153. Markus Kaulius | Play A Bigger Game

Hello, Book Thinkers family, and welcome to our personal development podcast, Book Thinkers Life-Changing Books. During each episode, we interview one of the world's top authors, and as a listener, you can expect to discover new books, new mentors, and new resources that you can use to achieve more and live better. In today's episode, we have the pleasure to interview Marcus Collias, author of the soon-to-be-released Play a Bigger Game. Marcus is a bodybuilder, elite athlete, investor, speaker, husband, father, and an entrepreneur who built a business worth over $100 million. Marcus went through some challenging times as a teenager, from an awkward build to being bullied and severe poverty, but he didn't allow that to stand in his way of becoming something more. He realized that he was made for more, and with God on his side, nothing could stop him. At 17 years old, he ventured into his first business with his brother, And after selling that, he moved on and founded Magnum Supplements, which he eventually sold for over $150 million. He has now started a new venture called Play a Bigger Game to help those who know they are destined for more and reach that potential sooner than they thought they could. In this episode, you'll learn about Marcus's calling and background, how he went from being poor and out of shape to abundance and bodybuilding, why becoming the best version of yourself comes down to a simple choice, how exactly you can become that best version of yourself, and how to have more confidence, than ever before. This episode couldn't have been released at a better time going into a new year. If you're ready to level up and become the better version of yourself you know you can be, then listen up. Now, get ready to learn and enjoy this incredible conversation with Marcus Kallius. Marcus, welcome to the Book Thinkers Life-Changing Books Podcast. We are so excited to get to know more about you and talk a little bit about your book that you'll be releasing soon, Play a Bigger Game. I'm overwhelmed with your presence on our podcast and grateful you're here with us today.

Guys, thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here. But listen, I have a question for you guys to get started. Yes. By the end of this podcast, what is it going to take for you guys to go, that was a spectacular time with Marcus?

I think if you can continue to communicate this level of energy, I don't know how I wouldn't walk away feeling like a million bucks.

Well, I will fully commit to that. I have no issue with that. I think we're going to have a great time together, guys.

Same, same. All right. So, you're a successful entrepreneur, bodybuilder, husband, father, and so much more, but you weren't always this way. I want to rewind to when you were 13 years old, being bullied and having a hard time with life, struggling with self-esteem issues and all kinds of other problems. So, many of us use these situations as an excuse to give up. So what made you different than most, and what changed in your life at that time to put you in a place that you changed for the better and not for the worse?

Oh man, I appreciate this question so much. It's a beautiful question. And yeah, my life at 13 really stunk. And I hope when you guys hear this, you guys are gonna hear something in your life that resonates with you, like, hey, that's, you know, there's a piece of me that's there today. And I had all the problems. I had no self-respect, no confidence. I believed all the things the bullies said about me, man. I couldn't get a girl to look at me if I set myself on fire. I had the worst body in the world. I was 6'4, 120 pounds, and not a pound of that was muscle, by the way. It was skin, bones, and somehow I even still looked chubby. It was messed up. I, uh, I had this turning point. You know, first of all, the, the beautiful thing about your question— there was something in me that said, this is not who I'm supposed to be. So if you are listening to this and you're like, Marcus, I don't— I'm not living the life I know I should be living, I should be playing a bigger game in life— there's something in you that says, this is not enough, this is not what I've been put on this planet to live. Awesome. So lean into that. That is what drove me every single day to go, there is going to be more. I will give more and make a choice right this minute. Take action today to say, I'm going to start playing a bigger game. And that was the choice that I made. I decided I was going to be a better version of myself. I was on a flight to Maui. Now, we were not a wealthy family. My father had been gone for many years. He came back and invited me on a trip with his new family to Maui. And of course, I said yes. I don't even know what an airplane is like anymore. So I'm on this plane ride and I felt God say to me, where you're going, you know, nobody knows that you're picked on. No one knows that you're a loser. No one knows you have no confidence. So you get to decide who do you want to be? And I was like, well, I want to be myself. I want to be myself in a way where I haven't let the world tell me who to be, haven't shrunk me down, haven't put me in this terrible box that I hate being in. And I stepped off that plane and I was that person. I had way more confidence. I had way more energy. I was myself. And shocker, people liked it. People love being around the true you. And I hung out with the coolest dudes. I got dates with the most beautiful women. And I was just so shocked. That you can make that choice because that's all it was. Now, of course, when I got home, I had to put in the real work of becoming that guy and becoming a better version of myself every single day so that I could wake up every day with that kind of confidence, with that kind of energy, and be the man who succeeds the way I knew I should succeed.

