061: Gamifying Leadership to Help Solopreneurs with Zion Kim

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. Zion Kim came from very humble beginnings. He was poor as a child, bullied as a teen, and he faced depression.

For years into his young adulthood.

After several near death experiences, including falling asleep with a wheel and then almost drinking himself to death over a crush, he was lost. Now, interestingly, gaming was a passion of his and that's where he learned all about leadership.

And.

And it's incredible that even after being kicked out of business school his freshman year of college, today Zion Kim is the brilliant visionary CEO of 1mt and the co creator of ROI Method and the founder of the mega successful project Nuclear that has taken the entrepreneur world by storm. If you don't know who Zion is yet, you will join in today and learn exactly how Zion Kim leveled up and created everything from nothing.

Today I've got Zion Kim with me. Who you are in for such a treat hearing his story and his journey today because I met him recently at a mastermind I was part of and this I'll say kid, because he's 27 years old. He blew my socks off. I will admit, the second I saw him, I judged, what is this kid gonna have to offer? But wow, he blew me away. So I've got Zion Kim here. He is the mastermind behind so many incredible entrepreneurs, seven figure entrepreneurs, and he is the CEO of 1mt. Which I asked him earlier, what does 1mt mean? And he said, it means that we want to work with a million entrepreneurs to create a trillion dollars back into the economy. And I just thought I've got to have him on, especially when I learned where he came from and his background. So thank you so much for being here, Zion. I cannot wait to dive in with you.

Yeah, thanks so much for having me.

So. So Zion. Okay, talk to me. You're 27 years old and I know I'm not the first one who met you and thought, he's a kid.

How.

Who were you before all this? Because wow, such a reputation, especially with entrepreneurs. Who were you before?

Well, I was a kid, right? I was just when I was younger, you know, I never liked I mean, I had this whole thing around my age, right. So people would always say that I couldn't do anything because I wasn't quite 18 yet. And 18 was, like, the number. So I had this big gripe about it, a lot of resentment around it, saying, oh, why do I have to be 18 to do all these things? And when I was younger, I actually lied about my age and said I was 18. So I remember the birthday at the time, everything, whenever anyone answered the questions. And I started applying for different roles, different jobs, and just seeing, like, how I can get myself out there. So. Yeah, because when I was younger, you know, I was on track to be a scholarship athlete.

Right.

Okay.

What was your. What was the sport? What were you playing?

I played soccer.

Okay.

Yeah. So I was a goalie and a forward.

Okay.

And right before my freshman year of high school, I actually got into a car accident and completely de. Well, I say derailed, but it completely resets my life trajectory from that point forward.

So your life plan as a kid was, I'm going to be an athlete, I'm going to be a soccer star. Was that really what you were thinking initially?

Yeah. I mean, you know, like, having Asian parents, you don't really have a lot of options for where you can land. So it was either doctor or lawyer. So I thought, okay, great, I'm going to go be a doctor. Which got further perpetuated by the whole accident. I was like, oh, maybe this was meant to be to tell me that I. To be a doctor.

Yeah.

Now, okay, when I think of what you do now, like, I automatically go to, he's a brainiac. Like, that's literally what comes up for me. He's genius. He's a brainiac. What were you like as a student? Was that something that. Were you a straight A student? Were you an honor roll kid? Like, what. What was it like academically?

Yeah. So that's really interesting because I was a straight A student probably up until my. Up until high school.

Right.

Because the accident happened before my freshman year of high school. And then that's when work got actually hard. And what a lot of students never really learn is what is the actual basis of getting good grades. So at the time, I attributed good grades to a lot of other things, like something as crazy as, oh, if I wear glasses, I'll do better on the exam.

Right.

Cause I never attributed hard work and studying to getting good grades. So, you know, I remember that I studied like crazy for this chem test that I had, and I got a B plus.

Right.

Like, I. I studied so much, and I got a B plus, and I was crushed by it.

Yeah.

And then I gave up after that. I was like, you know what I did? I gave it my all, got a B plus, and it wasn't good enough. So I'm just done with. I'm just done with this. And there was my science career after that.

Where did you form that belief about it having to be an A or it had to be perfect? Like, if I had got a B plus, my parents would have sent me on a trip around the world celebrating because I was a D student. So how did you. Where did you think a B wasn't good enough?

Parents were probably. My mom was probably a big part of that.

Right?

Where it's like, hey, if you're not an ace, if it's not an A, it's just not good enough. And, you know, and it also got perpetuated by my chem teacher who often said, you know, some people just get it, and some people are just smart.

Right?

And that really landed with me because, you know, after getting that B, I was like, I tried so hard, and maybe I'm just one of the, you know, one of the people that just don't have it.

Right?

So I actually went through most of high school thinking that I wasn't good enough. And when I compared my. And you know, which is crazy, because I don't know what the SATs are right now, but the SATs are like a 2000. I'm sorry. Or 2400. In my year, they actually went from a 1600 to a 2400. I got 2000. Wow. And at the time, I was like, this isn't good enough because my peers, we're all getting 21, 23, and much higher. So I was like. So I was always comparing myself to other people and telling myself that I wasn't good enough. So I never actually considered myself smart like that. I would not equate those words in the same sentence when I label myself in high school at all.

