"Proven Formula for a Millionaire Mindset"! Afformations By Dr Noah St John Ft. Michael R. Ayalon

We're going to do an affirmation like the gurus teach us. And they say to say these statements like, I am rich. So everybody say, I am rich. Everybody goes, I am rich. You know what happens next? Everybody starts laughing. And I go, well, what are you laughing at? They say, well, I'm not rich. And I said, but you just said you were. And they go, yeah, but I don't believe it.

We call these episodes the Fraternity Foodie Podcast because there is nothing like great food to bring college students together. Fun fact, just like our next guest, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey is one of my favorite books. Now, Noah St. John is recognized as one of the most requested, in-demand business and motivational keynote speakers and executive coaches in the entire world. He is the only author in history to have works published by Hay House, HarperCollins, Simon Schuster, Mindvalley. You're, you're counting each one?

I'm pointing to them. These are my books right back here.

Yeah. Sorry, I didn't mean to throw You're throwing it up there, Michael. Nightingale Cunnant, uh, and the Chicken Soup for the Soul publisher. Noah has also delivered over 1,000 presentations for corporations, associations, business groups, colleges, universities, and youth organizations worldwide. He speaks for groups ranging from 25 to 25,000 and is a regular interviewee on TV, radio, podcasts, print, and also online media. Welcome to the show, Noah.

Well, thanks, Michael. Great to be here.

This is going to be a lot of fun. I can tell already as you're pointing out all the different books behind you that you've written. I think that's great. I need to start doing that as well, but I don't have as many books published. Well, just hold them up.

That's all you need to do.

So you actually grew up in one of my favorite places in the, in the country, Kennebunkport, Maine, which is also one of the wealthiest communities in New England. But your family was actually dirt poor. Your parents were always arguing about money, just like my family did when I was a kid. So we grew up pretty much identical. So what was it like growing up in Kennebunkport of all places?

Well, it was fun and it sucked at the same time. I mean, so the point is, uh, it was, you know, Kennebunkport, uh, is one of the wealthiest communities in New England. And my family was dirt poor. I mean that literally, by the way, because we lived at the bottom of a dirt road in a drafty unfinished house that my parents ended up losing to foreclosure. So from a very young age, I was painfully exposed to the gap, the chasm between the haves and the have-nots. The haves was everyone else in the community. The have-nots was my family. Now you hear these speakers, they get on stage and they'll say something like, well, you know, we were poor, but we were happy. We didn't know we were poor. Well, in my family, we freaking knew we were poor because my mother, bless her heart, reminded us every day that we were poor and miserable. So it wasn't happy. It sucked. And so, you know, from a very young age, I hated that life of poverty and fear, lack, not enoughness. That's what I grew up in. But I saw that right down the street, there was great wealth and abundance. So I said, how the heck do I get from here to there? Right? And nobody could answer the question because, you know, it was just my family. I didn't have anyone to talk to. So I'm really known as the nerdiest nerd in the personal growth industry. I'm like the Sheldon Cooper of self-help because I'm such a nerd. And I mean, I've always been that way. So I just did what we nerds love to do, which is go to the library and start reading books. And so I read every book that I could find on self-help, personal growth, all the classics, Napoleon Hill, Stephen Covey, you know, Dale Carnegie. And I really, really tried to apply them. And I really found that I couldn't apply them either. As hard as I was working, I couldn't get them to work for me. So that's really what started really this whole journey of, and that eventually led to me starting my online business and publishing all these books, 15 books in 18 languages now. My 16th book is coming out, you know, in just a little bit. But yeah, I mean that's really how it all started.

That's really good for you. And you were browsing in your church bookstore when an audiotape set fell off the shelf. It landed at your feet. And of course, the book was The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. So why is this particular book so influential? Because you've written books, you've read books. Why is this the one?