I love that story. So, I have a question. If somebody's listening or watching this podcast today and they go, great, but I'm not going on a plane ride to Maui in the next couple of weeks. So, how do I create a situation where I have the opportunity to see what it feels like to step into my real shoes and live my real life and be the real me? Do you have any recommendations for somebody who might be struggling with that? Like, what can they do to put themselves in that type of situation?

Nick, such a beautiful question. You don't have to be on a plane ride. And that's the number one thing that I've learned. And in In my transformation, the number one thing I felt called to do is to help all those people who are trying to make this transformation. The choice starts right now. You can be sitting anywhere. I don't care where you are. You can just make the choice. You can say, I'm gonna play that bigger game in life. Now, it's that easy to make the choice, but the journey is gonna be where you have to put in the work. And you just have to commit to it because there is such a beautiful pot of gold at the end of this thing. And I don't just mean riches, but honestly, you're going to make more money. But, you know, riches in life, real fulfillment, real success, like enjoying your life. So first you make the choice to go, you know what? Yeah. What if, what if, what if Marcus is right? What if it is just a choice? And try it out. Try it out today just to go, you know what? I'm gonna act like a more confident person. This is actually one of the most fun things I do whenever I'm talking on a stage. It's an exercise that I do and I just say, hey everybody, show me with your body. What would it look like if you had 50% more confidence? And everybody knows. They're like, okay, well, shoulders are back. I got more eye contact. Yes. Yes. I'm full.

Yeah.

I feel good. My handshake, nice and firm. Yeah. I'm strong. We know that because it's in here. It's in us to be that way. Why do we not act that way? Oh, because the world told me not to. Shh, don't, don't have too loud of a voice. Don't have too much of a presence. You're too loud. You're too tall. You're too skinny. You're too fat. We're putting our— we've been put in this box and we've accepted. We're being put in a prison and we're like, okay, this is where I'm supposed to be. I'm supposed to be this quiet. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for my presence. But if I said let it out, You know what to do. And then my next question is, okay, what if you just walked around like that every single day? Just walk around even for 10 minutes. Try it out. Try it out with your spouse. Try it out with your best friend just to see what it's like. Instantly, they're gonna be like, who's this guy? Who's it? And then you say, I wonder who will, who will achieve more in this life. Is it this guy with 50% more success? Who do you think gets more yeses? in their life? I can tell you with perfect certainty, it's this guy. It's the guy who has the confidence. Now, you might go, yeah, but I don't, I don't have a lot of achievement behind me to have the kind of confidence you're talking about. That's the craziest thing, and my story proves it. You don't have to have that to start on that road. I stepped off that plane the exact same human being, but with a totally different set of confidence, a different mindset, And then I was a different person. Now, I of course had to come back and start working to make sure that I built the confidence behind me. I started learning. I started reading the right books, spending my time with the right people so that I could have that confidence. Now the confidence was real, and then I kept stepping it up. I go, what about 50% more? How would that look? Shocker! People are drawn to that, especially in today's world. This is the most Perfect opportunity in history to stand out because nobody's standing out. Nobody's walking around with confidence. You do a tiny bit of confidence, people are going, "Who's this guy? I'll follow this guy. I'm gonna leave. Yeah, you're gonna leave. Okay, I'm listening." So go for it. Go for it today. Just what if? What if? And give it a try. And if you do that, will you please reach out? Reach out to me on social media. Reach out. Come find me. Let me know you tried it. I will be your biggest cheerleader. You will have Marcus in your corner going, yes, keep going. What can I do now to serve you and help you go further on that path? This is what I am designed to do. This is my calling in life, to watch others become that best version of themselves. So I would love to be on that journey with you.

I'm amped up right now. I already feel it. I feel the energy. I'm like, all right, well, let's get over with the podcast. Let's go get some reps in at the gym.

Wow.

Thank you for that. I can just feel your energy. Just, it's crazy. Like through this screen, you can just see the passion behind it. Have you always been, you know, you've had a lot of different businesses throughout your life and I saw that, I think you were, I could be wrong about your age, but I think you were 19 years old and you actually sold your first smoothie business. And then from there you built up your Magnum brand. Can you maybe walk us through a little bit of your entrepreneurship journey and how that all got started?

