038: How Consistent Growth will Help You Create Your Perfect Life with Justin Schenck

Hi, I'm Natalie Jill, fat loss expert turned high performance coach. When odds are stacked against us, how do we shift and create everything from nothing? How do we level up when we aren't feeling it yet or we've had a big setback? On this podcast, I'll be talking to some of the most inspiring and courageous men and women on this planet who at their worst learned how to achieve success greater than they ever dreamed possible. Leveling up and creating everything from nothing. In high school, Justin was a 1.7 GPA kind of kid. He jokes around today that if there was a vote for least likely to succeed in high school, he would have been unanimously voted for that. Justin had a lot of reason for his lackluster attention in school. His mom battled a 20 year opiate addiction and his dad was in jail. He had no direction or no role models for success. At 14 years old, he was told that he would someday change the world. And he believed that that was the wind beneath his wings. Today, Justin is the host of Growth Now Movement, which is a Top ranked by Inc.com podcast and he created Begin Podcasting now and he is the reason that I have this podcast today. Join in today and learn exactly how Justin leveled up and truly created everything from nothing. He's the host of Growth Now Movement and he's top ranked by inc.com he also started begin podcasting now.com and I gotta tell you guys, I wouldn't be doing podcasting if it wasn't for this guy Justin. So, Justin, thank you so much for being here today on Leveling Up.

Natalie, thank you so much. And it's really funny that we're having this conversation today. Cause it came up on my time hopper on this day a year ago. Yesterday was when I interviewed you. Oh, wow. So it's very funny how the world comes back around, right?

Yeah. And I'll tell you guys what was funny is Justin was interviewing me on his podcast. Our friend Fabio had suggested that I be on his and we did the interview and we were done. He said, why don't you have your own podcast? And I said, I don't know. I don't know that I want to. And he is literally the one that persuaded me into doing it. And it's now my absolute favorite thing to do. So I'm thrilled that we had that interview, that you talked me into it and that I'm here today doing this and I can't wait to dive in and share your story to everybody.

Yeah, I'm honored to be here and just Honored to work with you. You're an incredible human being and those are the types of people I like to surround myself. So thank you for the opportunity to be on the show and chat with your audience and I'd like to see where it goes.

Thank you, Justin. Now I will share this with you guys. The other I am always asking people about their stories and their backgrounds, but what was funny is when I was checking in with Justin about one of my podcast episodes, he said, you know, I don't know that you even know my story. And I said, you know what? I don't know your story. So he started sharing. I said, okay, we definitely get to record this, so just take us back. Because people see you with this incredibly successful podcast. They see you with all these amazing, like, celebrity guests, and they just assume you've always been doing these incredible things, but you've got quite the background. So take us back. Like, who are you before all this?

Yeah. You know, it's funny, when I speak on stages, I tend to say that if there was a senior superlative for least likely to succeed in high school, I would have gotten that award.

I love it.

It was one of those moments where I didn't know where I was going in life. I had a 1.7 GPA, which, what is that, a D average? Maybe even an F? It is for sure shouldn't even exist at a 1.7 GPA. My mom was in the middle of a 20 year opioid addiction that she was battling and my dad was in jail during the most formative years of my life.

Oh my gosh.

I really had no direction and I wasn't sure of what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. And I actually stumbled upon a direct sales job because I didn't even like I got into community college. Cause I think they accept everybody. I stumbled upon this direct sales job, quit the community college because I fell in love with what I was doing. But the neatest part about that job was there was a lot of self development within that job. And I was forced to start reading books on how to improve my life. And I was connecting with mentors and people, teaching me how to really focus on the right things instead of the wrong things. And that was the game changer for me. I ended up becoming a manager with the company really quickly. And at 19 years old, I had an employee come up to me and said, justin, this summer I probably would have made more money working at McDonald's, but because of you, I have a great direction in my life. And I know where I'm going now.