So that's interesting because it's almost like you probably didn't even know what a limiting belief was at the time. But that was like your first taste of it, people saying, well, some people are just not that smart, or some people just don't get it. Yeah, interesting. So what did you decide about yourself? You know, you have this accident and you're thinking, I'm not that smart. What did you make up about yourself at that time?

Well, it was. It was really difficult because I actually got in Three accidents in high school. So three different car accidents.

Were you driving all these times? Maybe we shouldn't have had a driver's license. I'm just kidding.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, first time I was on a bike, so I got hit.

Okay.

The second time I was. The second and third time I was driving.

Okay.

Second time I got t boned and pretty much just like walked out of that just fine. The third time was probably like the worst one where I actually fell asleep at the wheel.

Wow.

And, you know, this is when I was still in high school. Fell asleep at the wheel. I drove for a quarter mile to half mile on the busiest road in the middle of our town. So I grew up in a very small suburban town in New Jersey. And I was going down the road and on the right side, and we passed a bunch of stores. On the right side was a gas station. And on the left side I crossed my car crossed oncoming traffic. There was a telephone pole, a mailbox, and a bunch of other power wires. And there's just enough space for the car to go. And my car rode along the white picket fence.

Oh, my God.

And that's what actually woke me up. And my entire school found out about it. And that became a new foundation for bullying because I was already known as a kid that just fell asleep all the time in all my classes. And this just made it that much worse.

So wait, speak about that because that's interesting. Did you actually have like narcolepsy or what was going on with the falling asleep?

So in the first accident, I had fractured my rib and I fractured my rib, two ribs and punctured lungs. So that's why I got off of sports and actually picked up gaming. And my new aspiration in high school was to become a professional gamer. I was going to school during the daytime and gaming competitively at night. And you know, so I just didn't sleep at night. So I actually slept during school and did all my. Did all my work at.

For people that don't know. Cause some people listening don't know what gaming is. Can you share what that is? And it's interesting. My other question about what gaming is, is. It seems like I've talked to a lot of and I'm gonna say brilliant. I know you said you had teachers. Some people just aren't that smart. But I literally look at you like you're brilliant. I mean, just a brilliant leader and visionary. And I see a lot of that in you just in the short time I've known you. And I'm Just I see a connection sometimes with people that take up gaming. So can you speak what that is and why the draw to it?

Yeah, because gaming was really interesting because I think it was the first time that I saw how people. Because gaming is all about like getting better.

Okay.

And this is a first person shooter. So what that means is that there's no scoreboard other than like, there's no leveling up other than your own skill, purely skill based game based on your reaction, strategy, how you play. Like we built teams to compete, you know, to compete in amateur leagues and then hopefully with the goal of getting professional, as even at the time, esports, which is now a multi billion dollar industry, was just burgeoning.

Right.

So this was back in 2005, right. So it was just getting off the ground and you know, so we used to practice, right? We used to practice like 10 to, you know, five to 10 hours a day. We used to have practice matches and then we used to play in leagues.

Okay.

The whole idea is in the leagues, you build the team, you gather the team. And you know, it's funny because at the time I was like 16 playing with all these like 20 something year olds just kind of move up the ranks. And so I guess I was like the first place where I got any taste of leadership. But of course I never knew what that word was.

Right.

I just knew the word leader. But I know what it stood for. Right?

Yeah. So it's funny because people would view gaming, a lot of people have a feeling about it that it's like a bad thing or it's not good. Knowing what you know about it. Is that something? If your kid was into gaming, would you be open to that?

It depends on what game.

Okay.

Yeah. Because there's some games where, you know, you're just kind of, you're just playing for the sake of playing. But this one was all about leveling up and working with a team to actually accomplish something bigger than. Bigger than yourself.

So do you think looking back that you might have learned some about leadership from those experiences in those games?

1, 100%. So this was pre Facebook, so you know, the first time. So I put, I probably got my first hundred, if not couple thousand of hours having conversations with people over the Internet just based on audio, right. Like this podcast. Just like I've only heard voices, right. I've never even seen the faces of most of these people that I played with.

Wow.

So I would hear the inflection in people's voices. I'd hear, you know, how people react to things. And you know, and I'm this kid, right. 16 years old, like leading 20 something year olds and we're like, yeah, let's do this and let's try to recruit them from other places and do the whole thing.

Wow, that's pretty cool.

That explains a lot. So, okay, so they. So your gaming, I got a little sidetracked from this. You mentioned earlier because I wanted to know more about the gaming. But you said that you were known in school for falling asleep and you explained why you would fall asleep because you were gaming at night but you were actually building leadership skills. So I get it. You have this accident, you fall asleep at the wheel and the kids find out about it. So then you mentioned you were bullied.

Yeah, it became, it became pretty bad because the only thing that I thought of after the fact was I would just wish I died in that accident.

Wow.

Like over and over and over again. Because you know, the whole school found out about it.

Right.

Like I was a senior at the time. The whole school found out about it. And you know, it just became kind of the thing that it's like, oh, of course.

Right.