Oh, I'd love to. Thank you. So, my brother and I had a smoothie business together. I was 17 years old when we started it. He bought me out for a very small amount when I was either 18 or 19. I don't really remember. And I took that money and I put it together with all other money I had in my life. And I started my first real business, which was selling supplements out of my bedroom. I had a shelf like this just loaded. I had $15,000 of supplements, every penny to my name. And buddies would come by and they would sit on my bed and I'd be like, here's what you're going to take, here's how to take it, and we're in this together. And I loved it because I love supplements. I loved fitness. Fitness had really changed my life, gave me more of that confidence that I was looking for, more of the energy. And it was putting me in alignment with who I'm supposed to be. I'm still such a huge believer in supplements, huge believer in fitness. If you don't have your fitness together, people, this is not about your body. This is about how your body wants to be used and the energy that you need to expend so you get more energy working your muscles, building your health so you can be the best version of yourself. From there, I, uh, I one day questioned, I'm like, how am I gonna build a bigger business out of this. And I had goals, of course, we had, we have goals. And I was like, I'm not gonna be able to make $100K out of this. You know, I was doing well. I was making like, I remember actually I was making $4,000 of profit per month, which is pretty good for a business that took like 6 or 7 hours per week. And I was like, but I'm never gonna get to $100K without like inviting a whole bunch of dudes I don't know into my bedroom, which I know that sounds like fun, but no. So I moved into my first store. And that was going great. I had 3 stores and then I had the exact same conversation with myself. I went, okay, how do I get to $250K? And I didn't want to have 10 stores because retail was becoming a nightmare. And so it was that day, it was January 17th, 2005, and I heard God say, you're going to do your own brand. And that's when I started Magnum. It was this beautiful supplement company and it was focused on integrity in everything we do. And here we are. It's been 19 years since that time, and God called me to sell that business, and he and then he helped me sell it. And so now I've exited that company, and I've started this whole new chapter in my life. He called me to write my book, which I'm so excited to launch in the spring, and I'm so excited to work with you guys on that because I love how you guys deal with books. I love working with true readers who love reading. And, uh, and then my next business starts in January, and I've never been more excited in my whole life for a business. This is what I've been working towards my whole life, what God has built in me, all the blessings, all the talents, all the characteristics for this business to pour into the next generation of leaders.

There's so much to unpack, Nick. I can let you talk. I'm sorry, I'm just so excited. You've got me so amped up.

Marcus, you've mentioned God a few times. God called you to do this. God is supporting you in your mission. You're sort of co-creating with God. So I'd like to explore that a little bit more. What role has God played in your success and how do you work with God to build these things into existence?

Oh, Nick, what beautiful questions, brother. Thank you for this. So first, you know, even before I answer this question, I want to start by saying anybody who's listening who doesn't have God, Please don't hear this as some, like, Christian rant. I'm not shoving Jesus down anybody's throat. I'm just telling you the truth about my life because I can't take credit for this stuff. The stuff that has happened in my life, the success that people see, man, none of that's from me. I have to show up every day. I have to become the best version of myself so that I can live into this life. Yes. But man, all the success is him. Anything good you see in my life, That's what God has done in my life. And the only message I want people to hear if they don't have God yet is just explore it. You are playing a very limited game if you believe that the world and the weight of the world is sitting on your own shoulders. If you recognize that there's something bigger, then you can have that peace that God offers. He goes like, let me, let me take that weight off your shoulders. So I get to sleep great every night. Even though I have many, I have hundreds of families across the world counting on me to run the businesses, to keep the businesses going that I have going. That's a lot of weight on my shoulders. I am not a superhuman. I have God going, "That's not your weight to bear. Let me take care of that," so that I can become and play the biggest game I can play. So I want to encourage people, man. Find God. He's calling you. If you hear any of this and you're like. What if? What if he's right? That's you being called. Just look into it a little bit because I promise you're gonna have so much peace, and then you're gonna find so much more success in life. And I just want to be clear when I say success. This doesn't. This is not the God vending machine. You put in some prayers and you get some money at the bottom. No, no, no. Success means like peace and enjoyment and fulfillment and better relationships and better health and being able to see things properly and working and living with. Gratitude in your life, man, that is real success.