Is that the first time you had somebody talk to you like, wow, you're smart? You know something like, is that the first time you had kind of heard that?

You know, it's funny that you asked that. As I reflected back on my life a little bit more recently, I remember people like saying to me when I was like 14 years old that they would look at me and they would say, you're going to change the world one day. And when I was 14, I had no idea what they were even saying. Like, it made no sense to me. All I knew was I was a 14 year old who'd rather hang out with 40 year olds and other 14 year olds just because of everything that I was going through in my life. And so they would say those things, but it never resonated. Those things don't stick. But that was the first time in a business, a true, honest sense, somebody said it to me and it was just this aha moment of like, that's what I need to do with my life.

So when you were a kid, I mean, my gosh, you're in high school, you're getting this terrible, this 1.7 GPA, which is worse than what mine was. So yeah, that was bad. And then mine was pretty bad. You're feeling your least likely to succeed. You've got this mom and a dad that are not the right example for you. Like, what kind of, how are you being raised? Like, what were people saying to you? Who were those role models? And how did you not get stuck in that and become that?

Yeah, so, you know, when I tell this story, I usually preface it with the idea that, like, my parents, although they had their own personal demons, were really good, loving parents. So I always had a lot of love in my life and support of the things that I was going through. They just never reprimanded me to do my homework and the things that parents should be doing because they had their own stuff to the point where like, we can't tell him what to do because we can't even tell ourselves what to do.

Oh, okay.

And so, but like I said, there was a lot of love there, but I also had some great aunts and uncles who were always loving and supportive and they were great role models from that standpoint at a younger age of like what a marriage should look like and what a family should look like and stuff like that. But yeah, I mean, other than that, it was really navigating my own life. Like I said, I was the oldest 14 year old of all time. I've been living on my own since I was 18. It was just really about growing up probably too quickly and just carrying a Burden that most 14, 15, 16 year olds shouldn't be carrying.

And what did you think of your parents? Like, no, your dad's in jail, your mom's an opiate addiction. Were you thinking like, is this normal? Did you know there was something not normal? Like, how are you even dealing with that as a teenager?

Yeah, it was totally not normal. You know, I ended up not talking to my dad for seven and a half years. We have a very strong relationship now. He's actually the best man at his wedding two years ago. But my mom was always my best friend. Like, you know, as much as her living in her rock bottom 24, 7, she was my rock. She was my support system. When things crumbled, she was there. I had a business at 24 that I lost all my money and she was the person who picked me up and made me realize that I can move forward and keep moving forward. And so my relationship with my mom, like, we were super, super close. You know, I just feel blessed to have that relationship, you know, and I wouldn't change anything. Part of the story I haven't shared yet was 5 months before I launched the podcast, my mom lost the battle to her, to her opioid addiction.

Oh, wow.

And in that moment, it was life changing for me. You know, I had the plans to start the podcast. It was supposed to be strictly an entrepreneurial podcast and we were going to talk business. And when she passed away, I go, there needs to be something more than money. It needs to be more than just success in business. It needs to be about self love. It needs to be about overcoming adversity. It needs to be about creating the best life that you could possibly create. And that really shifted the focus of everything. And, you know, if I launched an entrepreneurial podcast two and a half years ago, I wouldn't be here now. The podcast wouldn't still be happening.

So why do you think some people like would dealt those same cards, like a dad in jail, the mom with the drug addiction. And you know, their parents love them too. They would have said in their own way, but. But they follow that same path, you know, they become that, that person in jail or with the addiction later. How did you escape that? What do you think that took?