Well, what happened was when I was 25 years old, I decided to commit suicide because I was so depressed, frustrated. I've been reading all these books, like I said, but I just couldn't get them to work. So I was broke. Lonely, unhappy, miserable. Had no you know I didn't have any prospects for the future. So I thought. So I said, "You know what? I don't even want to be here anymore on the earth," and I decided to take my own life. Now, at the last moment, my life was spared. I do share that story in my books and my seminars. But the point is that I'm like, "Well, now what am I? Now what am I supposed to do?" And so I ended up, you know, at my church bookstore. This was in the late nine or mid nineties, actually, and. I was browsing and literally it dropped off the shelf and fell at my feet. And I looked around and I said, there was no one there. There was no wind. I'm going, how the heck did that happen? And I guess it was the hand of God or something that just went beep in there. Check this out, man. And I'm like, and I looked at it and it said The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Now, I had never heard of it. I'd never heard of Stephen Covey, never heard of the title. But I'm like, well, that sounds really interesting. And so I listened to it in my car and I just listened to it over and over and over again. And I would just be crying. I'd be in the car, just literally tears running down my face. listening to this, what Dr. Covey was teaching, because I realized that my whole life I've been doing the 7 Habits of Highly Ineffective People. And that was my whole life and up until that point. And so, you know, fast forward a few years later, I actually got the opportunity to interview Dr. Covey. This was even before my first book came out. And my first book was published in 1998 and then later in 1999 by the Chicken Soup people. I self-published first. But anyway, so I got to talk to and interview Dr. Covey. I mean, he was amazing. What a wonderful man he was. And so you talk about integrity. I mean, he had integrity and he had that, just that presence about him, which I just so admired and respect, you know, to this day. And he said something that I never forgot and still remember to this day. And he said, Noah, I want people to leave my seminars more impressed with themselves than with me. And isn't that an amazing statement to make? Because if you look at all the social media today, what is it? It's all, look at me, look how cool I am, look at all my cool stuff. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. I'm not saying that, you know, we all want to aspire to, you know, have nice things. I mean, I have a nice house, have nice cars and things like that. We all want those things. But the point is that, why are you doing that? Are you just doing it to say, look at me, look how cool I am? Or are you saying, listen, you know, when you apply these systems, when you apply these formulas, these methods that we teach, you know, you can do it too. And frankly, you could even do better than me.

100%. I have that book. Here it is right here. It's a fantastic read. So definitely go out and pick that up. And you're absolutely right. As a good speaker, if you can make your audience the star, that is ultimately how you're going to get booked over and over and over again. So I agree completely. You know, these are all mistakes and lessons that I think I had to learn the hard way. But you know, once you understand them, then suddenly you know things take off for you. So that's really nice. Now in 1997, you had two epiphanies. The first one was the shower that changed everything when you discovered your affirmations method. What is that method? What is that?