And it was just so horrifying. It was just so horrifying. It was very embarrassing. And you know, and even. And you know, and it was just, it was just. Yeah. And like, and it was interesting because there's so many times that I had the vision of I'm just gonna get another car, just drive off the road. And you know, so I very much had many, many, many thoughts on wanting to end my life.

Did you have parents that knew this at the time, but did you have friends that knew that was anyone to talk to about this?

No.

No.

So wow, that must have been extremely isolating. And alone. How do you pull out of that when you're 16, 17 year old kid and you're dealing with that and you're not talking to anybody about was actually.

The transition point was when I went to college.

Okay.

When I went off to college. Because when I went off to college I had this vision for who I could become.

Right.

Which is, you know, like it was very egoic at the time, but it was from a place of where I really wanted significance. But I said, you know, I'm going to make my mark here and everyone's gonna know if I am by the time I graduate. And I just made a decision like no one knows who I am so I could be whoever I want to become.

Yeah.

And that's what I did.

Right.

It was like, okay, well am I Going to go on this path of gaming, or do I want to make friends in real life?

How did somebody. Because I love what you just said, and it's a theme with every single person I've interviewed. They had a decision and they had a vision. So where did you learn that? Did you just come up with that? Was there a mentor? Did you read a book? Like, where did. Do you remember even thinking of that idea? Because to go from depression, wanting to drive off a cliff to I'm gonna reinvent myself, how does that even happen?

I actually had this one friend who kind of like, planted the seed for me. Okay, oh, let's go and, like, take over Rutgers. And, you know, I went to Rutgers University in New Jersey, so, like, oh, let's go take over school.

Right.

So I just kind of like, oh, yeah, that sounds amazing. I just kind of went with it.

So.

But you.

Nobody told you, like, like, come up with a vision or start just making different choices. That's your. It's almost like, lucky that you. That even happened.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

So. And another thing, I would imagine you're holding in a lot of emotion at that time because you're not telling your family, you're not telling people what's going on in your brain about these. These thoughts of depression. And now you're going to go recreate yourself. Did you see a shift in friends and people by just making those decisions?

So I didn't really have that many friends in real life, so I knew how to interact in the online virtual world.

Okay.

But I didn't know, like, how to actually interact with people in the physical world, which is really interesting. So I had to almost, like, relearn social dynamics and learn how to have friends, how to be with people. And it was still a lot of mistakes. Right. Because, you know, I was. I was very awkward right. When I got to college. Like, I didn't really understand a lot of, like, boundaries.

Right.

And. And it took almost like an intervention with all these kids in my dorm room of, like, Zion, you can't do this.

Right. And.

And. And, you know, when you kind of have this person who is super depressed and all of a sudden, like, trying to come into their own.

Yeah.

Like, there's a level of arrogance that comes out because it's like, oh, I'm being accepted. And I'm. I just. I'm being accepted, and I have all these people that you know like me for me. And it's the first time I've ever felt that, really. But then all of a sudden, I felt Very crushed by it because, you know, I feel like I got this word of hazard. Like, this is how you're acting. And you're always trying to like, one up everyone.

And you were. It wasn't your intention. You didn't. It was just you trying to fit in, right?

I was just trying to fit in. I was just trying to be liked.

Right.

I was just trying to, you know, get what's going. And someone actually did give me some advice before I went to school. Oh. You know, it was. It was one of the gamers that I used to play with on my team where he said, you know, the best thing that I did was I knocked on every door and just introduced myself. I was like, oh, that's a great idea.

Right.

So I just took. Kind of took on this Persona, this outgoing person, which is the exact opposite of who I was in college.

Wow.

In high school. I'm sorry. And I knocked on all the doors, introduced myself to every single person in my dorm room.

Yeah.

I don't know, 20, 30 different people.

They all think you're, like, the extroverted, friendly, social guy.

Yeah. Yes. And I. And I try to bring everyone together. It's like, hey, let's all be friends.

Yeah.

I just want. At the end of the day, I just wanted friends.

Yeah.

Wow, that's interesting. And you mentioned at the beginning, you said, you know, sort of the Asian culture that you expect to be a doctor or attorney, and nothing's good enough. Nothing's impressed. Do you think? I'm just wondering, listening to you, do you think that need for friends and to impress came from that? Like, you were still seeking, like, to impress somebody, like, you want to do that for your. Your parents?

I think it was just because I just wanted friends because, you know, I remember being in the school cafeteria, looking around, be like, oh, I wish I could sit there.

Wow.

Right.

And sit with all these people, because I know I can be that person, get invited to the parties, you know, but I never was, so I know what it's like to be that kid.

Right. Yeah.

And that's all I wanted. But no one know, like, when you get to college, it's like, this is my opportunity for reset.

Right.

Yeah.

Why do you. How do you think that happened for you where you were able to reset? Because there's so many kids that. That's not how it ends up. You know what I mean? Like, I'm picturing there, and I'm ready just in my high school, or there's always those kids that are sitting there alone and other kids aren't even aware of how they're feeling, or maybe they don't care or they just don't know. Whatever it is, how do some shift out of it and others get stuck on it, and that creates their life.