Yeah, I think it was a collection of a lot of things. I think one was the fact that growing up I was like, I know, I don't Want that. I didn't know what I wanted, but I knew I didn't want that. So I was very self aware of the things that were happening around me. So my self awareness level is extremely high. And then also seeing, being introduced to things that were healthier, a healthier family kind of environment. And then when I got that direct sales job, healthy mentors in my life, it was one of those things where I just latched on to what felt better than what was happening around me. And then I made the hard decisions to be able to push out and fight through the rock bottom moments, which, you know, even till this day, you still feel it sometimes. I don't think that, that it ever is perfect. Like, you know, when my mom passed away. And this is something I just recently started sharing. When my mom passed away, the first three months, I was probably blackout drunk six nights a week.

Oh, wow.

Because I was numbing a pain, right? And again, I was very self aware of what I was doing. I told my therapist about it. Like, you know, I do the work, but there's also still those moments where it's like, you know, how do I numb this pain that I don't want to feel right now?

So two questions that just came up for me from that one, I like that, yes, the tendency is to go numb the pain, but the fact that you do the work and you do have a therapist, I mean, that's huge right there. How did you get to that conclusion? Because too many people shy away from that. They don't want that. And then two, did you ever feel anger towards your parents for how they were?

I'm not a very angry person, so I don't think that I ever really felt anger towards them in any way. You know, me and my dad actually had a conversation not that long ago and he thanked me that I stopped talking to him for seven and a half years. He's like, I missed you every single day. He's like, but you broke a cycle that was in our family forever, which was our parents holding us down. He's like, my mom held me down. You know, her mom held her down. And you broke a cycle. And he's like, and because of that, we have a strong relationship now. But. So I don't think anger is really part of that thought process. But, but as far as the other part of the question of, you know, trying to get help, when I was 16 years old, I was forced to go see a therapist. And I convinced the therapist within three sessions that I didn't need a therapist, which Was not true. I wish I stuck with it, but it was actually the realization as an adult that I wasn't very good at love relationships that got me back in with a therapist. And I was like, I need to uncover the reasons behind the fact that I'm not very good at these love relationships.

Did you uncover them?

I did, and I uncovered that with a therapist, and I uncovered it with. Actually, I had a relationship coach as well. And so there was a lot of coaching, a lot of heartbreak, a lot of opening up to things that, you know, I didn't want to talk about all the time. And so, you know, with that being said, I mean, you have to put in the work to rise above these things that are holding you back.

So there's a few things that I'm hearing from you, and I hope, I wonder if people are picking up on these themes. Is a couple things I wrote down. There's five things I came up with. One that you knew deep down you really did have a vision. You knew you were meant for greater things. You said that from the beginning. You heard that as a child. Like, you knew you were meant for greater things. You also have a huge sense of responsibility. Like, you're not blaming your parents. You felt responsible for. I'm not going to be like that, and I need to create something better. You don't hold any blame, so you're very accountable. And those are all things that help somebody get successful. You believe in doing the work, and you have a piece of gratitude. You said a number of times that, you know, your dad became your best friend, you were close with your mom. You had a gratitude, you know, even in the middle of all this stuff that could be perceived really bad. And those are huge mindset pieces that I think a lot of people stuck don't have.

Yeah, I feel grateful. I mean, you know, every morning when I woke up, every single day, I was like, I'm grateful to be alive. And it's just something so stupid like that. Like, even when things weren't good, it was like, at least I'm here. And I believe that as long as you're still here on this earth, there's a reason you're here. And you just have to do the work to uncover that reason and then start to put in the work once you figure it out.

Yeah. Now a big part of what you are successful at, now what you focus on is podcasting. So what brought you into that world? Like, how did you choose that amongst all other things? And in such a crowded space. Space and a Crowded time of it.

