, you know, this guy's really young and I wonder what he's going to have to say. Because, you know, when you're in your 20s, you don't speak like somebody that's in their 20s. Right. You speak like somebody who's been through more than probably you actually have even. But you have that self awareness and you've seen it play out so wonderfully for you that it's helped you to find the success that you've already found. And that's. Those are great lessons that you're sharing with people that for others, it takes them a whole lifetime to figure that out.

Yeah, I mean, look, like I said about my parents, you know, I started this journey early, early on. So not only did I go through it, but I went through it during my transformative years. I experienced it during the toughest times of growth, the most exciting times of high school, to the crazy swings of college, to the beginning of my career. Right. And so I've been on a journey with a lot of different wavelengths. Right. And I'm not equating that again, it's not about my journey versus somebody else's, but we all go through our own journey at our own pace. And if you haven't ever looked inward or started the self awareness journey, you can start it today. There's no rules telling you you're too late. Right? You're only too late if you never do it. And so for me, you know, I just, I love that, you know, you mentioned that. I appreciate that. But it's just about going through and committing to the process and enjoying like the learning experiences that come with it.

So take us through. Let's shift gears a little bit. Take us through what it's like working with NBA players, working with the ones that come to your combine, working with what happens at the combine. Take us through that.

So during our combine, it's about a 48 hour experience between them. Start and it ends completely. It's a two day event and players come through us. Now, just to remind you guys, if it wasn't clear earlier, a lot of these players are. Everyone is a draft prospect, meaning they've announced their name into the NBA draft, but they're not rated as likely to be drafted. So our platform is designed to help guys get on NBA team's radar or to potentially help them get on overseas radars at a higher level. Right. Which gives them more paycheck. And so what we do when they come to us is we break them up into groups and we have them do three on three scrimmages. So we're competing, we're competing so hard. And that's so awesome to see. We have them do workouts led by our trainers. We have them do combine testing, just like the NBA combine, so testing their lateral movement, their vertical jumps, their agility, their speed. And we even compare it to, we do team interviews so the teams can request types of people that they want to interview to see if they'd be a good fit. And then we also added some other things to the event to help these guys. So we added a interview workshop to help them be better on camera and interview with people. Because we know how important it is to be a whole rounded player. And if you're fighting for a spot, right, if you're fighting for the last roster spot or a G league spot, right. What you got to do is you got to be better than the guy next to you. Well, everyone's got great talent at that level. So what are the differentiators? How's your social media presence? Are you capitalizing on that? Are you capitalizing on being a good interviewer? Do you understand how to handle your finances? So we kind of put things into place to give them opportunities to continue to learn and develop as they make the transition from being an amateur into a pro.

So what's the big difference? If you can answer this, what's the difference between the ones that make it and the ones that don't?

I think one of the things that it really comes down to, and this is a question that I love talking about, but I think one of the core things. And again, talent is very important, of course, but outside of talent, one of the biggest things is being coachable. Being coachable, being willing to ask questions, being willing to take feedback, being willing to learn, being a good teammate. It's about being a great person, right? And when you look at some of the biggest leaders or some of the guys that even squeak on the end of the bench who don't go to our event or. Or guys that come to our event and why they become successful, it's because they're willing to do what the team needs. They're willing to be that guy. And we've seen it play out time and time again where a player at our event, you know, we had a guy who was a Division 2 guy. We were like, we're giving this guy a shot. Nobody was like, no. Everyone was like, division two guy. Like, you picked him over some of these other guys, D1 powerhouse teams. And we were like, yeah, we had heard great things about him, and we believed in his game. Well, now he's been in the G League for three years now, going on his third year, and he's had a great career so far in that league. And part of that is because, of course, he's talented, but it's because he's such a great dude that the teams loved him and love having him around their guys. So there's obviously a lot more when it comes to the game of basketball, but from a life lesson perspective, being coachable is one of the most important things that a player can be, and being willing to grow and learn with the team.

Awesome. So did you get to spend much time at all with Kobe when? On his last year, or was he just the guy walking by that you. Hey, how are you doing?

Yeah, pretty much the latter. You know, that season, not only was he nursing injuries, but everybody wanted Kobe's time, right? And every game was special to him. Every game was special to everybody else. People spent their life savings to get to one of these final games for him. So it was. He was. It was very exclusive to get any time with Kobe that year. But it was a joy to watch his interactions, to see how he prepared to see him come through the tunnel and be like Kobe, you know, but obviously do it professionally, because we don't, you know, we're not. We're not, you know, fans when we're working. And that's very important to know. Right. But it was, you know, it was just cool to be around him because it was the last time that the Lake organization was going to have a superstar for a little bit because the team was so young and you had Kobe. So, you know, fortunately, I would have loved to be able to spend more time with him, you know, and obviously with him passing, you know, I really wish that would have been happening, but I. When I left, on the day I left the team, I got this unbelievable picture that they gave me of Kobe and his accomplishments with his autograph signed all across the middle of it. And it was like, it was just one of those things that made the journey come full circle as a Laker fan, as a Kobe fan, and as a, like a beginning stage of my career. And that was a really cool experience.

Wow. You know, early on one of my podcasts, I had a coach that had spent some time with him, and he talked a lot about the way he practiced, and I bet you got to see some of that yourself. What did you notice?