Well, for me, I had these two identities I lived in.

Right.

Like, I had who I was in the virtual world and I had who I was in the real. The real, quote, unquote, real world.

Right.

But in the virtual world, I was this person who was starting to make a name for myself in the gaming community. And this wasn't a small game.

Right.

Eventually I became, you know, at 17, I became the administrator of what was the largest gaming league at the time in history.

Yeah.

Pioneered what is all the gaming leagues today.

Right.

And that's, you know, so I oversaw a division at 17 of over 30,000 people. So when I, you know, so it was that. And, you know, launched my first quote, unquote, business at the time.

Right.

Which I don't even know how much revenue we generated.

Right.

But anyways. But I had all that happening.

Yeah.

And then it was like bridging the gap of this is who I am over here, and this is how I'm perceived. So I can. So I was literally living two different lines. You know?

What's so funny, Zion? I just caught this right before we started interviewing. Those of you listening didn't catch this part, but right before we started interviewing, I said, zion, if I met you at a party today and I said, what do you do? What would you say? And you said, I don't know, because I don't know what to say outside of what I do for my business or my company. Which is interesting because you're. You almost still do it. You almost still have those two Personas. Right. Like, I'm here, but I'm going to talk about what I am that you don't know that I am.

Yeah, yeah. Identities are like. I mean, my identity has been something that I've always looked at and I've always asked is, who am I outside the context of my work?

Yeah.

Right.

And I think I'm only just getting comfortable with, you know, the being of who I am outside of that.

Wow, that's fascinating. Okay, so then. So then you're in college, you're making friends, You're. You're starting to shift. You've. You've recognized this new identity. It's almost like your alter ego, I would imagine. Like, this is who I want to step into. I'm going to become that which Is amazing. Where did you get this idea of now, this business savvy? Like, I know you learned some stuff from. From gaming, but to see what you do now in business is just really extraordinary. I mean, just your leadership skills and your ability to take feedback and lead a team and put a vision together, like, it's. I've been around a lot of successful people. I have not seen this skill that you have as a common thing. And to have learned that at such a young age, I'm just wondering, how did you even know that you wanted to do that? Where did that start?

So my freshman year, same year, after going to college, on Halloween, I almost drank myself to death.

Wow.

Okay.

So this is really interesting because I really like this girl, and I found out that she kind of had this thing going with this. Actually a friend of mine at the time. And I was super crushed by it.

Yeah.

So I literally went into my room and just, like, kind of kept drinking and blacked out, only to wake up in the hospital room. And what I found out was that had I had my. And what happened was the people in my dorm actually tried to wake me up, and I went and I was completely unresponsive. And had I fell asleep that night, you know, paramedics and doctors, I would have died. Wow. So the next day or the next two days after, you know, I go to see a therapist, because after things like this, if we make you see someone and, you know. And she asked me.

First time going to a therapist.

Second.

Okay.

The first time was after the car accident.

Okay.

The car. One of the. It was after the. Yeah, the first car accident.

Okay.

Because they were. Made me see a therapist to see if we had a case for a lawsuit. So I just spoke to someone like, no, I feel pretty fine.

Okay.

There's nothing. I feel pretty fine. Like, I had no concept of PTSD or anything like that.

Right.

So. Right. So therapist asked me the question of, do you still think about killing yourself?

Mm.

And that's probably the first time in life that I said no.

Right.

And did you mean no or were you.

I did.

Okay.

And I did. Because what I told her was, I should be dead.

Mm.

I've been in three car accidents, and I'm in three separate car accidents where I walked away from them. Plus, I almost drank myself to death last night. Like, I'm alive for a reason, and I'm going to find out why. But clearly, I'm here for a reason. Otherwise I wouldn't be alive anymore.

Yeah.

So I'm going to find It.

And then what did you do? What was your next step?

I started fraternity.

Started. You started a fraternity?

Yes.

Okay.

Right.

So, you know, because my whole thing was, wouldn't it be great to get all my friends and now, you know, go under a banner? So we reactivated a chapter of another fraternity of an existing national fraternity, because those are the rules there. So we started fraternity. And, you know, because I was like, for me, it was like, oh, I need more things on my resume. So let me go do this thing and be a leader. You know, be a leader and do all the things and let me go do that. And so that's. Yeah, so that's. That's what I did the second half of the year. And, you know, just completely, you know, want to change my life around because it was really tough because after that incident, I got kicked out of the business school. I got kicked out of my dorm.

From the drinking incident.

Yes.

Okay.

Yeah. Well, I got kicked out of business school for grades.

Right.

Because all I did was want to be around people. I did not go to class as a grade. I got kicked out of the business school and then kicked out of the dorm. And then, you know, I was just like, okay. I honestly was like, this is.

And I'm assuming your parents are definitely not approving at this point now.

They're not happy. There is just like, what is going on here?

Right.

And, you know, and then I try to, like, bounce back from that afterwards. But, yeah, I had, like, a. Under a 2.0 GPA at this point.

Wow. Wow.

So no one would have predicted you'd be the success you are right now at that time.

No, definitely not.

Yeah.

The fact that I graduated is a miracle in itself.