Yeah, Everything pointed to, this shouldn't work because like you said, I went in with no following beforehand. And I was like, I just want to do this. And my thought process was one of two things. One, I could make really cool connections, which means I could have really great conversation. And two, maybe I can impact a life or two. And that was it. And for me, I was doing really well. I had a day job, I was doing medical device sales, I was a manager with an organization. And so financially I was doing well. But something was missing in my life. And that was that whole idea of back going back to when I was 19 years old, of like, I need to help people uncover some things. And so that was the idea of like, okay, let me just start a podcast, not thinking anything would happen. And I did everything the wrong way. I launched the wrong way, I marketed the wrong way, I interviewed the wrong people. I was a terrible interviewer. So all these things, it was all, all signs pointed to, this is not going to work. But I stuck with it and I was super consistent with it, and now it's become my full time thing. All right. I own a podcast production company and coaching company. You know, I do a lot of speaking all over the country. I'm working on a live event. And so these are all things that came from, hey, let me just try and help some people. And then all of a sudden, it opened up into this whole entire, this is literally my life, which is crazy.

I hope people are hearing this because it's so true that when you follow money, it doesn't typically work. But when you follow from a place of service, like, how can I give back? How can I serve? Which is exactly what you did. It always comes around full circle like that.

Yeah, 100%. And as actually brings up a great point about my life. When I would. Every single time I chase money, it would elude me and I'd find myself broke. I mean, I tried different companies in the past. I tried to launch a cell phone app, which I lost a lot of money. I had a company where I put together seminars and expos? Lost a lot of money. And all these things crumbled because all I was trying to do was build my bank account. And so actually, in 20, this is all pretty recent. I mean, in 2017, I set a goal and an intention. By the end of the year, I wanted to feel like I belonged at the table. And what I mean by that is I wanted to feel like I belonged in the conversation with the people that I was interviewing. And so by the end of 2017, the Inc article hit, listing me as a top eight podcast to follow. And then 2018, my goal was to be at the table. Then just a couple months ago, I was in a room with one of the top Bellator MMA fighters, one of the top motivational speakers, and Steve Weatherford, who's Super bowl champion, watching the Conor McGregor fight. And I was like, oh, crap, I'm kind of at the table right now. This is kind of. And that's really kind of what has happened. You know, when I found out how to truly set goals that were true to myself and that might not work for somebody else, but that specifically worked for me.

That is gold right now. Goals that are true to yourself. Most people don't do that. They set goals, but they're not true to them. That's your gold right there. That's what you did for sure. So what drives you now? Because you created this, like, you literally could stop. Like, you've got this great podcast, you've got a company that produces it now. Like, what drives you to keep going and keep interviewing and keep doing more?

Yeah, I think it's the last word in my show name, which is movement. I started the Growth now movement with the intention to help one or two people. But as I saw it grow, I was like, this could actually really be a movement. I could create a community of people who understand that it doesn't matter where you come from and it doesn't even matter where you are today. What matters are the decisions you make today to create a better tomorrow. I was like, how can I continue to grow this thing? How can I connect more with my audience and people who need to hear this message? The next step in this whole entire phase is doing a live event called Growth Now. Move Live. And it's the intention of helping individuals that need to hear the message at that specific time.

So why take on a large event like that? Like, you reach so many people on podcasts and through social. Like, why? Like, that's a huge undertaking at a huge cost and everything. So why even take that on?

It's insane how much it costs and how much work goes into it. It's because I think that in my own personal life, my quantum leaps have happened when I'm in the room with other like minded people. And so in my head I go, I can continue to serve these thousands of people that are listening to my show every single week by having them just listen. And they might not be putting in the work, or I can put something together where they're going to show up and they're going to put in the work and they're going to truly become part of a community and connect with somebody at that event that will help them go to the next level. Because I had so much impact in my life from these types of things, I wanted to be a part of that and part of creating that.

Got it. Okay. And then are you drawn towards one or the other? Like, are you more drawn towards creating your own brand and building your own podcast more, or helping others get theirs going?

I think that it all kind of falls under my brand from the standpoint of I would say 99% of my clients are all in the self development, all trying to help people achieve certain goals, whether it's in health or business or whatever. So it all still falls under my purpose. And so as long as I'm serving and being a part of that purpose, I'm happy. So I don't think there's one or the other that I'm necessarily like, oh, I need to 100% focus on this or this. I think that it all falls under that big umbrella.

