147: From Homeless to Millions with Sterling Griffin

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. Today on Leveling Up, I'm so excited because I'm here with my friend Sterling, who we have a lot in common. People wise, fitness background, all the things. But the reason I was dying to interview him today is he's got like the ultimate story of leveling up. Like, he is the extreme version of leveling up. He was literally homeless with nothing for years ago. And now not only is he a multiple seven figure earner, he's coaching people that are six to seven figure earners and he's just killing the game. And I was like, what the heck? How do you go from homeless to that literally in four years? So, Sterling, thank you so much for being here today.

Yeah, it's my pleasure. I'm super pumped to be here, hang out with you and here at your beautiful home.

Thank you. Yeah, thank you. So I, I have so many questions. Like, I'm like, how in the world. It seems like you were this overnight success. You came from nowhere and you literally came from nowhere. So I want to know all the things. Like, first of all, how did you end up homeless? Let's start with that.

Well, a few years ago, I had actually, like six years ago, I had planned to be a pastor. I was studying Christianity really intensely at a graduate school. So are you familiar with seminary? Have you heard that term before?

A little bit.

Seminary is like graduate school for ministers or evangelist pastors. And I had been studying there because I had grown up since I was 16. I became a Christian. I was super hardcore, was all about it. But when I went to seminary in Pasadena, actually Fuller Theological Seminary, I started to realize after nine months that it wasn't really for me, I didn't actually believe in Christianity anymore. So it brought about this, like, really intense identity crisis. You might say, like, who am I?

Like, you're in school to be a seminary and you're like, now I don't believe in this.

Yeah, it's like, this isn't real anymore to me. And so it brought about this, like, huge, this like terrible time of emotional anguish over the course of, like, A year and a half. And during that time, I was, I took a job, a sales job to sell solar panels. It's just like trying to get by, just trying to do something. I knew one other person that was selling and making decent money, so I was like, let me just try and learn. Sales seems like a valuable skill, but the problem was, is I sucked. Was so bad. And when the only way you make money is if you sell something.

Yeah.

And then you suck at sales, like, you'll be hungry. And yet I had this ridiculous dogged persistence that I'm just going to make this work instead of having the approach, let me try something else or like get some support or mentorship. I was like, let me do it all on my own.

Okay.

Let me just push harder and eventually it'll work out. Didn't work out. Okay. Didn't happen. And so with that, it got so bad to the place where I had even maxed out my credit cards trying to pay rent. And then.

Were you like a commission only? Salesperson commission only?

Yeah, yeah.

With no skill set in sales, with.

No skill set, with no background. Yeah. It's a bad combination. Bottom line. And so I'm selling next to these guys that are from Utah. There's these like Mormon guys, LDS guys that are like trained on doing door too and selling because that's like what their religion teaches them to do. And so they're, they're just like able to handle anything, can sell anything. And I'm over here, like super, like a little, like a little shrimp, like, hey, can you buy my thing? Nobody. Nobody wants to buy.

So you're like knocking on doors.

Knocking on. Literally knocking on doors? Yeah. Actually in Southern California, sometimes I'd come down here to San Diego, but mostly it was in the Inland Empire. It was in like Fontana.

Yeah. People don't even want to answer the door to that. So you already had to battle that.

Yeah, yeah, it was, it was not fun. But it did teach me a level of persistence and, and focus and like emotional independence that I didn't have before that. It's like I, I have a level of perseverance that most people that have never done that.

Sure.

Could, never can, can't even imagine because most people are easily quit at things. I mean, your, your husband Brooks, who was a. He's in the Navy SEALs, right? Yeah.

Through SEAL training.

Yeah, they went through SEAL training. So he knows about perseverance when shit gets tough. Yeah. So that's, this is like the, the Navy seals of business is doing door to door Sales. But anyway, I basically didn't pass because I eventually I couldn't even afford the $250 a month rent to stay in the two bedroom place where there were already four other people living already, like.

Super inexpensive for rent.

Yeah, yeah. And I was like sleeping on the floor in the living room. But eventually I couldn't even afford the 250 bucks. And they're like, you got to move out, bro. And so I moved into my Honda Accord at that time. Yeah, yeah. And I was homeless for five months after.

Okay. So so many things coming up. Because why, okay, first of all, like, why didn't you ask your friends or family, like, can I come, Can I come couch surf?

Yeah.

Why? Why was that not an option?

Well, it was. I could have moved back to Florida or Louisiana to live with them, but I really wanted to be here in Southern California. I. I'd moved here to go to school. And I just love this area so much. And I'm like, you know what? As long as I can eat enough to survive, I'm gonna try and stay here. I'm gonna try and make it work.