Wow. Okay.

So you get through college, you get through the parents not approving. You're learning a lot. You're stepping out of depression. What was your first, like, your business thing now? What was the first business win that you had then? And how did that come about?

So this was 19 when I started my custom apparel business. I created custom clothing for fraternities and sororities.

Okay.

And the way that all happened was I actually got a job, and I actually said that I could build this, like, e commerce website at the time. I had to take this local store and put them online.

Okay.

And I, you know, I basically lied and said I could do it. And then I googled my way, called a bunch of favors, and figured out got online as revenue generating. And then at the end of that month.

That's funny. You literally just had a vision and an idea. But you had no idea how you were going to do it.

Yeah, I just said I could because I just.

Right.

I just said I could. I'm just going to get it done.

Wow.

And I called in a bunch of favors, got it done, got it up. It was revenue generating and even hit the goal that he wanted. But at the end of that year, he's like, you know, I'm gonna close the business. And that store sold both Rutgers apparel and clothing for Greeks. So I was like, oh, what are all these Greeks gonna do once this place closes? So I took that portion of the business, packaged it up and. Yeah. And then turned that into a business. And that was my first ever. Six figure business.

That's incredible. And you're 19 when you did that.

19. Yep.

Six figure business.

Okay.

So that happens. And are you at that point thinking, wow, I'm smart, I'm good. Are you still having that story going on?

There is no story.

Right.

It's just, this is a thing. It's fun. Like, it's working. And more and more people like this, more and more people are finding out about it.

Yeah.

And that's really all I cared about is like, it's growing. We had like our competitors that were local, like, we're going to take.

Beat it. Right.

So that's really all I cared about was, let's just grow this thing and make it better.

Okay.

Do you have an agenda? Like, it. Would you have a vision of like, it's going to turn into this, or I'll take this to other areas or what was your plan?

No, no, there was no plan.

Okay.

There was no plan. It's just, I'm just going to grow it. And eventually, you know, I was like, oh, maybe I'll get my own machines and do it. Because we're outsourcing everything.

Yeah.

Right.

But, oh, so there's a big incident that happened before all this.

Okay.

There's a big incident that happened before all this, which is why I was just like, I'm just gonna. Yeah, right. Because I had actually gotten arrested.

Why did you get arrested?

So after I started attorney, we're like, oh, we need a house.

Okay.

So in that summer, we found a house. We got a bunch of these people, you know, got a bunch of people together. We rented this house that's like way off of campus, right in this super shady neighborhood with. And then the front side also had a bunch of shady kids in it. So all of a sudden, this house just evolves into this. There's a lot of Craziness, Right. Every drug you can imagine.

Like a total party house that you see in a movie, basically.

Yeah, that and then some.

Right.

You have, like, people with warrants out for their arrest, gang members going in and out of the house. What? Every drug imaginable going in and out of the house. Like, coming.

Coke, heroin.

Oh, my God. One of the guys that came in and. Yeah, one of the guys that came in was a big, big heroin dealer. And, you know, and then one of the guys was selling. Selling weed or. You know, at the time, I was like. And he was making money. I was like, dude, like, let me partner with you on that and join that. And then. So I did. And then one day, you know, boom, right? The. There's a. There's a county task force that came, and they had. It was like six different municipalities, plus the sheriff's department, because they thought we had drugs and guns. They found, you know, not that much, fortunately, but I got super lucky for why that was the case. I just. I was too lazy that morning to go and get more. Otherwise I would have been over. So a Federal felon is 50 grams or over. I had 48.9. Wow. And the only reason why was because my partner at the time, his name was. Sheesh.

Right? So.

So you're like cheese and chong. Yeah, exactly.

Yeah.

Yeah, exactly. So he took what we had left because he didn't trust anyone in the house, tossed it at my bedside, and that was what I got caught with. Wow.

Right.

So it was a warrant for someone else's arrest in the house. And, you know, and of course, you know, I had my own part in it, So I ended up in a jail cell with this guy. And before we got into the jail cell, yeah, I'm talking to this guy. He's been in there because, you know, he got arrested for two different offenses with, like, I don't know, smoking and joint and, like, something super small. And then he is like, yeah, I can't even get a job anywhere. And in that moment, I was like, this is my future. I'm not going to be able to get a job anywhere.

Wow.

Right?

So the moment that jail cell door closed on me, I said. And I felt the feeling of being. Of losing my freedom for the first time ever.

Wow.

I still know what that feels like today.

Yeah.

And then I turned to my cellmate at the time, who was the person who got caught up in it. I was like, okay, why are we here? Yeah, like, why are we here? This isn't what we were meant to do we were meant to change the world. Like, this is not what we. We should be amounting to. And I wrote myself a letter that day. And I'll be honest, I can say all kinds of things of what I wrote, I have no idea. But I wrote myself a letter of, this is, you know, this is not it for me. And I said to myself, when I get out of here, I'm going to launch the business. I'm just going to go. And that's. And that was it for me.

Right.

That was another one of those decision making moments.