There's so many directions I want to go with this, but something that just came to my mind, and I'll just follow the, the curiosity, I guess, or the, the little voice in my head. For those, for people that see you, you know, you, you're, you're ripped, you've, you've got a great relationship with your wife, you have a good relationship with your daughters, it seems from what you say and talk about. And, you know, people look at you and you, they say, they look at you and think, oh, he is a superhuman. Like he's saying all this stuff, but it's like, I could never do that. I'm not good enough. What do you, What message do you have for those people?

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Oh, well, first I need to say thank you. I mean, there was a crap ton of compliments in there, so thank you for that. I just want to remind you, I had none of that, and I expected none of that when I was young. I was on such a brutal path, as brutal as you could imagine. We had no money. In fact, my life was marked by being poor. That was my marking. I wore all of my sister's hand-me-downs all my growing up years. I had none of my own. I still remember this hideous $6 shirt that we bought for me when I was in grade 8 because I went to a public school. And I was so excited about that hideous shirt. That was like my first shirt. It was this terrible striped thing that cost $6, but I wore it so proudly. And I swear I probably wore it 13 out of the first 14 days because I'm like, you don't understand, this is my shirt. That's the path that I was on. I was like, no, there has to be more to life than this. And I know if you're listening to this podcast, that is the voice that's in your head right now. I know it because you wouldn't be listening to this kind of amazing podcast. You're listening because you believe there's more. You read because you know there's more. Let me tell you for certain, there is more. So when I started on that journey, I remember there was 2 key books way back in the— actually, sorry, 1 key book and 1 set of cassette tapes. You guys are gonna have to look that up if you don't know what cassettes are. Tony Robbins cassette tapes. My brother had them and I started listening to them and man, did that impact me. Tony has been one of my I don't wanna say idol. He's been one of my mentors for 30 years now, and I'm actually in his platinum crew. I've traveled with Tony. What an amazing human being! And the other one is the Seven Habits for Highly Effective People. Those two resources absolutely changed my life. And here was the question I asked. It was the big what-if question. I said, what if somebody actually lived out these principles? Every single day consistently, because you know I'm reading these things and I'm like these are obvious. Yes, you would be so successful if you did these things. But I'm looking around going I don't know anyone who does these things consistently. So what if it was me? What if what would happen? Like they seem obvious. So let's let's give it a try. And so I would take each principle and I go I'm gonna do this all the way. And then shocker, my life kept getting better and better in every different area. Now I also want to say I am not perfect. I slipped up so many times. I still make mistakes today. So this is not like, so you can be perfect like me. That's bullcrap, man. I am so far from perfect. So please don't see it that way. Yeah, I got a nice suit on, but that's, that's besides the point. You just need to recognize that if you slip up, you get back up. The most successful people in the world spend the least amount of time down. When I know I'm down, I go I'm down. I gotta get back up. And one of the other things I recognize is that when I when I'm down, when I've slipped, I don't slip all the way back to the starting line. That's where so many people go wrong. They they slip up on their diet. They slip up on whatever, and then they go ah right back to the beginning. That's bullcrap. You are not falling that far behind. You're so much further on the path than you were. Now you just get yourself back up and keep moving forward. So I do these things consistently. So I got to encourage people, if you're listening, read these books and take action. Don't just consume. We're in such a consumeristic society. Take it in, consume it, and then immediately put it to action. Write down a game plan. You read it, you write it down, and you say, here's what I'm going to do immediately. Here's what I'm going to do tonight. Tomorrow morning when I wake up, This is what I'm going to do. You write down a perfect game plan and you stick to it. And when you stick to it, you celebrate it. You say, yes, I'm a man of integrity. I did what I say I was going to do, and I'm going to do it again tomorrow, and I'm going to do it again tonight, and people are going to respect me for being an integrity man. And guess what? It works. It works.

That's amazing. Action. That's one of my favorite words, Marcus. So you're speaking my language. So you mentioned Tony Robbins, and there's this epic photo of you and Tony on your Instagram. It's pinned to the top of your profile. So, everybody listening or watching today, take a minute, pause this show, go over to Instagram and check out this photo because it's pretty fantastic. And I want to read the caption, at least the first part. This is pretty funny. It says, they say don't ever meet your idol, but I'll tell you, Tony handled it pretty well. So, I loved reading that. You mentioned that Tony was— you got those cassette tapes and Tony motivated you. Now you've had the chance to fly around with him. I'm curious, who are some of your other mentors?