I love that. And I feel like there's a shift happening with people where that's like, kind of across the board. Like, a lot of people have felt stuck with, like, oh, I have too many interests or I'm doing too many things. But like what you just said, if it all falls and follows that same purpose, it doesn't really matter if it shows up in different methods.

Yeah, exactly. And that's something that I didn't quite understand before, because until I'd say, year and a half ago, I didn't even understand what creating a business online meant. And so now I understand that it requires multiple streams of income and it requires focusing your attention in multiple areas. But I don't feel right if it doesn't fall under what my purpose is. And so I think, just naturally these things are happening. And I think saying yes is super important. The event where I was sharing the Airbnb with those guys I had mentioned before, I almost didn't go. And then Justin reached out. He's like, come on, man, you gotta come. And I was like, okay, I'll go. And I didn't realize how much that weekend would impact my life. So I think saying yes to opportunity and really kind of exploring what kind of opportunity comes. And look, if it doesn't fall under my purpose or get me closer to where I want to go in life, I'm going to say no. But you have to Say yes to at least hearing the idea.

Yeah, totally. And I think that's it. It's interesting how that shows up those things when you. Your people say no out of comfort or whatever reason, but they're not listening to, is this going to follow my purpose and help with that? And if it does, it's a yes. It should be a yes.

Right, Exactly.

So, okay, I want to hear about failures. Like, obviously you had several as a teenager. You could have viewed that in your family. But what about since you've launched this, since you've been doing this in business, have you had failures and how's that impacted you and how do you view them now?

Yeah, I mean, it's funny. So when I was. I had mentioned kind of quickly that I owned a business when I was 24, 25 years old, where I put together seminars and expos? And it was going really well. I had a business partner, but it was going well. And we decided to take all the money that we had made and put it into one event. And we were bringing in a guy, paying him a lot of money to come speak. We spent the rest of the money on marketing. We're like, we're going to kill this. We're going to make a ton of money. It's going to be great. And we ended up selling three tickets to the event. Oh, wow. And those three tickets were sold through Groupon. And if you know how Groupon works, you have to give a 50% discount, plus you then only get 50% of that. So we made about $90 and lost about $30,000.

So did you cancel this event? I'm assuming we did.

So we canceled the event. The speaker did not give us a refund, and that was it. It closed the doors to the business.

Wow. That setback, that's a big one.

It was absolutely crazy. And when you're 25, you would think, oh, you're 25, you're resilient. No, when I'm 25, and this is the first big thing I ever did, and I sucked and it didn't work right. But I had a conversation with my mom, post everything. The day we canceled the event and decided that we're going to take some time off of trying to do this entrepreneur thing, I called my mom very upset, and here's what she said to me. She goes, you're amazing. Which is a very motherly thing to say. You're amazing. And then this was the goal. She said, you're headed in the right direction. Keep your head up and keep moving forward.

Wow.

And that was the big aha moment that I realized five years after she said it. Because when you're so upset, it doesn't resonate, but then it finally hits you. And the big part was you're headed in the right direction. And I realized as long as I'm headed in the right direction, whether I'm growing 1% every single day or having those quantum leaps of growing massive amounts every single day, I'm still headed in the right direction. And that's okay. You know, I think.

Good advice from mom, yo.

Great advice from mom, right? And it was just one of those life changing moments where I went, wow, you don't have to get to the end result as quickly as you want to, because we want that instant gratification. Right. And when you don't and you're not enjoying the journey, it's never gonna work.

Yeah.

So that was one of the failures. I also dumped a lot of money and time into an app that I wanted to create, which was. It was like a friends kind of bumble Tinder thing. It was actually a really good idea. So if somebody wants to steal it, they feel it. I still think it's a good idea. It was close proximity.

We always think our own ideas are good ideas, Jonathan.