It's almost like you've just been pulled into so many different things, like the depression, the drinking incident, the accident, like all these things that happen to you. But like, there's this higher version of yourself that keeps shining through with this vision or impact, or I am important. Like, that's what I keep hearing. It's like this. You, like, wanted to physically pull yourself down, but there's this higher version of yourself that kept popping up. And that's really. Thank goodness you listened to that.

Yeah. I mean, it was hard after I got out because, you know, I had just got elected the president my fraternity at the time, because even though I started, I wasn't the president.

Right.

So. Because I was part of a founding group, so we had, I don't know, 10 members and eight of them were in jail. That was my first week on the job. Wow.

Right.

So, you know, so my house is completely empty.

Right.

Because you. You can't see the floor. Everything's trash.

Right.

And it's cold because it's December. So it's super cold. And, you know, it was very depressing. So it was hard for me to, like, snap out of it. And like, I'm gonna do this thing. And my other housemate that was there with me, I was like, dude, you want to do this business with me? Because I have this idea and I want to go. He's like, sure, I'm down. Still one of my best friends today. And we just went for it.

And that was the apparel company that you started?

That's the apparel company. Yep.

Got it. Okay.

Wow.

Okay.

And what we didn't share, which I just know about you, so I just want to bring it up, is that you had mentioned, if I heard it right, that you grew up really in like a one bedroom apartment. Correct. With several siblings. Did you say that?

Yeah, with my. So my. Yeah, my younger brother and I had. It was actually two bedrooms, so one for my parents, one for me and my brother.

Okay.

Yeah, we've been evicted multiple times while we were growing up. And then I moved to five different elementary schools before sixth grade.

So here's what I want people to hear. Here's a kid that, as a kid, didn't have a lot, didn't have the resources, didn't have the family that believed in him, didn't have the finances. You said yourself you didn't have a lot of. You had a mom that worked very hard. She owned nail salons.

Correct.

She worked really hard. You saw this tough work ethic, but not. Not the love and support that you would think somebody that's as successful as you are now today would have had. And then you go through school, you're bullied, you have accidents, you get arrested. Like, you've got all these things that happen to you, and somehow you still emerged into such greatness. It's like. It's really. It's unbelievable. But it's so interesting because I keep hearing this theme of you having these decisions and this vision, like, constantly. Every time you broke out of one of those things, it was, I decided and I had a vision, I had a thought.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. That's been every moment in time where you decide, right? You decide what you want to do. And once you decide, that's the most powerful action that you can take towards the next step.

Deciding always comes first.

Wow.

And I just love that you just completely shared that. That's so incredible. So you do the apparel company. How did you get into now? Because now it's like, what you're doing now is so different from that. How did that come about?

A lot of failed businesses along the way.

Okay, what failed about them? What would you say? Was it a common theme that made them fail?

So the first two businesses were actually quite successful. Like, I wouldn't consider my first business a failure. It just. I just learned everything about what operational scale was not from it. It was exhausting. Nearly killed me. Okay, So I was running two businesses. President, fraternity, full time student, and, you know, literally working over 100 hours a week. And I crashed and burned super hard. And then my friend, one of my best friends, passed away. That became my call to action for I'm gonna go do my thing. That business failed miserably. Didn't even make our first 10,000. Like, we didn't make our first $10,000 in that business.

Zion, were you fighting when that was happening? You said, like, my business failed miserably. Were you fighting that voice from, like, being a kid, like, I'm not good enough. Did you have To. Or were you choosing to ignore that? Because I would imagine that would pop up during those times.

It didn't pop up. It was more of I could be dead tomorrow.

Mm.

So different.

Okay.

You had, like, a different. Why a different driving core motivator to want you to take action.

Okay.

Yeah. One of my best. This is. This is when I was 21.

Yeah.

One of my best friends is 22. Just passed away in a car accident. That was very real for me.

Yes.

Right.

After not having friends most of your life and.

Well, after having survived car accidents.

Yeah.

Right.

So I was like, I'm doing this thing that I don't absolutely love in my life.

Yeah.

And I want to go do the thing.

Okay.

And that was, you know, And I didn't know what it was. I just knew that I wanted to change the world. I didn't know what that meant. I was just like, I just want to do something big.

Okay.

Right.

And. Well, actually, I did. I knew that I wanted to launch an incubator and an accelerator. That's all I need.

Right.

Okay.

And I went off to do it.

And what does that mean for people listening? They don't maybe know what that means.

Sure. So an accelerator program is where you take a group of companies and you grow them all at the same time.

Okay.

And so that they grow together.

Right.

And typically they take cohorts. They receive capital, capital investment of some sort. You surround them with a lot of mentors, and you grow them to increase their chances of success.

Right.

Incubation is when you launch a company from the ground up and you just get it going. And I was just like, I want to do this thing.

Right.

I just knew that was like, that was the thing that I wanted to do, because I was the second business, which was a co Working space, and we want to launch an incubator and accelerate on top of it. But I wasn't really aligned with the partner, so I parted ways. And then when I went off on my own and it crashed and burned, I didn't actually realize that this. I was so burnt out after. After that whole thing fell apart, which is only a couple months later, I just had nothing. Like, I had two successful businesses that had nothing. And then here I was trying to get a job after I graduated.