But what was, what happens there? Because, like, I don't. I think that's like literally rock bottom. Like most people, you have setbacks, you have failures, whatever. But okay, now I'm living in my car. Like, what makes you keep going with that? Like, I think so many people will be done with that.

Well, shortly after I went homeless, or. Right. Actually about the time that I went homeless, I. I went to a seminar. Seminar with Tony Robbins. Unleash the power within his big like 50 hour, 4 day event.

How did you afford that? No, I didn't. But how'd you afford it?

Well, I'd saved up for nine months. Like I put together every available dollar to. To attend this event. And so it was more important to me to go to that than to pay rent.

That's crazy.

Yeah. Because it was like, this has the key to a better life. I'm in a really place. I need something else. I don't have the answer myself for how to feel better, for how to be better. And so I've got to go and see Tony. Hopefully he has some answers for me.

Right.

And so I went to that. And out of that seminar, I had this new belief that I could become a trainer. Now I had had a big fitness transformation the year prior, and I'd had a bunch of people asking, well, how the hell did you do that? Like, can you show me how to transfer my body? Can you show me how to get abs or lose weight or things like that. And I never had the confidence that I could help those people too. I'd always had this imposter thing come up. Like, oh, yeah, I had the transformation, but I'm not good enough to be able to help other people. But when I went to see Tony, what Tony so great at is helping you rewire your beliefs, change your beliefs so that you change your reality. And after that event, I was like, you know what? I can do this. I am capable. And one of the most powerful things that he did at that event that showed me that was he talked over and over again about where he came from, about he came from poverty, came from a broken family. Like, his family was all messed up. Like, he didn't grow up in an environment where personal development was the norm.

Yeah.

He created. Created who he is on his own with the help of mentors along the way and with intense passion and focus.

Sure.

And so I'm hearing that I'm like, well, if Tony can do that, I took the approach that if I see this guy come from nothing, I'm at nothing, then why not me too? Why can't I make something of myself and help other people get paid for it? That was like my dream. I want to help other people experience this gift of confidence, this gift of security, of empowerment that comes from. From fitness, that had come for me from fitness. And so it was then that I was like, you know what? Whatever it takes, I'm gonna try and give my best to make this work.

So you made this decision there. You're fired up. Which seminars, no matter what it is, I think does that for you when you're in the experience. So you leave that, like, completely fired up. And then how did you even know where to start? Like, what happened?

Well, that's a great question. When I was at the event, Tony said something which forever changed my life. It's four days and it's like 12 hours a day. I mean, it's really, really intense.

You're parked right out front, so you can.

Yeah, exactly. No problem. Yeah. So I had nothing better to do. So this was great. But on the fourth and final day, Tony said something, and this was like something where everybody in the audience was, like, leaning forward to hear what he said. He said, if you take nothing else from this entire four day event, but what I'm about to tell you, it will have been worth it and your life will completely change. And of course, when he says that, everybody's got the notes to the pen to the paper, let's get it. And he said, proximity is power. Who you surround yourself with is who you become. Take a look at your life right now. See the people that are closest to you, do they have the life that you want? Do they have the body that you want? Do they have the income that you want? If not, get into a different room, get around different people. And so it was at that moment that I realized, wait, why am I broke? Why am I struggling to feel fulfilled or to feel on purpose or like I'm growing?

Yeah.

Well, it's because the people in my life, none of them do that. None of them have a good income. They're all broke, too.

Yeah.

So of course I'm going to be the. The next person that's broken that circle. And so my first thought was, who is the. Who are the people in my life that are coaches, that are successful, that are driven, that are growth oriented, and what do I got to do to spend time with them?

Okay, so I have questions here because I. I'm with that train of thought. I know you are now. And I feel like I'm constantly up, leveling, like, in masterminds and, like, who my friends are, what I listen to, what I read, all those things. But for somebody listening right now, that is in this, because I've been there, and I'm sure you were too, where you're like, I don't want to hang out with people that are better than me because I feel worse about myself. Did you have that conversation at all?

Totally. Totally. I felt super insecure. I'm like, well, I'm not worthy being around those people. What do I have to offer those people? Let me just stay with what's comfortable. But at that point, I was in so much pain from what I had been doing. I was like, this is not working. I will make myself uncomfortable if I have to.

Yeah.

And even if I don't feel like I'm worthy of being around these people, I'm just gonna find things that I can do for them. I'm going to try and be of service in some way. I'm going to try and learn something that I can offer them. I'm going to try and make an introduction for them that will help them. I'm going to find a way to add value however I can so that I can be. So that I can feel like I'm welcome in that room. I'm welcome with those people.

So what did you do? What was the next step?

Well, I knew one person who was a successful coach and he lived down in.

And I was busy, right? You called me and I was busy.

Yeah, I sent you a DM and you didn't respond. I was like, hey, will you be my friend? Yeah.

No, you knew one person and you said, and so what happened?