You know, I'm sure I know I probably know the story you're talking about related to this, but, you know, everything that people talk about, I saw, you know, except for like the unseen hours. I didn't see Kobe in the gym at 4am or anything like that. But, you know, he comes out to the court and before a game, guys are doing their own things. Kobe's got his routine, he's disciplined, Right. He does the little things. He does the fundamentals better than everybody else, and then he does everything else better than everybody else. But he always come in, and every time I would see him, I'm like, why isn't Colby doing pull up threes or practicing anything like that? He's doing his elbow fadeaway jumper, right. Over and over again. He's doing everything that I've watched him do on TV thousands and thousands of times. So it's always a joy when you get to see somebody in one setting and then see them in another setting where you can really see who they are as an athlete or as a person. And Colby didn't disappoint from a habit and a routine and a discipline of the game and a student of the game.

Wow. So when you took the why discovery and it came up with the why of contribute, how did that feel to you?

It felt good. I mean, it didn't surprise me, you know, I mean, I mean, my mission is to help people, right? And everything that I've done, you know, when I think about from the Lakers to the first book, right. You think about, I ask myself, what do I know and how can I help people Right. The why is contribute. When I started the combine, it wasn't necessarily just for me. It was to help these guys who are underrepresented guys that needed another opportunity, more exposure to get them to the next, the next level of their life. Now, as you know, when I do public speaking, it's to help people have their breakthrough moments, to help people have something that brings them more success. And when I coach entrepreneurs and help people build their businesses, it's like I'm helping them create their dream life. So everything that I do comes down to always wanting to help people and having a contributing factor. I always said from when I first started that I'll always donate money, that I will always have that, like, giving back mentality through everything that I do. So wasn't really that surprised when it came back. And I didn't know what it was going to come back as. Right. But when I saw that it was contribute, it didn't surprise me and made me feel good that I actually answered the questions and what I really, truly believe. Right. Because sometimes you try to, when you take different tests, you try to skew the answers to what you think you want it to show up. And I was like, no, we're just going straight from it. And I did, before I took it, I did it this little bit of like, in depth research because I didn't want to, like, be able to guess which was which answer. And I was able to get contribute. And it was, it was, it was cool.

Yeah. You know, there's a couple other ways to think about the why of contribute. And I think they both apply to you. And one of them, if you research John Calipari and he talks about his why, he says he wants to be the, the pebble that causes the ripple effect that goes on and on in the lives of the people around him, which, which I think is you as well. But another one of my, one of my close friends that has your why. We talk about this a lot with him because his gift was creating remarkable, memorable experiences for everybody that he comes in contact with. And that as well is you. I can see that in the way you think. It's like, how can I do something special here? How can they remember this moment? How can this have an impact in their lives right now?

It's amazing that you say that because it's exact. Like, I've said that hundreds of times. Like, people say, what is the word? Elevate? You know, because I use that for my books and my business. They're like, what does that mean to you and I go, well, literally every interaction that I have with someone, I want to elevate that experience. Right. So it's amazing that you're saying that. Yeah.

So that's one of the ways that we help people with the process of self awareness. Like who am I? What, what are the words that go with the actions of my life? And that's really, it's perfect for you because you are that guy that contributes, has an impact, makes a difference in the lives of other people.

Yeah. And it's fun. It's fun to do it.

Yeah. That gives you the big smile, I can tell. So what's next for you? Where's Jake going next?

On the journey. On the journey. I am such a believer that like, I mean, we really only get one life. I mean that's, that's a factual statement. There's no one can argue that you get more than one life right now, at least. Right. We'll leave it at that. You have one life to live. So I need to enjoy it and I need to make it. It's a game and I want to win the game. And to win the game, I got to have a lot of great days and impact a lot of people. And there are gonna be days where I don't impact you. There are gonna be days where I don't have. I don't have great days. But just like in sports, if you win a lot of games and you lose less than that, you're probably gonna make the playoffs. And when you're in the playoffs, you step up your game even further. You have more fun, you help more people, you make more money, you give back more. Whatever it is you do that, you're going to win the playoffs, you become a champion. And when you become a champion, you've won the game of life. And I'll tell you that what's next right now is really diving deep into our group coaching program and really building out and diving deeper into our one on one program with our students, entrepreneurs who are trying to scale to that six figure mark, who are like, I want to do this. I've been holding back, but I want to do it. And I want someone to get me there. I want someone to guide me. And so everything that's come down to this is now Coach Kelf and I'm elevating people to build out their business. So we got our group coaching program called Elite Elevation and our one on one coaching program and that's what we're going all in because we can really make a difference and Quick difference, too. Which means the ripple effect starts even sooner.

Oh, I love that. So if people are listening to this and they want to connect with you, they want to learn about your program, they want to get your book, how should they get ahold of you?

Yeah, the best ways to get ahold of me are on social media. Instagram, Akelfer, all the other social media, same thing. And then my website, jakekelfer.com and what we'll do for everyone who's listening is if you're. If you're interested in reading my book, we'll give everyone here a free copy of the book. All we got to do is just pay that small shipping fee and we'll get that paperback copy to you on your doorstep in no time. And you can get that on the link in my bio, my Instagram.

Or on my website. Just pop up, just put in your email address, fill it out, and we'll get it over to you.

I love it. Jake, thank you so much for taking the time to be here. I'm so excited that you were here. I love what you're doing. Totally resonates with me, and I love the life that you're living. I can't wait to keep following you and see where you end up.

Yeah. Thanks, guy. I appreciate it. And thanks for doing all that you do. It's a blessing to be able to come on your podcast.

Thank you. Have a great day.

Thanks for listening to today's show. But before you go, let me ask you a question. Would you like all of your communication to be easier and more productive? Take the essential first step to clarity now@yinstitute.com I'll catch you on the next episode.

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