Yeah.

So that. That I lost probably two years off my life after that because I lost all my confidence as an entrepreneur.

Right.

And I just lost all my vision, and I had nothing. I had no idea what I wanted to do.

Yes.

And so I just kept doing things Right. Because I realized that. I realized one day I was, like, looking at a computer screen. And a month went by, I had no idea what happened. And the whole time, I'm seeking purpose. I'm seeking purpose. I'm seeking purpose. And I said to myself, I'm never going to get this answer. There's no magic. I can't tell the future. This is outside of my control. This is also the year I gave up drinking, smoking, went on, like, this whole personal development binge. Just read all these things, wanted to just be successful. That meant. And then I was like, well, this common thread I see on all successful people is that they're happy.

Yeah.

And I realized I wasn't happy. I was, like, the exact opposite of happy. I was actually depressed.

Yeah.

And so I told myself that I just need to be ready.

Okay.

I just be ready for the day that this purpose of mine comes. And I want to have the skills and the relationships to just take it on full force and take it all the way. And that was a hard vision for me to align with because that was seven years. Seven years ago.

But what's so incredible is what you just said is exactly what I see as now. Like, you literally are living that now. That's how I would describe you now.

Oh, yeah.

Because I didn't. I didn't make any reason. Like, up until last year, I could barely pay rent.

Right.

Like, I sacrificed everything for learning how to just be a better marketer. I worked, you know, and I was running an agency, but I built a team, so I learned how to build a team. Like, learning the craft.

Yes.

I'm just gonna learn how to be a better worker. And here I am just, like, literally giving up everything. There have been so many times where I didn't know if I was gonna pay rent. I couldn't. I literally couldn't eat. I'm just gonna be the best I can be. Meanwhile, I'm putting on this image of, hey, I'm the successful person.

Yeah.

Who could barely make money month over.

Month because we're told, like, act as if you have to be an image, you have to step into it.

Yes.

That's that. And that's hard.

Right.

And quite frankly, until really, until last year, I said to myself, enough like this. I'm done with this.

Yeah.

Right.

Yeah.

Because it almost feels like a fake life at that point, I would imagine.

Right.

Because I know what it looks like.

Yeah.

Right.

And I was. And I was so afraid to go back to the days that I couldn't get out of Bed.

Oh, yeah.

I was so afraid to go back. I knew what that looked like, so I didn't want to go back.

Yes.

And, you know, so I said myself, you know what? This. So actually, this time last year, I was running agency doing about, you know, 50 to $70,000 a month.

Okay.

And I said, by the way, people.

Hearing that, that think that's a lot of money. Like, that's the revenue. That's not, like, what he was personally making. Like, there's a lot.

I was taking home $2,000.

Yeah. Yeah.

Because people. I know, people always hear revenue. I'm like, there's a difference with, like, profit and what you're taking home and that. Yeah.

Yep. Thank you for that. So I was taking home two to $3,000 a month.

Yeah.

I said this. I'm not doing this anymore. I know what to do. And. But I don't want to be the person that says that they can.

Yes.

Doesn't meet the word.

Got it.

Wow.

Because I've done that before is like, yeah, I know. Oh, I could be a straight student if I try. Like, yes, I could build this big company if I tried. And I didn't want to be that person that just said that they could and didn't meet that expectation. So again, made a decision and said, I don't care what it takes this year. I'm going to 10x everything in my life.

Which you basically did.

Yes. And then two months later, we launched Project Nuclear.

Isn't that crazy? Like, you get clear on what you want, like, you really clear on what you want, and, like, look what happens.

Absolutely. And that's. That's. My foundational belief, is I can do anything that I'm committed to.

Yes. So, okay, so tell us about Project Nuclear because, like, what you've done, like, the amount of brilliant entrepreneurs that you have enrolled in this vision is just incredible. I've never seen anything like it. Like, tell us more about that, because that's like, you've got just these incredible people in your circle now.

Yeah, absolutely. I would say that. Yeah. Everything that I've learned on how to be a better person comes from two books.

Right.

It's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Love that book.

And how to Win Friends and Influence People.

Right.

I was like, okay, so to make friends, I just have to give value and, you know, keep on just being interested in people. That's all I did for five years, is build relationships.

That's so funny. It's, like, almost so simple that you would think, like, but it can be that simple. I guess that's it.

Those are the only two books that I read for years.

Yeah.

I was like, I'm gonna go do this.

Yeah.

Right.

And then. Yeah. But I still had it. But over the years, I was getting clear and clear on the vision that I wanted for the, like, where I wanted to stand in the world, what I wanted for the world, and the change that I wanted to see in the world.

Right.

And I brought that vision to my current business partner, Scott, and said, this is what I want to do. Do you want to do this with me or not?

Yeah.

Right.

And that's what it started with. Yeah. You know, and, you know, you've heard me talk about this before, but this is why I say starting with vision is the most important thing, because vision is the change that you want to see in the world.

Yeah.

And I shared him and I shared with Scott my version of the change that I want to see.

That's amazing.

Yeah.