Yeah, I actually lived in Encinitas, so not far from here. And he was an online relationship coach. And so while he was. After I left that event, I was like, hey man, can I come hang out with you? Yeah, can I come drive down? He was like, yeah, of course. And so in Encinitas, this is like super big spiritual community. Lots of coaches, I'm sure, you know, hippieville. Hippieville. And a lot of those people love to hang out all the time. Every single night there's something where people can gather and get together. It's all the little cuddle puddles all the time. And so, and so there's always ways to connect with other people that are online business owners and growth oriented people. And so pretty much every weekend I started driving down and I'm like, you know, what gatherings are going on, what stuff's happening and I'll just make friends. It wasn't like a, hey, I need a business mentor or let me just see what they're doing for business even. It was like, literally if I just get around them, eventually something good is going to happen. So I did that for, for like three months.

Did people know you were living in your car?

I wasn't openly talking about it, no. I would say, hey, can I stay with you tonight? Or can I stay? I would like ask to sleep on their couch or in an extra bedroom. But yeah, I didn't volunteer that.

You know, I interviewed Brad Lee a while ago. I don't know if you know him, he's in Vegas. But it was so funny because I was asking about failures and he had said that he was homeless, living on the beach. And I said, well, isn't that a failure? And he said, no. He said because I had beachfront property, I was living on the beach. And it was, it was such an interesting comment because it was like all perspect.

Yeah.

Just made me think of that. Like you could really invent yourself and be anything. Like you could say, I believe I have beachfront property.

Yeah, yeah, it's your car. Yeah, yeah. Well, and that's the thing is like, I'm living in Southern California. I didn't feel sorry for myself during this time. Now I felt sad. I was like, well, I should be doing better for myself than this.

Like, okay, Wait, I've got some questions here too, because I know, I know someone listening wants to know this. I just got some, like, there may be their girly questions. I don't know, but like, where did you take a shower? Where did you, like, how did you cook your food?

The gym.

So you saw a gym membership?

Yeah, the Gym membership was $40 a month, 24 Hour Fitness. And you get a shower there? I change clothes there. Yeah, yeah. It's just like, I get my. They have soap and shampoo. I don't even have to buy that. They got towels, everything.

Got it. That's great. So that's food.

Food. It was like, mostly like, if I could stay with a friend for a night, then I would. Then I would like buy rice or I would buy chicken, and then I would just like make a few containers and that would be enough for a couple days. I do that. I have like a little cooler in the back of my car. I put ice in it and I keep the food cold.

Were you making any money during this time and where was it coming from?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I made a little bit of money. So that first. The first time that I signed my first online training client was in December of 2015. So it was about a month and a half after I left the conference from Tony, and I made about a thousand dollars a month for the next three months on my own.

Okay, and how are you doing that?

So this was me just throwing random shit at the wall. My online training business, I was just like making random posts on social media because I saw that other people did that.

Okay.

I made an ebook. I sold a couple copies of that. I made a webinar, invited people to that.

So, like, you're literally like working from your car doing that?

Exactly, exactly. Or coffee shops. I'm gonna stop at coffee shops and connect to their free WI fi and all that.

So did you. Did you go get. Did you become a trainer? Like, what was this?

Just online training? Just online. I never wanted to do in person training because I never wanted to. I always had the vision of I want to build a system. I want to build a business that works. Whether or not I show up now, it's not gonna be that way to start, but I didn't want to go into in person training. I wanted the freedom to work from my laptop, from my cell phone, because I'd seen some for my car. Exactly. Now I'd seen people do that. I saw one guy who was an online trainer successfully doing that. Like, he would travel the world and work from his laptop. He was only working like 15 to 20 hours a week, 19 year old kid. And I was like, well, shit, if this 19 year old scrawny kid can do this, like, why not me?

So, okay, a couple questions there. Like, what did online training look like? Did that mean like you were literally like face to face looking at them, training them?

No, online training in this context is really for the person who already knows about how to work out. They already know how to do the movements, but they need that higher level of accountability. They need that higher level mindset work. Okay. And so the way that online training works and the way that I teach my students to structure it now is you're going to give people exercise plans, you're going to give them nutrition plans that are customized for them, and then you're going to do daily or weekly accountability to make sure they follow through.

Got it.

Because here's the thing, you know, you've been fitness a long time. It's not about people knowing what to do. Most of them, almost all of them know what to do. It's about how do you get them to structure it in a way in their life where they actually follow through and they stay consistent?

That's brilliant. So it's. And it's simple because it's very simple. So how does you. If you sucked at sales because you said you sucked. I didn't say that. You said it. How did you get the first client?