Well, let me tell you. I this is something that's that's brand new here. Well, I mean new for most people. I've been teaching it for a quarter century now, but it's my teaching or my method called affirmations. If you can see the screen here, it's A F F O R. M-A-T-I-O-N-S, not I but O. So if you go to afformations.com, A-F-F-O-R-M-A-T-I-O-N-S, afformations.com, you can learn more about my Afformations Method. So really, the short version is that we all know what an affirmation is. If you've ever read a self-help book, you know an affirmation is a statement of something you want to be true. So like when I'm doing my keynote speeches, whether they're colleges or universities or, you know, Fortune 500 companies, I always like to have my audiences stand up and say, and I say to them, all right, we're going to do an affirmation like the gurus teach us. And they say to say these statements like, I am rich. So everybody say, I am rich. Everybody goes, I am rich. You know what happens next? Everybody starts laughing. And I go, well, what are you laughing at? They say, well, I'm not rich. And I said, but you just said you were. And they go, yeah, but I don't believe it. See, now that's the problem, right? Isn't that the problem with the traditional affirmations? We say these statements, But really, our brain doesn't believe it. And so we're just fighting our own beliefs. We're fighting our own brain. And so what they said was, well, listen, if you don't believe your affirmation, just repeat it 1,000 million billion kajillion times until you believe it someday. Now, for some people, that works just fine. But for some of us, it didn't work at all. Right? And so that's why I tell the story of the shower that changed everything. And the short version is that, you know, I realized that, wait a minute, we— because this was April 1997. I was in the shower and I was thinking about this very thing. I was thinking about why have I been using these statements, doing everything they said, and it never works? And I said, well, it's because the human mind actually operates with questions, not statements, but questions. In fact, psychologists call it the embedded presupposition factor of the brain. What that simply means is that when you ask a question, your brain has to search for the answer. So I said, why are we going around making statements we don't believe when the human mind responds automatically to something more powerful? And I said, well, what should we do then? And so I said, well, instead of saying the statement, I am rich, to which your brain says, Yeah, right. I said, what would the question be? And then I said, why am I so rich? Why am I so rich? Now, for everyone watching, listening to this program, ask yourself that question right now. Why am I so rich? Now, what instantly happens in your brain? And Michael, I'll ask you since we're talking. Like when you ask that question, what instantly happens in your brain?

Instantly, I look to answer it. So I'm searching for the answer, which is, you know, family, which is A beautiful home, which is that literally I was dreaming 6 years ago of being in this position right where I am today. And it's true. And it actually happened. That's why I am rich.

Exactly. See? So literally you're proving my point. And everybody watching, listening to this program can prove it right now to themselves by just asking better questions. So that's what my Afformations Method is in a nutshell. It's the process and method of using what you're already doing in your brain which is asking questions. But instead of asking what I call disempowering questions, see, most human beings are going around asking really disempowering or I also say lousy questions, right? Like why am I so stupid? Why am I so fat? Why am I so lonely? Why can't I get a date on Saturday night? Why does nothing ever work out for me? Why is there more month left at the end of the money? Right? And when you ask lousy questions, what do you get? Lousy answers, right? And that creates a lousy life. So I said, Well, what if we just flip the whole thing around, start asking empowering questions instead of disempowering questions that lead to phenomenal answers and create a wonderful life? So standing in the shower, April 1997, I invented this method that we now call the Afformations Method. And since that time, over a million people around the world in literally over 140 countries around the world are using my Afformations Method. And it's really what we call the Afformations Revolution.

I really like that. Go and pick up that book, Afformations, A-F-F-O-R-M-A-T-I-O-N-S. That's fantastic. Now let's talk about the second epiphany because that was when you discovered the condition of success anorexia that causes self-sabotage and what you call the foot on the brake syndrome. So talk to us more about success anorexia.

Yeah. Whew. It's a mouthful. So I was at a seminar on eating disorders. So this was October 1997. So 1997 was my year for epiphanies. And so I was at a seminar on eating disorders, and I realized as the speaker was talking, I said to myself, I went, you know, I am not starving myself of food, but I am starving myself of something. What is it? And I realized that I was starving myself of success, meaning that I had all of the capabilities, all of the abilities to be very successful, but yet I wasn't successful. And I said, why? Why is this keeping happening? And I realized that I've been studying all those success books like I told you, but, and they all talked about it in the same way, in the sense that, you know, when they were talking about like self-sabotage or holding yourself back, they would basically say this. Well, listen, if you're holding yourself back, stop doing that. And I went, wow, that is really helpful. Thanks a lot, guys. Yeah, I never thought of that. It's like, and literally After I had that epiphany and that realization, I realized that saying something like that, which is what all the gurus say, you know, if you're holding yourself back, don't hold yourself back. If you're sabotaging yourself, don't sabotage yourself. I'm like, that's like saying to an anorexic, well, why don't you just eat? No duh. I mean, like, if it was that easy, then no one would ever have any problems, would we? You know? So it doesn't even make any sense when you see it in this new way. So I was literally there and I said, oh my gosh, this explains my whole life. And I knew because as Emerson said, what is most personal is most universal. So I said, because this is so personal to me, I knew that millions of people had to feel exactly the same way, but no one had ever talked to them about it. And that's why I decided to write my first book, which was entitled Permission to Succeed, because I realized that we don't need more how-tos of success. What we actually need is a formula and a method and a system to give yourself permission to succeed. And that later became and evolved into what is now called the Power Habit System. which you can go to powerhabits.com. And yes, I have 300 domains. I won't give you all of them. But anyway, so powerhabits.com, that's what became known as the Power Habit System. Or another way to say that is the unconscious habits of highly successful people. So it's so funny that, you know, we talk about Stephen Covey and he's my, you know, my hero, my, the reason, my inspiration for getting in this program or this business, I should say, this industry. But what many people have said about my work is that my work starts where Stephen Covey left off.