Oh, I love that question too. Thank you, brother. You know, Ed Mylett and John Gordon are 2 of my favorite mentors. And you know what? Actually, I got to throw David Meltzer in there. David Meltzer, what an unbelievable human being. I love David. Ed, Ed speaks to my heart every time that guy opens his mouth. What an incredible man doing incredible things, serving out of love. All he does is pour love into us. He's trying to help us because he has so much mercy. And the reason why we connect so well is I have so much mercy for the human condition. I have been blessed to step back and recognize that we live in this world where the world really wants you to be asleep. Everything around us is going, just go to sleep, have an extra cheeseburger and go to sleep, get on the couch, 6 hours of Netflix, go to sleep. We have to recognize that this is happening. All the marketing, all the pills on the planet, everything is saying to you, go to sleep, because they just want a whole bunch of lemons. doing their little part in a little world, playing a tiny little game. And that's why I love working with people who are listening to this podcast. Your target market, the people who are listening, are exactly who I love working with. Because if you're listening to this, I know you've got a voice in you going, I'm tired of being asleep. I don't want to keep watching Netflix so much. I don't want to eat fast food so much, but I don't know what to do. And so I love and I have so much mercy, and my job on this planet is to serve you, to help you, and to show you, yeah, you don't have to play that small of a game. I would love to help you, be on that journey with you, to see you playing a way bigger game. And I'm telling you, it isn't just a tiny bit bigger. It is like 10,000 times bigger a game you could be playing. You could be making an impact 10,000 times what you're doing today. And I'm not trying to insult anybody. You, I'm sure I'm sure you make an impact in your life. I'm sure you do. I'm sure you have kids you make an impact on. I'm sure you have friends you make an impact on. But if you are listening to this, chances are you're called to go, there has to be more. And I'm saying, yes, there is. And I want you to say, yes, Marcus, I'm listening to the call. And yes, I'm ready to play a bigger game.

Yes, Marcus. I had to do it too. And yesterday, we interviewed Jon Gordon for this show. So, we'll put you guys out back-to-back episodes. Pretty legendary.

I love John Gordon. You know, I haven't met the guy yet, but again, he's another guy who God just put on my heart. I've been praying for John Gordon and his family for like, I don't even know, a year and a half. So I'm really excited to meet him because I just know one day when we meet, he's going to be like, you're the guy, you're the guy who's been praying for me. Like, I just know he's going to be feeling it because I've been pouring out that love to him, man. I, I'm such a fan of who he is and what he does.

So amazing. So, I'm curious, you talk about becoming better, becoming better every single day, a better person. Do you think you'll ever reach this best version of who you are or not?

That's such an awesome question, and there is zero chance. There is zero chance. And I know in speaking to readers like you guys, it's like saying, do you think you'll have ever read enough books? Do you think you'll ever have consumed enough knowledge? The truth is, just like reading, The more you read, the more you go, oh my goodness, I know nothing. I could be reading so much more. I could know so much more. And of course, when we're in our early 20s, we're like, I don't know, I know like 80, 90% of what I need to know. I'm like going to be super successful. Now I'm like, I'm not even 1% of 1% of 1% of the man I could be. Because every time you learn something new, you're like, oh my goodness, what if I changed my life through this? And what if I started this direction? I'm on this new chapter in my life, and I'm so grateful for all the people who are like, but Marcus, you've accomplished so much. I'm like, oh my goodness, that was my warm-up. What God has planned for me next, like, I think I was doing kindergarten stuff. I'm in grade 1 now, and I see that one day I'm going to be in university. I can't even understand that stuff. That stuff looks crazy to me still, but I'm going to work my butt off to get there.

Yeah, you're encouraging me to play a bigger game, my friend, and all of us, everybody listening. So, you are now a friend of Book Thinkers, as you know, which means we're going to have you on, on a regular basis to talk about what you're focused on and what you're doing. We'll do a deep dive on your upcoming book maybe sometime early next year. But in the meantime, you mentioned that your newest business is launching in January. So, can you tell everybody a little bit about What you're going to be focused on?

