Focus, Problem-solving, God, Purpose

Alright, so I just left one business meeting. Now I'm going to another business meeting with another guy. He's actually a partner of our business. Yeah, let's go. Busy day today, but it's fun. It's a fun Friday today. Fun, busy Friday. I like being busy. I like working. It's fun. I think you, I think you, you know, you've, you've figured out life when you figured out what you like to do for work. You just figured it all out. There we go, the man himself is here.

Hey, there we go. How you been? You good?

Good, good, good. And you?

Yeah, really good, bro. Yeah, you're gonna laugh about my shoes. I got them cleaned. They're still not ready, so I'm gonna train with you in loafers, okay?

Okay, perfect.

How do you plan to like implement that for your business?

Um, so it's interesting because it looks like to entrepreneurs the grass is always greener on the other side, right? You always look at somebody doing a lot of money and you think, oh, I should do that too, that's interesting, he's making a lot of money with that. But the truth is, if you just stick to your thing and focus 100%, you can make it huge as well. Yeah. Focus. Yeah, focus, 100%. The guy, the Panda Express guy, he's been doing Panda Express for over 40 years, right? And the focus in the same business. No wonder he's now a multi-billion-dollar corporation and they opened up, I think last year, over 200 new Panda Express locations around the US. People say, "Oh, he opened, how did he grow so much?" He's been doing this for 40 freaking years, right? One thing. And so I think where most entrepreneurs go wrong is they jump from thing to thing. Yep. Just because it's like a shiny object syndrome, right? They see something and they think the grass is greener on that side, but you're gonna have the same exact amount of problems on that side than on your thing, you know what I mean?

So obviously we're problem solvers, right? So like, how do you talk to yourself when there's like a massive problem you've never dealt with and, you know, it's a bit of pressure? Like, how do you actually speak to yourself?

Mmm, that's a very good question. So I use first principle thinking a lot, which is the act of thinking about a problem from the fundamentals of it. What is the problem? Why does this problem exist? Go deeper into what is that and how— what causes that? Why does that cause that? Where does that problem get caused? And so you get super deep into the problem. Like, Elon Musk uses first principle thinking as well. So for, for Tesla, the problem with electric cars was the batteries were too expensive. That's why they weren't feasible, right? And so Elon Musk used first principle thinking And he said, why are the batteries expensive? Oh, because we need to mine them from whatever place, and then we need a bunch of intermediary companies to do that, whatever. And then he did the math and was like, what if I vertically integrate? Vertical— and vertical integration means just you owning the whole supply chain, right? And then he figured out how to decrease the price of batteries for cars, and then he made electric cars possible just by thinking first principles, uh, thinking, right? So you think from the fundamentals. And so I always use first principles think when I have a really hairy problem, any problem, to be honest. And I try to train my staff as well to think like that because it's so powerful when you have people that think like you. Yeah, to be able to solve problems. And yeah, so you always go to the root of the problem. What is this problem? You can ask— also another way to get to the root of anything is just ask why 5 times. Have you heard of that?

No.

So why does this problem exist? Oh, because— what? So why are batteries so expensive? Expensive because we need to mine them from Africa and then we need to get this company to bring it over. Why? Why do we need to mine it from Africa and get this company to bring it over? Oh, because that's how it's always been done. Why has it always been done like that? I don't know, people didn't think to vertically integrate and own the whole supply chain. Why didn't they? Is it too complex? Oh, maybe. So you ask why 5 times and you get to the root of any issue, you know what I mean? So, yeah, I think first principles thinking is one of the most powerful mental models that you can have as an entrepreneur. And not even as an entrepreneur, but anything, any issue in your life you can solve with looking at the fundamentals, you know what I mean?

What do you see yourself as? Like, obviously we're classified as entrepreneurs, but I see us as professional problem solvers. But how would you identify yourself?

100%, well, professional problem solver, entrepreneur, firefighter. I like the firefighter one. You know Gary Vaynerchuk?