Very cool. Well, that's certainly a very good guy to be modeling yourself after. Certainly very, very successful. No question about it. Now, college students, they often develop bad habits in life. I think they would all agree on that. So how do you break your worst habit in 21 days without using willpower?

Well, it really comes down to what I teach in my books and in my seminars, my online programs, which is what is a habit? See, we're not taught what a habit is. We're just said, Well, if you have a bad habit, then break it. You know, don't do it. You know, like I said, that is stupid advice. It doesn't mean anything. Oh, thanks a lot. You know, if it was all that easy, then no one would ever have a problem. Right? So the point is that what we're taught is just to use willpower. Right? Meaning, hey, if you want to break a habit, just break a habit. You know, like, you know, grit your teeth. So think about it in this way for everybody listening and watching the program. So think about this. Imagine if you're in your kitchen right now, somebody brings in a plate of chocolate chip cookies that just came out of the oven. Right? And they smell great and they look great. And you just see that smell is wafting. You can taste it. Your mouth's watering, right? And then they say to you, okay, now don't eat a chocolate chip cookie. Whatever you do. Now I'm leaving. Don't have a chocolate chip cookie. All right? Now I'm leaving. But don't eat one. I'm going to know if you eat one. Now I'm leaving. All right? What are you going to do? You're going to eat like 10 of them, right? You're going to— right? It's like, no, it doesn't work that way. Right? That's trying to use willpower. It's stupid because we humans don't like to deny ourselves of anything. Right? We like, we want what we want. And that's unfortunately or fortunately what a habit actually is. So what I teach You know, in my books and my programs is what is a habit? Well, a habit is actually 5 stages. And it's actually very simple once you learn it. But it's the cue, routine, reward, craving, and belief. So very simply, it means what is the trigger that happens that cues or triggers the habit? What do you actually do when the habit is triggered? What is the reward that happens in the brain? What is the craving that occurs as a result? And then finally, what is the belief? That actually is embedded in you. So take something like smoking, you know, and a lot of, of course, teenagers are unfortunately smoking, but many, of course, want to quit, which is great. And I've helped people who had been smoking for 10, 20, 30 years. And they've been trying to quit. They tried everything. They tried hypnosis, the patch. I mean, everything, you know, everything. And they couldn't quit. They used my method. They were able to quit in less than, less than 14 days, literally less than a month. And so anyway, my point is that Once you understand those, what a habit is and why something gets triggered. So let's say it's stress. Let's say you're tired. Let's say it's, you know, you wake up. I mean, it could be anything that triggers you. And then it's just simply a matter of replacing that routine with something that's more healthy. Like instead of picking up a cigarette, you eat an apple or something, you know? So the irony of habits is that you actually can't stop doing anything. What you do is you replace it. You can't stop a habit. But you can replace habits. Frankly, you know, you can replace unproductive or unhealthy habits with healthy, productive habits that will lead you to your goal, to where you want to be in life.