So it was a close proximity connection app where the Colle kids could use on campus to connect in their first year. We did all this research of transfer rates freshman year, and a lot of it was a social thing. And I was like, this would help colleges from the idea that it would retain students because they could find friends easier, because we live in a digital world. Well, the problem was we had a horrible designer of the app and we didn't have a ton of money, so that didn't work. But the money that we had, we lost. So there were a lot of failures along the way. And then, I mean, even the podcast, it took a year and a half for me to go more than 300 downloads an episode.

A year and a half to get more than 300 downloads an episode. Yeah, yeah. And you kept going. A lot of people would have quit at that.

I just kept plugging away. But, you know, I think sometimes we have to be. Again, going back to being self aware. We have to be self aware of what's working and what's not. I was very consistent. There was an episode every single Tuesday, but I had a co host on the show. And what I realized was the co host, who's still one of my best friends, the co host was kind of muddying the waters and what the purpose was supposed to be. Not a bad way. It was just my vision. And there was another person there and another voice.

When you had a vision to do this, what made you choose a co host? And what. Because a lot of people will choose a partner. I think they have. So the responsibility is not on them. But did you do it for that reason?

Initially, it was completely out of fear of judgment. So I was so afraid that if I did this on my own, like, people would be like, oh, Justin's an idiot. And so there was, like, a security blanket. And that's really why I had him there at first. And then I realized, like, I believe in what I'm doing. I mean, it took a long time, but I believed in what I was doing, and I got comfortable with the message, and I got comfortable as an interviewer. And I. Like I said, I asked him to take a step back, and everything kind of started to organically grow from there because the messaging and everything started to align.

And how did you get this partner out of the business? Because I know that would be hard for people, too. Like, somebody listening might be saying, okay, that's what I'm doing wrong right now. I have a partner or somebody else doing this with me, a sidekick, and it's not working.

Yeah. I always get asked this question, and the answer is not as exciting as it seems. So I've done a really good job in my life of making sure that my friends are some of the strongest people on the planet and some of the most incredible giving and loving people. And so this was not only a business partner, but a friend. And when I asked him to take a step back, he actually apologized to me. And he said. He goes, you know what? You're right. He's like, and I'm sorry that I couldn't bring a hundred percent of myself to this. He's like, but I fully support you in everything that you're doing. And he was actually the first person to buy a ticket to my live event.

You know, there's actually a really good lesson in that sometimes when we want to let somebody go or make a change, we're so worried about hurting them, but they're really waiting for that conversation. Like, he knew he wasn't giving it a hundred percent.

Yeah. And he didn't want to hurt my feelings by coming and saying, hey, I don't want to do this anymore.

Yeah. So that's actually an interesting lesson about speaking up, speaking your truth when you see that. Wow. How do you motivate yourself when you don't feel like it. Like, I know you. You keep going, going, going. You have such so much drive. You're doing so much. Do you ever have days where you just don't feel like it? You turn that around and motivate yourself.

Yeah. You know, and it's not a popular answer, but the days that I don't feel motivated, I don't do anything.

No, that is a popular answer. I think people want to do that. That's good.

That's the beauty of being an entrepreneur. Like, it's so funny because, like, people talk about morning rituals, and I know that's a question you ask on this show. And there's so many people in the entrepreneurial space, like, trying to beat each other on who wakes up the earliest. And they're like, I wake up at five and I wake up at three. And I'm like, what are you crazy? Like, I became an entrepreneur so I didn't have to do that.

Yeah, I don't. I'm not on the board with the 4:30 Wake up. Doesn't happen in my side.

It's why. Although you are. You're an early riser.

I'm like a 6, 6:30, but I'm not 4:30. Like, let's get real. Like. And that's not gonna happen.

Yeah. I interviewed a guy yesterday that wakes up at 3:15 every morning, and I was like, dude, like, I'm just going to bed.