Yeah, yeah.

The marketing guy, he owns one of the biggest marketing agencies He's in the US and he said that every time he signs a document, every time he signs a document, he signs firefighter. And so I find that super cool.

What would be your advice to someone that's an entrepreneur just starting out, maybe $5K to $10K that wants to get to $50K, $100K plus? Like, what's— is it the mindset?

Is it—

yeah, what is it that has to change?

That's a great question. So I see that the most— the biggest problem I think that people need to solve when they're in that initial steps is number 1, philosophy. So your philosophy determines the whole trajectory of your life, right? So my whole philosophy used to be I can't get rich because the government is corrupt, because, you know, taxes are too high. But once you start changing your philosophy and start blaming yourself for everything instead of blaming the outside world, what you can't control, then your whole life explodes into change. And especially for people already making $5K to $10K a month, I think it would be number 1, philosophy, because even when you're at $5K to $10K, Why are you not at $20K, $30K, $50K, $100K yet? Because you haven't become the person that is able to make $100K per month yet. If you have become that person, you would be making $100K a month. And so you need to become the person that's able to make $100,000 a month. So you need to change your identity, you need to change your philosophy. And talking about practical terms maybe, you need a reliable, consistent, and scalable customer acquisition machine, that's when you unlock the amount of scale that you want. So, you know, I used to do a bunch of different things as well, and I was stuck at, you know, $2,000, $3,000, $4,000, $5,000, $6,000, $7,000, $8,000, $10,000 a month. And then it was only when I unlocked the scalable, reliable, and consistent— because it needs to be consistent, because sometimes you get one month, you know, a good month, and then the next month is, you know, famine. And so once you get that, you can unlock the scale that you want. So you have to to have a reliable customer acquisition machine. And for me, what I use is just paid traffic. It has been the most reliable and consistent and scalable for me, just paid traffic. And obviously this is assuming that you already have a good product, you already have your delivery dialed down. This is already assuming all of that.

So yeah. How important have mentors been in your life and being able to become the person that you are, and also financially, in all ways in life?

Oh, so important, man. So important. I can't even begin to start. So when I was 15, I first I first saw this ad of a guy, you might have heard him, Tai Lopez. Yep. Back when I was 15 years old, I saw this guy in front of a Lamborghini saying, "Here in my garage, just got this new Lamborghini here. Fun to drive up the Hollywood Hills, but you know what I like more about materialistic things? Knowledge. In fact, I'm more proud of these 6 bookshelves that I had installed to hold 5,000 new books that I just bought. It's like Warren Buffett said, 'The more you learn, the more you earn.'" And so I saw that ad when I was 15, and that was the first ad that planted a seed in my mind that it's possible to change, you know, because I was born in a poor third world country to poor parents. My dad was a Domino's Pizza delivery boy, my mom was a maid, and I never imagined it possible, you know what I'm saying? And so when I first saw that ad, it planted a seed in my mind that it's actually possible to change. Then I started following Tai Lopez. He became my first mentor, virtual mentor. I started following him, and then in one of Tai's live streams, he was talking about— in one of Tai's livestreams, he was talking about Jim Rohn, which is this guy. He passed away in 2005. He was a public speaker, entrepreneur, and he has this seminar that's online. It's free to watch. It's on YouTube called Best Life Ever. And Tai Lopez talked about that Best Life Ever seminar on YouTube. It's a seminar that Jim Rohn did in the 1990s. It's a 4-hour-long seminar. And so when he said that, I watched that seminar like in pieces, like 30 minutes at a time, an hour at a time, because it's super long. And then I started applying and executing what Jim Rohn taught, and then 5 years later I became a millionaire. Coming from a poor third world country to poor parents, you know, food stamps in my university and everything like that. And so yeah, mentors are— you can't get anywhere without mentors, you know what I mean? Especially, I mean, if you come from a— if you come from generational wealth, then you probably don't even need to be watching this video because you already have mentors that are your parents. And maybe not even them because, you know, most generational wealth, they go broke in like the third generation. And so because they can't, the parents don't know how to mentor their kids. And so that's going to be another chapter in my life to mentor my kids, you know what I mean? But yeah, it's completely 100%. You need mentors in your life to change your life.