I would love that. Thank you. So this is going to be a shocker of a name. It's playabiggergame.com, and it is a community for all those people out there who know they should be or could be or are being called to play a bigger game in life. I was once that guy, and I had—I didn't know where to turn, and I did my best by reading books and by going to seminars. But it wasn't enough, and and I just didn't know enough. And it took me thirty years on that journey. I would love to take my thirty years and condense it for people so that other people can do it in three years or four years and be at my level now in just three or four years from now. Oh my goodness! That is real success to me. So this community, it's something so beautiful. I've been Already God has sent me the most beautiful leaders, the most beautiful minds for this Community. So, there are courses, but the real secret sauce is the Community calls. This is where we are getting together. We are going to be challenging each other, talking with each other, keeping each other accountable, loving on each other, pushing each other, rising up with each other. There is also coaching. There is also mentoring. I just want to spend time with great thinkers. It's very selfish. I know it's very selfish. I want to be around these great people. So if anybody out there is listening is like, man, there's something about Marcus's energy. I want to be around this more. This is what the community is for. This is what the community is about. And these are the only people allowed in the community. There is a screening call that we have. Like, this is not just like, oh yeah, we're just trying to bring everybody in. No, no, no, no, no. You need to be called. There has to be an absolute calling in your life to be in there. You have to be in alignment with what we're doing, and what we're doing is we're loving each other, we're serving each other, we're lifting each other up. Because if you haven't learned yet that serving someone else is how you will grow the most, well, if I have to be the one to teach it to you, I'd be loving to teach that to you. Uh, but I would love to have that introductory call with you or one of my team. And just to see if this is the right community with you, just reach out to us. Go to playabiggergame.com, schedule a call with us, and let's find out if you're the right fit for this community. Because if you are, oh my goodness, I can't wait to be on that journey with you.

So, I want to take a little bit of a left turn here. By the way, awesome. I can't wait till that site goes live and you're going to be doing great things and impacting so many lives. It's amazing. I'm so curious. You've been married for 19 years. You seem to have a really good marriage, like I said, and like, I'm just curious to know, how does your wife feel about like all the attention that you get? And has she been supportive in your journey? And how is your relationship like? How have you tied that into all, all the things that you've done?

I love the question. Thank you. Uh, I've been blessed with the most amazing woman on the planet. She was, she was actually designed for me and I was designed for her. We are a team and nothing will get in the way of this team. So we've been together over 20 years, married 19 years. I'm obsessed with my wife. I love my wife like crazy. It might sound cliché or whatever, but she's the only woman on the planet that I see in color, and every other woman is in black and white. Why would I ever turn towards another woman? And she is so supportive, and it's actually so incredible, you know, being a more mature man now, I'm like, holy smokes, what an amazing supportive woman. I was in the fitness industry. I was surrounded constantly by females who were not dressed fully. I mean, I don't mean to be rude. I mean, they were dressed, but you know, they're in sports bras and tight pants. And these are the women with the physiques that every other woman wants. My wife trusted me so fully. And I was traveling, like we were in Vegas with these people. Columbus would be people, and I just remember these conversations early with my wife, and I said to her like, "I'll never break our bond," and and I remember I'll never forget what she said to me. She goes, "Marcus, I trust you. I know that if you were a dirtbag or if you were a cheater, you could cheat here, so I don't have to worry about you cheating there." And I was like, "Wow, that is an intelligent and confident woman." So yeah, she is extremely supportive. Extremely loving. And, you know, for anybody who wants one tip on a great relationship, it's choose your battles. It's one of my favorite things to teach people. I usually, if I'm at a wedding, I usually pull the bride and groom aside and I go, I want to give you one tip. It's choose your battles. And there's a little bit of depth to this. What it means is this, you have to both agree to choose your battles. And what that means is you can't complain about every little thing. When you are first in a relationship, it's time when you're first, in the first bunch of years of your relationship, you naturally are trying to turn that person into what you think is the perfect person, which is you. Like, this is how to do laundry, this is how to load the dishwasher, this is how to buy groceries. The truth is, if that person succumbed and became that exact person, you wouldn't like them anymore. If I became the man that my wife tried to make me be, and it's not her fault, it's human nature to be like, this, you have to do this, this, this, she would have no respect for me. I wouldn't even be a man anymore. I'd be a slightly more male version of her. And we had this conversation and she totally agreed. And so what we said is, if you're coming to me with something and you're not coming to me with everything, I'm gonna listen and I'm gonna take it serious because you're not coming to me with everything. And that's what happens. So when she brings something up to me, I'm like, I'm going to take this serious because she doesn't bring every little thing to me. And because of that, we have this beautiful relationship and we don't nag each other on stuff and we respect each other so much to say, I love you for being you. Of course, I want you to be the best version of you possible, but maybe I don't even know the best way to turn you into the best version. Maybe all I need to do is love and support and lift you up every day. And if you have one of those problems you bring to me, I will absolutely correct. It's amazing advice.