Yeah, I'm definitely not just going to bed then. But I am not on the three or four in the AM Camper. Like, that's not in my. Yeah, I don't understand it either. But you're right. It does seem to be a competition, like, who gets up earlier.

Yeah, 100%. But to answer the question, you know those days that I don't feel like as long as. Look, as long as I'm ahead of the game, which I set myself up to make sure I'm ahead of the game. And I don't feel like working or I don't feel like going all in on something. I'll just take the day off and I'll go do what I want to do. But obviously there's compromise, right? Like, I don't work Monday through Friday to 5. I work on Saturdays. I work on Sundays. I work when I'm on vacation. But. But at the same time, like, if I feel like I need to decompress, if I, you know, those days I don't feel motivated, cool. I get out and I go do something that will reinvigorate Something, you know, and then the next day I'm back at it.

That's great. Yeah. Speaking of that, then, do you have a morning routine, or do you really just go off of how you feel each day?

So I do. I have a very small morning routine. So when I wake up, I immediately think of three. This is even before I get out of bed, I immediately think of three things I'm grateful for. Like this morning, I'm grateful for the fact I woke up hungry, which never happens, but I'm grateful for the fact that eggs are really easy to make. I was grateful for the fact that I didn't have to leave my house because I worked for my house, because it was 20 degrees outside.

Okay. Oh, yeah.

And I woke up to a text from my sister, and I was like, I'm very grateful for my family. So those are the three things this morning. So that's the first thing.

Yeah.

Once I get out of bed, I do 10 minutes of silent meditation, and then I do 10 minutes of active visualization. So I use music in my visualization practices.

Okay.

And then, so, like, for instance, like, I've had the playlist for my live event for over a year because I've been visualizing the event, what music I'm using. So I'd play the music, and as I visualize in the moments of my event when the music's playing, who I'm introducing, what's going on during that time, all those things. So those are the three things I do every single morning. And then from there, it all depends.

That's awesome. So there's no, like, hitting snooze and looking at your cell phone?

Oh, no. So I don't. I don't look at my cell phone till I'm actively out of bed. But at the same time. And I'm also not a snooze button person because that just messes me up. I used to be. And I was like, I just realized I'm making myself more tired. So, yeah, I'm definitely not a snoozer. Yeah.

My husband and I argue about that. He's a snoozer.

So I think I saw that on your stories the one time.

And I'm the one that keeps get. Gets annoyed by the phone, not him. He didn't care. He just keeps hitting snooze. I'm like, up doing my thing, and I hear his snooze alarm going off.

That's great. Yeah.

In fairness to him, he's a night out, so he works super late. I do not I'm checked out at night. So, yeah, everybody's got a different thing. How about talk about your circle and how you spend your time? Because you've really up leveled your life. Like, you've totally leveled it up. Like, did you actively seek out, who do you want to hang around? Who do you let in your life get people out of your life?

Yeah. So that's an interesting question because I actually just spoke out in LA at an event a couple weeks ago and I talked about building relationships. And it took me a long time to kind of figure out what I do to build relationships because it was something that was happening organically. So the circle that I surround myself with is a circle that I never thought that I could call friends. Like, I'm honored to have the people on my cell phone that I have. I'm honored to be able to pick up the phone and make the calls that I can make to help me with whatever it is I'm working on. But it's something that happened, I think, intentionally, but I didn't know how I was doing it. Does that make sense?

Yeah.

So I was like, okay, cool. Like. Like I said, I want it to feel like I belong at the table, then I want to be at the table. But what I realized was my greatest gift that I have is I can give unconditionally. And so when I started to talk with these people, I would then find something that they would need and I'd find a way to give it to them. And that it's actually human nature to be reciprocal from that standpoint and they want to do something back. And then all of a sudden the friendship kind of booms from there.

Okay.