I absolutely love it. That is fantastic advice. You know, the other thing I think about this time of year is that people are spending lots of money for the holidays. I mean, the Amazon truck doesn't stop coming by my house. You know, I think he's got a direct line to my house now. So, how can we avoid the debt hangover That is going to be happening in this holiday spending season.

Well, you know, there's a lot of things I'm interviewed on the media a lot, you know, year round. But you know, especially holiday times is a popular time for for this topic. So just very quickly, a couple of quick tips you can do. Number one is make a list. Okay, you know Santa's not the only one that needs to make a list and check it twice, right? So what happens is a lot of times, you know, you're either online shopping or you're in a store and you're like, "Ooh, that looks good," you know, and you just you fill up your cart. Oh yeah, da da da. And so it's that binge spending, right? And that's a real— that's a problem, right? And so the point is you really want to make a list both of, you know, who you're going to buy for and then, you know, how much you're willing to spend, right? And really stick to that list. And it's probably going to hurt a little bit at the start. Okay. So that's one thing you can do right away. Another thing you can do is don't go when it's crowded, right? When it's crowded, then you sort of get caught up in that herd mentality. And, you know, that can really be a problem because, you know, it's like, oh, everybody else is buying something. I guess I got to buy something. And even when you didn't even need the thing. And then the third thing you can remember remember is that a lot of people over the holidays, it comes down, the stress that they feel, you know, because 38% of people, according to, you know, a lot of surveys say that 38% to 43% of people feel more stressed over the holiday season, which is no surprise, right? Because you got all this financial pressure, time pressure, and all these other things. But I believe it really boils down to just one word, which is obligation. We have, we feel the sense of obligation. Now, the word obligation comes from the Latin word obligare, which means to bind. Isn't that interesting? So, we really feel bound, you know, to these, you know, maybe people or relationships or just, you know, traditions, which a lot of times, we don't even know where they came from. It's like, you know what? I don't even, we don't need more stuff. And that's the 4th thing to remember is what was the last, you know, gift you got from your brother or your sister or something that, you know, what did you get last year? Most of us, we can't even remember, right? And so why? Because the value of things, like material things, actually goes down over time. And yet the value of experiences goes up over time. So you can probably, all of us can remember that time you went to the lake or you went to the mountains or you went to the beach. You just had a nice vacation, you know, with your family or friends or whatever. So we, you know, like I said a moment ago that I'm interviewed in the media all the time. A media person asked me the other day in an interview, well, what do you collect, Noah? And I answered, I collect experiences. I don't collect things. I don't need any more things. And I think most of us don't really. I mean, you know, of course, we want nice things. Again, I'm not saying don't have things. But what I am saying that the value of things goes down over time, whereas the value of experiences. So when you think about that memory, it makes you happy. And so create those experiences, even if it's a staycation or a daycation or whatever it is. You don't have to spend a lot of money. You don't have to spend any money. You know, just make it a fun experience with your family members, with your friends, with your loved ones. And then the value of that experience will just only grow over time, literally over your entire lifetime.

Yeah, you're 100% right on that. I know that for my family, going on cruises is like the big thing. And so we just do that as a group to try to save money. And, you know, before the pandemic, we were doing this every summer. And that's really what I remember each year is that cruise and those memories and the time that we spent there. I can tell you everything about what happened on that cruise. But if you ask me what I got from my siblings, you know, for Christmas 3 years ago, I have no idea. Right.

Right. And that's what I mean. And so just you replaying the memory in your mind makes you happy all over again. And in fact, it makes you happier maybe even than when you were there. That's what's amazing about experience and memory is that it really does. The value goes up over time. So the point is build that into and know that and build that into your, you know, if it's holiday shopping or gift giving or whatever it might be, and realize that that will never really change for us humans. as our experience as we go through life.

I love it. Now, you know, the holidays are a very stressful time because I think we put pressure to go and visit certain family members. We have to be here, then there, then— I mean, there's so much stress that's going on right now. So what are some secrets to avoiding what you call the dreaded holiday meltdown?

