Aligning Purpose with Profit: Why Chasing Money Alone Will Burn You Out

I get that. That's a great, man. That's a great purpose and it's an infinite game and your driving reason is a real reason. One of my biggest purposes, my biggest purpose is to help entrepreneurs do the inner work to align purpose with profit. What does that mean? It means to realize that so many entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship is like this, the biggest vanity freaking industry in the world where it's like everything's tied to your achievements and your results. And if you don't get these results, you're not worth anything as a human. Why do most people— this is how I initially went into it, and you're not— doesn't seem like you're like this, but initially going into the business because you wanted money. You thought, why do you— why do most people want money though? Why do you want $50 million or $40 million or $10 million? Why do you want to be wealthy? Because it's going to give you a feeling. That's why you want to be wealthy, because you think it's going to make you feel secure or finally at peace, or it's going to make you feel accepted, or you think you're going to look good in the eyes of other people, like you're going to be accomplished, right? So it's not really the money that you want, it's this feeling of fulfillment, right? And, and that feeling of fulfillment really comes from a deep-rooted purpose in why you're doing these things. So if your purpose is just to build a business just so I can make $10 million, that's, that's going to be a tough road for you, man, because it's like, it's when you get there, it's going to be unfulfilling, right? You're gonna tell me, and it's not going to give you the feeling that you thought, right? And you're most likely not gonna be able to sustain the $10 million because you're not really rooted in a deep Purpose, right? So the purpose is what we're really after. It's not the profit, but the, the, the, um, the catch here is that when you are rooted in purpose and you have this grand vision like Lee does, and you want to go change the industry and you have this phenomenal purpose, you're going to provide a ton of value. What happens when you provide a ton of value? You make a ton of money. It's a byproduct. It's a byproduct of that, right? Money is just an exchange of value. I do something for you, you think it's valuable, you make me money. So if you can lead with purpose and vision and value in all that you're doing, have that be the main purpose. It's not even about the money at all. It's not about it. It's about this purpose. And if you can do that, you're going to be way more fulfilled, right? Be way more rooted in like your soul's purpose of what you're here to do. As a byproduct, you're going to make a shit ton of money, but you're not really going to care about the money, right? I think that's the biggest shift I've had to make over the few years is understanding me. Like, even for me, it's like the reason I'm even in this business. I initially went into it because like, oh, you can make $80K on a wholesale deal, that's sick. Listen, you make— then you make $80K on a wholesale deal and you're like, I still feel like shit. I still don't feel good. You know what I mean? You got $100K in the bank, still don't feel good, right? So it's not money. Money doesn't change it for you, right? So you got to be rooted in something that's greater than yourself. And for me, that's like entrepreneurship is like my dojo. It's to go in there. And be this sense of like presence and peace for my team and to show other entrepreneurs that you can do this and you don't have to run around like a chicken with your head cut off all the time, right? You don't have to work a bajillion hours a week to be able to make this work, right? And having that sense of purpose, I think that's really important. I want everyone to understand that in this group, especially in Optimize, is that like, it's not about like the status and the accolades and the money. It's just not, right? And I'm going to go get all those things too, just to, you know, at even a higher level just to prove to everyone that like, hey, listen, I got all this stuff, it ain't about it. But I think it's good to, in the beginning, and that's such a good vision that Lee just laid out there about, that's what I'm talking about, purpose, right? Like he's doing this business, right? For one, the money. Listen, everyone wants to be wealthy. There's nothing wrong with that, right? Be wealthy, have 10 cars, have 10 houses. I don't really give a shit, right? That's great, you should have it, but it can't be the primary aim. If it's a primary aim, you're in for a world of hurt, a world of freaking hurt, right? Because then you're going to waste 10 years of your life, 15 years of your life, 15 years of your life trying to get all this shit, and then you get it and you're still going to feel like shit inside, right? Because you're not— you don't have a purpose in there. So with Lee's thing, it's like really shifting the entire blue-collar industry, right? Especially with people moving out of that. I feel like there's less blue-collar workers than ever. So by bringing organization to an industry that is has zero organization, right? They don't like technology. They want to go swing a hammer, right? So to make it like a business in a box service, to make it easier for them to do more business and serve more people, think how much freaking value Lee is providing. And he's literally— that's like an infinite game that he— that can be carried on even after he dies, like that mission of, of that industry, right? Um, so all the— so obviously he's going to make a lot of money because he's actually providing value and he's out there with a purpose. But at the end of the day, for Lee, it's like he wakes up every day and this business gets challenging. It's not just about the money. If it's just about the money, then that's a pretty empty thing. It's probably not going to sustain you to get to where you want to go. Say you want to get to $100 million. But when it's about changing the industry, it's like, I got to change industry to help these people out and change it. It's way deeper, right? It's like the Start with Why by Simon Sinek. So just understand that in order to align purpose with profit, you need to do the inner work. Right? Which is realizing that you don't really want the money. You want the feeling that the money gives you, which is fulfillment. And that really just comes from having a purpose. If you can have a purpose, right, you're gonna be more aligned with what you do and you're ultimately gonna be really good at it, which just means you're going to provide a ton of value and then the money will come as a byproduct. So if you can figure out a good purpose for why you're even doing this, and if it's just money or I wanna be an entrepreneurship, I wanna be an entrepreneur, so my, family and friends think that I'm worth something. It's the wrong answer. So dig deep and try to figure out what, what are you actually doing? What is your purpose? What is the reason for doing this? How is it changing, you know, changing things? And that's a lot of, you gotta do a lot of self-reflection sometimes to figure that out. Like figure it out, meditate, go on long walks, be silent, be in solitude. Think about these things, ponder them, chew on them. Why am I doing this? Right? Why am I doing this? Think about these things. These are the things that we need to think about. We're so freaking blinders on, go to work, get up, do this. Da da da da. We never like sit down and think about why are we doing this? Why? Gotta think about it. But if we can, if we can tap into that purpose, that's gonna be the most fulfilling life that you could possibly lead. And that's all we want at the end of the day. Everyone just wants to feel love. That's it. Everyone just wants to feel love and be accepted and live a fulfilling life. And we think that these things come from these external things, but they really don't. They, they come from within and following, following what you feel like you need to be doing. But it doesn't mean you can't have the external things. Like I said, it just means that they're not the primary aim. As long as external things are the secondary to the purpose, be in a good spot for sure. Yeah.