When your time starts to get taken away from the people you used to hang out with, as you're leveling up your friends, it becomes very easy and natural that you just don't see them anymore. I think we overthink the idea of saying, oh, you shouldn't hang out with the people that are holding you back, instead of saying, who do you want to hang out with and how do you do that?

I like that. Yeah, that's actually really good. That's a different way to look at it. I like that.

Yeah. Because, I mean, I think I can say that now because I thought about it that way. So I'd hear people say, you need to stop hanging out with the losers you're hanging out with. And I'm like, yeah, I do hang out with losers, but they're nice. So what do I do? I didn't want to hurt their feelings, and I didn't want to stop hanging out with them.

Yeah.

What naturally happened is I began to level up my life, my circle began to level up, and then my time got less and less where I could spend it somewhere else.

Yeah, I think that's a really good perspective, too, because I think so many people look at it from a taker standpoint. Like, I just need people better than me in my life, but, like, it's our job to level those other people up too. Like, so don't just be a taker. Like, if we're leveling up, share that. Give them the opportunity to level up with you.

Oh, a hundred percent. If people are listening to this right now and they're like, yeah, well, Justin's got all these great connections with his podcast. Like, of course he's got something to give. He can make introductions and do this and help them out from that standpoint. Look, one of the greatest things ever, and I was talking with Ed Mylett. He goes, you know, the funniest thing ever is when you think of guys like Andy Frisella and Grant Cardone and all these people that people hold up on a pedestal and they think they can't give him anything. He goes, the most valuable thing I give them is an I love you, man or an ear when they need to talk. He goes, because people think they have it all together when they have their own struggles. And so if you're somebody who's a really good listener, that's what you can give. And that's so valuable.

No, and it is. That's really, really good. Hugely valuable. All right, Justin, you know, I'm gonna ask this question because I ask everybody and you edit on my podcast, so you definitely know this. But if anybody is listening and they're in their own personal rock bottom, so maybe they're driving themselves nuts. With the whole of my family, I was raised this way. I can't get out of it. Or maybe they had their massive failure like you had it in your early 20s when you created your event and only three people bought tickets on Groupon or whatever it is. They're in their own personal rock bottom, and they don't know how to shift out of that. What are some three pieces of advice you would give them right now that they can start applying and taking action on so they can uplevel their life and create everything for nothing?

Yeah. I mean, number one is get clear on what it is you want. Cool. You've already figured out that the family life that you saw happening Growing up is something you didn't want. So the first thing is you need to get clear on what it is that you want. Number two, find a way to get time from somebody you admire or time from somebody that you say, I kind of want that life. And you know, I already said you do that by finding something you can give to them. And then the third one is start to take incremental actions every single day. I live in the idea that if I can grow 1% every single day, every single year, I'm going to have massive growth. So don't focus on that end result. Focus on being better than you were yesterday and stop worrying about the end.

I love that. Okay, where can people find you if they want more? Obviously they can find you on your podcast, Growth Now Movement and begin podcasting Now. Is that where you want to send them? Where can they find out about your event and give us more? Where are you most active on social?

Yeah, so most active on social on Instagram. So it's gnmpodcast on pretty much anything, I think. Don't find me on Twitter. I hate Twitter. But if you do Instagram or Facebook, I'm there. I respond to everything. And then if you want to check out the event, if you're that person who feels like they need something, some sort of inspiration, some sort of the right connection in your life to level up and you want to come to the event, you can go to gnmlive.com see the incredible speaker lineup. Grab your tickets there.

Amazing. Thank you, Justin.

Natalie, thank you so much. It's a complete honor.

Thanks for leveling up with us today. Please share this episode if you found it helpful so others can join in. And don't forget to hit that subscribe so you don't miss out on future shows. And if you would leave me a five star review, I appreciate those so much. I read all of them and it's how I know that I'm giving you information that you find valuable. Valuable. And come interact with me over on Instagram @nataliejofit. I read all the direct messages and comments over there. Make it a great day. Creating everything from nothing.