Yes, the holiday stress meltdown. Exactly. Yeah. And it really— remember, it comes down to that word obligation or obligare, which is to bind. So number one, one thing you can do right now is to And I call it expect the expected, right? And you know you've heard the term expect the unexpected. Well, I say to expect the expected, meaning you know if you have a certain family member, isn't there always a family member that just pushes your buttons, right? And it's like, oh my God, Uncle Baba, you know he's gonna do it. And it's like, and and so what's so funny is like my mother, I this happened for years, you know, and her father, you know, my maternal grandfather, he would always say these things that would annoy her, and and she would say, why does he always have to do that? And I said. Because he's 90. Because he's not— you think he's going to change? Is he reading self-help books? I mean, come on. You know, he's not going to do anything different. He's not, you know. So whoever it is, just realize they're going to do it. So don't let it trigger you. Walk into that situation going, okay, we know what's going to happen now. What am I going to do differently? You know, because now you're an adult and you're like, okay, I'm not a kid anymore. Now what am I going to do? A second thing you could do is use my Afformations method. Right? And you can literally calm yourself down literally in less than 60 seconds. In fact, if you go to our website, we've got tons of free resources, including a free IA Form audio download that's called a 60-Second Stress Buster. So again, if you go to noahstjohn.com, N-O-A-H-S-T-J-O-H-N.com, you can download. We've got tons of free resources. You can even get my new book for free at noahstjohn.com. So just using those affirmations like, why am I so calm? Why am I so confident? Why am I happy? Why am I centered right now? See what I did? I just asked a question and then your brain actually starts to answer it. And you start to literally relax in less than 60 seconds. And just one final, really easy, quick tip that's free is breathe. Breathe. I know that sounds silly and sounds like almost stupid, like what do you mean breathe? You know? But what's funny is when you get in a stressful situation, you actually forget to breathe. And what that does is it cues the fight or flight response in the brain. And so what you want to do is just very simply, if you find that stress going up and up and up, just go breathe in through the nose, count for 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and then hold it for 5 and then let it out for 5 through the mouth. Like that. And so you can instantly— it literally triggers the relaxation response. And that just that simple thing, again, less than 30 seconds, and you can calm yourself very quickly.

I love it. I'm going to be using the affirmations myself. I'm going to be asking myself, why am I rich? It's gonna work every single time. So I love that tip. And I love the affirmations there. Now I feel like college students right now are literally attached to their phones. It's like part of their body right now. So, what are some of the surprising mental health benefits that you have seen of just taking a break with your phone?

Yeah. Okay. Now, this is really important. I love talking about this subject because see what we have here, and by the way, I turned my phone off. That is why it is off. But we have what I call the IDD here at our fingertips. The IDD, that stands for infinite distraction devices. They are infinite distractions. And I mean infinite because if you just go to YouTube, just one platform, there are over 149 billion videos on YouTube right now. 149 billion. There are, I believe it's 30 hours uploaded every second to YouTube. So you could watch nothing but cat videos on YouTube for the next 10,000 lifetimes and you'll still never be done. And what's better than watching cat videos? Right? Nothing. Exactly. So I mean, come on. So the point is we have to realize that the guys, the people who create these platforms, you know, social media and everything else, They have designed it on purpose to manipulate your brain to make you addicted to their platform because they make money the longer you and I stay on the platform. And that's, so that's tip number 1 is just to realize what they actually are. They are devices, platforms to make money, right? And so how can they make money if you're not on it? Well, they can't. So their job is to addict your brain. And I mean, and they've got programmers working night and day. How can we get people more addicted to this? You know? It's kind of, you know, so, but But just be aware of that, number one. So really, the surprising health benefits include lowering your stress, right? And just being able to think more, being able to think more clearly, and not being— not succumbing to that peer pressure, which is everywhere. And I mean, listen, I'm certainly out of college. I went to college twice, by the way, and never graduated. So I love college and had a great time there, even though I never graduated. But, you know, I'm quite a bit older now. And I mean, I still succumb to that peer pressure. So it never really ends. What I What is so aggravating about social media is basically high school never ends. That's what really is aggravating because it's just high school all over again. Who's the popular kids? You know, who's, who's the in crowd and who's not? And it's like, if you're not in the in, it's like, I feel left out. And you know, it's just these feelings of just inadequacy and I'm not good enough. And I mean, you know, unfortunately and sadly, and this is a very serious point, is that, you know, the teen suicide rate has gone up.