And if you like, let's say one day you have a son, how do you plan on raising him? Like in Dubai? What are your thoughts on that?

That's a super good question.

Yeah.

So the reason I like to advise the opportunities here, the education level here, because the education system in Brazil is very poor. And the other thing is the opportunity to learn English, because English changed my life. You know, I'm from Brazil. Most people in Brazil don't speak English. You know this, right? You, you lived in Brazil for so long, you know that most people in Brazil don't speak English, and the ones that, that do are super broken English and stuff. And my serendipity in my life, which was something that I had no control over but completely changed my life, was I was born in Brazil, but when I was 1, my parents decided to go to the US to try to live the American dream. And so the first language that I learned in my life was English. That's why I speak English like an American, but I'm not American. Then when I was 9, my parents got divorced, so I went back to Brazil, and then I learned Portuguese back in Brazil. So that's an opportunity that I want to give to my kids as well, you know what I mean? The opportunity to learn English as a native language because that changed my life. Because it's a universal language, right? And then you don't need to stay in Brazil in that bubble. You can leave, you can do whatever you want with your life if you have English. And now Dubai I like because of the safety as well, but it's a double-edged sword because for my daughters it's going to be amazing. I don't have to worry about anybody, you know, trying to do something horrible with them. I don't have to worry about her walking around the street at night alone. But for my sons, I don't know how it's gonna— if it's gonna be beneficial or not because I think that men need to have some difficulty and suffering in their life to be able to grow as a man. If you never have to worry about safety as a man, is it gonna be beneficial or not? And it's— I don't know, to be honest. I'm still a little I'm still trying to figure that out in my mind. So far I don't have any sons, I only have a daughter. I love daughters. It was my, uh, it was always my dream to have a baby girl, and so now I, uh, I fulfilled that dream.

So yeah, what would be the legacy or how you would want people to remember you when you pass? Like, let's say your daughter family?

Very good question. You're asking very good questions, very good questions. Um, you're making me really think about that one.

Say you passed away today, how would you want like your family, Simone, everyone to remember you?

I think it would be He tried his best to— not tried, because whoever tries doesn't do. He did his best. He did his best in helping other people to change their lives and to make the world a better place. I think that's what I would like to be remembered by. That's a very good question, man, because, you know, at the beginning when you are just starting out When I was in, you know, in Brazil and was broke, you know, living on food stamps from university and whatever, I just wanted to make money. I just wanted to leave that situation. But now I make good money, I live in Dubai. More money isn't gonna make me more happy, you know what I mean? And so I was thinking about this the other day, like, why do I want to grow my business? Should I? It's gonna be more stressful, more problems.. But if I grow my business, I have more opportunities to change people's lives. If I grow my business, I have more money to be able to help more people. You know, I have more money to give away. You know, something that I really like about the author Dale Carnegie, he— was it Dale or was it Andrew? I don't remember if it was Dale or Andrew. I think it was Dale Carnegie, the author. He said that— he didn't say— when he died, they were, you know, searching, they were taking stuff from his apartment, they found a journal. And in his journal, he wrote down his goal. And he said that the goal for his life was to accumulate as much money as possible in the first half of my life, and in the second half of my life, to give it all away. And that's exactly what he did.

And how important is faith in your life?