I like Jake. I like what you said about, it's, it's kind of a, a consequence of Providing value. Like, mm-hmm. Like, and, and I think that's kind of been a, a big way that I've tried to frame it as well is that if you, like, there is a way to do things, like things, everything is, is a system and the, the output is based on your, your inputs. And so if you just learn to do the thing that will work, like you'll get the result that you're looking for. Um, and, and that is just like provide more valuable information, products, services, et cetera. Like do things that make other people's lives better and they will happily pay you to do that. It's like, yeah, it, it is realistically that simple. Um, and, and I think that probably the biggest thing is like we, we do beat ourselves up about it though. Like, is this really that valuable? Like, you know, am I doing enough? Have I created enough? Like, are people going to want this like the way I want them to want it? I think that's been the hardest thing for me building this app is like I just sit here for hours and hours and hours like, what would make their life better? And then I'm like, what if they don't even care about this? It's like, okay, well, you know, like just the fact that you're doing something, trying to make like your purpose is to make somebody else's life better, you know, and you guys in real estate, like people in foreclosure, people who are going through these hardships, like your whole entire thing. Yes, you want to make money, but you're actually helping somebody in a dire need, in a difficult situation, providing them services and hopefully handling it ethically and helping them get to that next stage in their life. And then, you know, you get a little bit kickback on the back end, but it's, it's good stuff, man. And I think that, like, for, like you said, the love of it, like, I genuinely love business. I'll talk to nausea with anybody who, who wants to hear, and oftentimes they don't, but you know, it's like, you know, you just try and find those people who do and, and keep going.

Yeah. If we can make the win process, then you'll never lose, right? Like the, the process is like the point. That's the point. The process is the point. We're so tight. We're so focused on the results though, and the things, but it's really the process is which where, which is where our experiences and lessons and, and development and growth come from, right? It's a process of Stephen going through it for a year. Is Stephen or Steven? Uh, Steven. I know it's spelled like Stephen. Oh yeah, Stephen. Yeah, it confuses people. But that's the— or you can call me Robby, whatever. That's the goal right there though. That's the point. It's like you going through that thing for a year. That is the point of it. That's, that's the beauty of it. That's the lessons, right? You don't learn anything in success. You learn nothing. You don't grow at all. Exactly. What's the point of us even being here on this earth? It's to grow. So if you're just getting success after success, there's no point. Like, you're not getting anywhere. So understanding, like I said, the failure is feedback and all that's just part of the journey and just love that. And it's tough. It's tough when you're going through the difficult times, but just reflect on that stuff. It's all the— like