Yeah.

you know, every year for the last 10 years. And, you know, there's no question that social media is a big part of that. So, you know, just realize that their job is to get money out of you. And you go, but wait a minute, it doesn't cost me anything. Of course it doesn't. You know, it's free to join. But that means you are the product. You're the product. I'm the, you know, everybody's on social media. You're the product. You're the data point. They're selling you advertising. I mean, again, they don't sell it. It doesn't cost you money, but they're selling it to these other companies that say, hey, let me be put my ad in front of these people who are watching my stuff. And nothing wrong with it. It's not wrong. It's just you've got to be aware. And I want everybody listening to this program and watching to be empowered, right? That's my job as, you know, the mental health coach to the stars, as the father of AppFormations, as, you know, the leader of SuccessClinic.com is to empower you. So I want you to be empowered, not disempowered, which is quite frankly what these platforms do.

Yeah, well, thanks for that reminder. I think that's important to keep that in perspective because you're right, the mental health needs are just climbing and climbing. There was actually just a report yesterday, yesterday that came out from the Surgeon General talking about these mental health needs that are increasing with our youth. And you're absolutely right. I mean, social media, you can point the finger squarely there because I see it all the time. I mean, in terms of, you know, just the fear of missing out and just— Feeling like you're inadequate because you can't keep up with what's going on around you.

And just real quick to that point is remember that this is one of the most ancient parts of the human brain body, which is the feeling of left, being left out of the community, of the crowd. And that goes back to tribal days, which is, you know, tens of thousands of years of human evolution, which is if you are not in the tribe, you're outside and you're going to be dead. You know? So literally being Expelled from the tribe is worse than death. That was a fate literally worse than death because death is easy. Just, you know, they kill you and you're done. But no, if you're out there, I mean, you're going to get eaten. It's going to be really bad, you know? So that is an ancient— and that's what they prey upon, meaning the platforms do. And it's sad. And so again, I'm certainly not suggesting, hey, don't ever use social media because who would listen to that? That doesn't make any sense. But just be aware, be empowered so that you have the power, not them.

Yeah. I want to talk about one last thing with you, which is apathy. There's so much of it within college student organizations like the fraternities and the sororities that are listening right now. So how do we build a more productive, motivated, and engaged team within these student organizations?