I would— I just got married, let's see, about 6 months ago. So, I'm going to make sure that my wife listens to this and then we can have a good constructive conversation about it because I think that's a wonderful piece of advice. So, we are getting close. We're wrapping up here in the next couple of minutes. Here's my last question. What book have you gifted the most over the last, let's say, 5 years to other people in your circle, the people you work with, employees. What book have you gifted the most over the last 5 years?

That's really funny because I actually have multiple copies. And this is— just so everybody knows, I am not just saying this. Rise of the Reader, I bought 30 copies and you can see there's multiple copies on my bookshelf right now because I'm just a big fan. Nick, I'm a big fan of yours, man. Like when we first met, we both knew there was something special and I was like, This guy, he gets it. I love it. I, Nick, I know how far you're going in life, man, and I'm just so excited to be in your corner cheering you on. That's number one. The other one is Culture Code. And actually, you can see I've also got multiple copies of Culture Code. This is a great book for people who own businesses because it helps you understand how valuable culture is and how critical every move you make actually impacts your culture. People just think culture happens naturally. That is absolute bullcrap. You have to be so intentional about the culture you create. And speaking from somebody who just sold a business mostly because the culture was amazing, culture is critical and extremely valuable.

Powerful books. And I agree with you on the culture books. And so kind of you to mention Nick's book for sure. It's a great book and I think it'll probably be at this point, it's going to be one of my most gifted in the last 5 years as well. So, I'm right there with you. Okay. This is my final question, but actually, before I ask it, where can people go to find out more about you and connect with you further?

Awesome. I spend quite a bit of time on Instagram as far as social media goes. So, that's just my name, Marcus Collius. I know that's super easy to pronounce and to spell. I'm sure it'll be in the notes. We'll link it below. Yep. But playabiggergame.com, come check us out. If even if you're not 100% sure, maybe you're on the fence, come have an introductory call. Just a one-on-one call with one of either myself or my team. I promise you it's gonna get you off the fence. You'll either be like all the way in or all the way off. And that works either way perfectly for us because again, this community is just full of people who are supposed to be there.

I love that. All right. So, this is my final question. Pass away and everything that you put out, the courses, the books, everything you put out disappears, but you can leave the world with a single piece of advice. What would it be?

Be more grateful. Gratitude changes this world in an instant. It's my number one message to people. I hope I say it enough because I can't say it enough. But if you, if you just focus on gratitude— I, I actually came across the most beautiful quote recently. I can't tell you who said it because of the roundabout way that I got it, but what if you woke up tomorrow and the only things left in your life were the things you were grateful for today? How would that change your gratitude towards things today? Isn't that insane? If you don't stop today to say, I am So grateful for that. This person, this, this, my health, my this. Man, I could spend literally all day listing the things I'm grateful for, and I would if I knew that tomorrow they're going to disappear. But here's the craziest part about this: they will. Those things will disappear if you aren't grateful for them. I can tell you for certain, the people in your life that you are not grateful for, they will disappear. We're all gonna die too, so all this stuff is gonna be gone. So be grateful for it, appreciate it. And the best part is, when you start living that life with gratitude, oh my goodness, life is so much better. You are going to smile more, you're going to have more energy, you're going to push away the negative crap in your life, you're going to magnetize the positive stuff in your life. Your life will be better in every single way. All you have to do Is show more gratitude.

That is powerful stuff. Powerful stuff. I love that. Well, we are extremely grateful for your time today, Marcus. Thank you so much for your presence and your energy. I feel so incredibly amped up right now. I just need to— I don't know, I worked out this morning, but I'm like, man, maybe I need a second time in the gym today because I just feel like, oh, so much energy. So, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate you so much and we can't wait to talk to you again. Thank you.

Guys, thank you so much for the opportunity. I love what you guys are doing. Keep being amazing. You guys are amazing interviewers. What you're doing for this world is so beautiful. Anything I can do to support it, you know I'm in your corner.

That is a wrap. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of Book Thinkers. Life-changing books. It would mean the world to us if you could write a review and share this episode with a few of your friends. I mean, these books truly have the power to change people's lives, and by reviewing or sharing our podcast, you're helping us make an impact. If you have any recommendations for future guests or any constructive feedback for us on how we can improve our show, please feel free to submit a form on our website, www.bookthinkers.com, or send us a direct message on Instagram at. Book Thinkers. With that, I am signing off, and I hope you have a wonderful day. Don't forget, go read something.