It's the most important thing. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for God. You know, He's the one that gives you purpose. He's the one that gives you wisdom. He's the one that opens your heart if you're willing to open your heart. You know, the Bible talks about people with hard hearts, rigid hearts. And so if you have a hard heart, like a concrete heart, you don't open it, you don't humble yourself, and you can't learn. And so you need to have an open heart and a coachable heart. Heart to be able to change your life. And so, yeah, completely, God is, uh, without, without God, you know, none of this would have been possible. And all of this is for his glory. All of this is for his glory. You know, I always try to talk about God and biblical principles in my content because I think that especially when you are big and you have a bigger audience, you need stand for things that actually matter, right? You know, most people are talking about drugs, hookers, whatever, this lifestyle, you know, drinking, whatever. But I want to talk about Jesus. I want to talk about Jesus being our Lord and Savior, him being the only person that can change your life. And so he changed my life, and he can change anybody's life. And so I think we have a responsibility, right? It's like the guy who— what says it in the Spider-Man movie. Uncle Ben said, "With great power comes great responsibility." So yeah, that's 100% true. So with great power, with great audience, you have great responsibility. You can influence people in a negative path, or you can influence people towards a positive path.

And can I say, guys, we're at dinner at a very nice restaurant, and I seen him— he stopped, he prayed, and then he continued to eat. That's something I have not seen here since I've been here 3 months.

So yeah, this, this is a habit that, um, I'm doing with my baby girl, with my wife, every single day. Um, Celine wakes up at 6 AM, right? And so 6 AM, I go pick her up and we go to our balcony and we do our morning prayer. And there's a— I have a Bible app on my phone which has a verse of the day, right? And so there's a verse of the day, then there's an explanation of that verse, then there's a devotional for you to read, and then there's a prayer on that verse. And so we do our prayer of the day, then we read the verse of the day, and we do that devotional and do the prayer based on the verse. Then yeah, I think you need to have that as a habit, right? Just being grateful for everything you have, because God can take it all away tomorrow, right? He didn't— I know that God didn't give me all this money and all this fame and all this wealth to just spend money on cars and, you know, live a good life and, you know, ball out, whatever, right? I know he gave me this money for a purpose, and if I don't use it for that purpose to help people change their lives, he can just take it all away. Okay, you didn't do what I wanted you to do, let me give it to somebody else, you know, that's gonna do it. And so yeah, that's what I believe.

And who do you think you'd be, what do you think you'd be doing if you didn't have God in your life? What would my soul be doing without God?

That's a good question. You know, my first job, my first actual job signed on paper, because my first like job before that was I was working with my mom, But then my first actual job on paper was a cashier at a supermarket back in Brazil. And I don't know, maybe that. It's crazy to think about that, right? You're asking really good questions because you're making me think about things that I've never actually thought about, and it's real humbling and reflective to think on those things.

Yeah, well, I think it's sometimes important to have questions asked that kind of strip away everything that you are living. Yeah. In order to understand purpose and like God and the importance of those things.

Yeah.

Because I think a lot of people find God when they're going through a hard time.

Yeah.

Or they have a lot and then they destroy it because they're too close to the devil.

Yeah, 100%. 100%. That's interesting that you say that because I was born in a Christian family, and so I never had that moment that I find super cool when people have, right? Like they're rock bottom, drug addict, alcohol, whatever, whatever, and then they find God. I never had that actual moment because I was born and raised in a Christian family, and so these are all things that I learned from my dad, right? I owe a lot to my dad for teaching me all these good habits. We used to pray together when I was a kid. We used to pray together, you know, all the time. And so, yeah, it's just been a fundamental thing in my life, to be honest.

And what does Marcel's life look like in 5 years? What's the vision?

Maybe, maybe still in Dubai, maybe in another place. I like the US a lot. I want to grow my company even more so I can help even more people. So I have a purpose to help a billion people on earth to change their lives through online education, developing a better philosophy, and making money online. And the reason I put that a billion people goal, I heard a guy in Brazil say that once, a billion people, and I was like, oh, that's interesting. Interesting. Billion people. It's enough people to get you working your whole life, right? It's enough work for your whole life so you never get bored. And so I picked that number, a billion. And right now we have over 65,000 students in all 193 countries in the world, and we're just getting started. There's almost a billion left to go. Here we are. We made it.