You know, it really comes down to what I call finding your because. That's one of the power habits that I teach, the power habits of unconsciously successful people. And in fact, that's the culmination, that's like the pinnacle of success, which is finding your purpose that's larger than you. You know, as an example, you know, there are, there's a lot of activism on campuses, college campuses all across the country and around the world, which is awesome. And, you know, so many, you know, college students are very active. But when you, when you don't know why you're here, when you don't have that purpose, it can feel very empty. Again, I know from personal experience because I decided to take my own life because I didn't have a purpose or didn't know my purpose back when I was 25 years old. And so, I know what that's like to go, why am I even here? You know, so finding your purpose is a crucial thing. And it can't just be about, well, I want to make a lot of money. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with making lots of money. It's a great thing. But is that really all? Is that it? And for most people, that's not enough. So, you know, when you're looking at what to get involved with, find something that makes you excited. So for example, you know, with a name like Noah, I'm very passionate about saving our oceans, right? I mean, I would be, wouldn't I? And so, you know, there's a thing going on right now about cleaning up our oceans. And I mean, not one thing. There's, you know, hundreds of or thousands maybe of communities or, you know, organizations saying, let's clean up the oceans. Let's get the plastic out because the plastic is, I mean, that's a whole huge enormous conversation. But the point is that is the type of thing that gets me excited now. You know, now because I'm able to give back, I'm able to help people, I'm able to empower people as I said. And so, you know, getting involved in that is something much larger than me. I mean, it's the oceans. You know, it's much, it's huger than me by a factor of a million, a billion, a kajillion. And so that's the point is when you find something like that that just gets you excited and inspired, that really just frankly apathy goes out the window because you're like, wait a minute, I'm on fire right now and I want to do this. I want to make a difference. I want to make an impact, even if it's in a very small way, which for all of us, it might seem very small. But if we are able to get together as a community, I mean I'm talking about as humans, you know, we can make a big difference. And so find your purpose, find your why-to, find your because. That again, and I'm not saying that money's a bad thing. Money's great. It's awesome. But it's not really enough for most people to say, this is why I'm here. I'm here to make a billion dollars. Well, okay. But I mean really, it's I'm here to make a difference. I'm here to help people. I'm here to clean up the oceans. You know, whatever it might be for you, find that button. And I always say, you know, whatever button you find, just keep pushing that button. Whatever it is, just keep pushing that button. And you'll find that not only do you, ironically, you actually make more money because you're on fire with your purpose. But you also become happier. And, you know, that's what I call moving up the income happiness scale to have really, which is what I call the freedom lifestyle. And that is really what I think we all want.

Yeah, I love that answer. I think today's students, Gen Z, they want to make the world a better place.

Yes.

But you have to ask that question of your teammates. What is it that motivates you? What is it that you want to do? What is your dream? What is your purpose? And once you go around the room and you ask those questions, make sure that somebody's documenting all of this so that way we know how to motivate everybody because everybody's motivated by something different. You might be motivated by cleaning the oceans. I might be motivated by solving world hunger. So we need to figure out where are we going to meet as a group so that way we're both getting what we need out of the organization. So absolutely, that's really good stuff. Now we do love good food here at the Fraternity Foodie Podcast. So I need to know, what is your favorite restaurant in the North Canton, Ohio area?

Well, we have a, we have a lovely Japanese restaurant here. It's called A1 Japan. And I mean, it's, you know, they do all the stuff, which is so cool. I'm like, how do they do that? You know, I think it's amazing. They do a really nice job. And what's nice is the portions are really big. So, you know, basically you're getting 2 meals for the price of one. So I love taking my wife there. You know, we go there for different celebrations and anniversaries and birthdays and stuff. So that, that's our favorite restaurant here in the area.

I like that. That's very good. My son would love going there. Any hibachi restaurant around the country, he is down. It's entertainment, it's tasty food, it's fresh, and he's down anytime. So, uh, I think I'm gonna have to take him next time I'm in North Canton, Ohio. A1 Japan.

Yes.

I love it. I love it. So, all right, if our student listeners, if they want to bring you in to speak on their college campuses, where is the place to go to connect with you?

Very, very easy to remember. It's booknoah.com. And all you have to do is say, who should we book? Booknoah.com. Booknoah.com. Can't get any easier than that. You'll remember that. Booknoah.com.

Booknoah.com. It doesn't get any easier than that. I think that's the easiest answer I've received in over 200 interviews. Just booknoah.com.

Booknoah.com. Come on, you can't go wrong.

I can tell you have a very extensive domain library. I can't wait to talk to you about that someday.

Well, this has been a lot of fun, Noah, I really appreciate your time here.

Uh, and I know our listeners really enjoyed it. So to our listeners, if you like Noah's talk today, feel free to like that, share that with other college students on campus, on social media, whenever you're on social media. And we certainly appreciate your time. We'll see you next time on the Fraternity Foodie Podcast. Thanks so much, Noah.

All right. My pleasure. Bye.