I learned Zion is a master at that. You truly are a master that. I took so many notes that day. I was listening to you. He was. You were speaking into how you hire somebody on your team or how you. And what he didn't do is give. Like, you ask these questions, do these things. What he really spoke into is enrolling someone in your vision. Like, you ask them about their vision and what they see for the world, and then you share yours. But they have to align, otherwise there is no partnership or there is no way that you could work together. But most people do it the other way. They just tell people what they want and what they need from somebody without actually having that conversation about what are our visions and do they align Absolutely right.

As all incredible people, including yourself, like, you have a vision for yourself already. And I just found the people that. Where my mission was already their mission, and they were going about it on their way. So I said, hey, this is what I'd like to do. Would you like to do it with me?

Yeah.

Great.

Let's go.

That's incredible. I want everyone listening to know that this person is Ion Kim. If you've never heard of him before, you. He's going to make waves. You will know who he is because he really. You really, truly are a brilliant example of what a leader is, what a visionary is. And just the. I'm so empowered in your presence. It's just so incredible. And anyone that I know that has been in your presence says that same thing. So all these things that happened to you, I believe they truly happened for you to bring you into this day, because it's really, really incredible who you are right now and what you're stepping into. And I can't wait to see where that even goes.

Yeah. Thank you. You know, and that was. And it took me a while to realize that.

Right.

Steve Jobs was the person that said, if you start looking back, you start connecting the dots. That's what I realized, was everything that happened in my life happened for me.

It did.

It happened for you.

It cultivated an appreciation for the pain of entrepreneurship. It cultivated the empathy that I needed for other human beings. And every single thing that I received, every single shitty thing that I went through in. In my life happen so that I can have the empathy for another person and see.

Right.

And this is my fundamental belief that I operate with our company, is we go through things so that we have the opportunity to see someone else going through it, so we can support them.

Yes.

Yes. We can pick them up. Pick them up and walk alongside them side by side, so we can do all greater things together.

That's incredible.

Yeah.

And I think I know I can speak firsthand that I sense that from you. So it's incredible.

Oh, wow.

Zion, this is incredible. I do have a final question for you, because I ask everybody this, and I'm curious your take on it. So if somebody's listening right now and they're on their own personal rock bottom, I mean, maybe they were in that accident that you had. Maybe they just almost drank themselves to death or their business failed. Like, they're in their own personal rock bottom, whatever that is to them. If they. If you were to give them, like, three things that they could do right now to start shifting out of that and leveling up, what would you tell them?

First thing is just realizing how lucky we are. If anyone's listening to this podcast, there's 7.7 billion people on this planet, and somehow you're listening to this.

Right.

So just the sheer fact that you are hearing this message right now and the amount of luck that takes.

Right.

Of all the people in the world. It's an absolute privilege, and it's incredible that we get to be sharing this message together today. So the fact that you're listening to this is a signal of just how lucky you already are. And that's the first step. Think about how much you already have. You already have the determination, and you have something inside of yourself have listened to this far, and to actually hear this message, reward yourself for that, because you've done that much, which is so much more than other people.

Yeah.

I love that.

Right.

So the first thing is just giving credit for yourself, because you're probably giving. You're probably being way too hard on yourself, is giving yourself grace.

Mm.

Of your. The fact that you're taking the first steps means that you're so much further along than you think you are.

Right.

So that's the first thing. The second thing is, what is it that you actually. What is that you actually just enjoy doing the things that. So I like asking this question. What makes you forget to eat and poop?

I like that.

Right.

So what makes you forget to eat and poop? So there's things that you're already doing that when you start doing them or you start working on them, you light up, you get filled with energy and start to look back at your life and think about, what are those things? Because they're there, right? They're definitely there. So just figure out what that is. And, you know, what I realized was when we're seeking purpose, we're actually looking for the work that gives us that purpose and that meaning. And the question that I had to ask myself one day was, well, what work do I do then? And the answer that I received was, just do what you know. So for the person that's listening to this, I would say you're probably already doing what you're supposed to be doing. Just keep going. Because every single thing, if you start to realize that everything is happening for you, that there's something bigger on the other side and to build a bigger house, you have to burn it down first.

Right.

In order for you to create space for something else to come in, something else has to be destroyed. And you might be in that process right now where something's getting destroyed. For you to create the space for something else to enter and just know that it's coming and find comfort in that knowing and let that be okay, and just keep on taking that next step and keep on taking those actions towards the results that you want. And that's the most important thing that you can do. Wow.

This is so powerful. I love this. I took so many notes on this. I know listeners are probably doing the same. This is incredible. Zion, where can they find more out about you, about Project Nuclear? Are you on social media? Where. Where do you want them following you, looking for you?

Sure. So the easiest way to find me is definitely on Facebook. You just look me up. Zion. Kim, Right now we're getting all of our website, domains and everything restructured. You can find us@theroi method.com as well. But the 1mt site and our new brand is about to launch and my personal site's about to launch. Everything's about to relaunch so best place is definitely Facebook and if anyone needs any support with anything then definitely feel free to reach out.

Yes.

Follow him, look for him, learn from him. There's gonna be bigger and more things from him. I know it. Thank you Zion so much. Thank you.

Yeah thank you so much.

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.

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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 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.