Well, the first client, I actually asked my friend who was an online coach, I said, hey, do you have a sales script that you use when you're selling your coaching? And he was like, yeah. And so he sent me his sales script. And this is actually why I give away my sales script for free for fitness coaches now, is because somebody gave me theirs when I really needed it.

And what was the sales script? What did you do? What did you say?

It was literally like setting the frame at the beginning, asking them their goals, their challenges, like doing the gap. This is all just like normal sales stuff to me now. But I. It was all foreign to me.

If it gets worse, what would that look like?

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah. So. So tell me about what you say to yourself when you're alone and you look at yourself in the mirror.

I've never asked that question, but that's a good one. I should add it in.

It's. Yeah, well, there's some, there's some. Like really? Because here's the thing in sales, and maybe we'll talk about this, maybe we won't, but in Sales like you have to get people to feel pain. They have to feel pain.

So here's the thing. My theory on sales, because I think of myself as a good, solid salesperson, but I don't think of that as a negative. I believe that solid salespeople are very good at problem solving and people. That's what I believe.

Yes.

I think people that suck at sales are trying to be a salesperson and they're trying to like manipulate or change or like get a result. But I think a real people that thrive at sales, they're masters at understanding a problem and solving it.

Yeah. And I found that the best salespeople I know are genuinely very loving people. They really want to solve problems. Exactly. They give a crap about people. And that's what I say. If you want to, if you want to be somebody, that makes a really big difference, especially if you want to be a coach or you want to be a trainer, somebody like that, if you want to make a big difference and therefore get paid very well for what you do, become excellent at sales. Because if you don't, then you can't get people to transform their lives. Like sales is simply getting someone to commit to what they already need or know they need to do so good.

So that's why I believe, I believe when you said you sucked at sales before and it's because you, you were just selling to make money.

Right.

It wasn't actually solving a problem. But now that you know your vision and you could actually help people and you were stepping into your power, that's why it worked.

Yeah. It's because I saw that this is actually making a difference that I care about. That feels personal to me.

Yeah.

When it was solar, it felt very impersonal and personal. It was a product and you were.

Just doing to make money.

I was just doing it to survive. And that wasn't customer focused. That wasn't about the people I was serving. So when I found something like, yeah, this is going to change somebody's life, it was like I was on fucking fire. I was driven. Even if I sucked at sales from a strategic perspective, I was enthusiastic as hell.

That made sense.

And I cared about the people, so I was going to get better one way or another.

And people see that conviction and that energy and they, I think they want to follow that.

Yep. Yep.

So how were you scared asking for that first time price? I mean, you're literally going homeless. Nothing like even that first price at $1,000, that was probably scary for you.

It was super scary.

How'd you get past that.

Well, here's the thing. The good thing for me is that I had met this other online trainer who I mentioned to you, who was selling their programs for eight weeks, $1,000 each time. And because I saw that he did it, I was like, well, if he can do it, I can do it.

Okay.

I didn't think of it like, am I as good as him? Or, like, am I worth that yet? I didn't think of it in those terms. And I think if I try and, like, put my own personal value or my own personal expertise in terms of a financial number, then I start to have blocks. There's reasons why I can believe it and reasons why I can't. So I didn't even put in that context. I was like, well, he's doing that. That makes sense to me. I'll just do it too, and see where it goes. And if. And I always thought this, like, if they don't get the result that they're paying for, then I will coach them for free until they do.

Wow. Like, commitment.

That was like, no matter what, I'm gonna get this person what they need. Plus, I didn't have the experience as a trainer yet. So that was kind of. My approach is like, if I don't get them the result right away, then I'll get the support. I'll bring in other trainers to help me, and eventually I'm gonna get there.

That's amazing. Yeah, I love that.

Yeah.

So that takes off. And how. How quickly?

Well, it didn't take off.

Okay.

But it barely got off the ground.

Oh, okay.

Those first three months, I was just. I was working around the clock, 12, 14 hours a day, but I was just kind of guessing as to what to do. And I. And that is the most expensive activity in business by way. The way. I'm sure you know this guessing. If you. If you're following a proven plan, you'll make so much more. So much easier, so much more fun.

But following the right plan, the right plan, especially in this world of marketing, people follow the wrong plans, right?

Well, not just marketing and fitness, too. People follow all sorts of plans. They just kind of, like, guess or throw shit at the wall. And for me, that look like, let me just do a webinar. I see other people doing webinars. Let me build a website. See, other people have websites. Let me do an ebook. But none of it worked. None of it got me any traction. And plus, I had the shiny object syndrome. Oh, let me just try a little bit of everything. And hopefully One of them.

I have no idea what that's like.

Yeah. Any new business owner probably can relate to that.

Any add, especially those visionary. That was me.

So I just do it all.

Yeah.

But that started to shift for me a couple months in when I was actually in Encinitas again in February. And I was talking to this, like, five foot five life coach online Life coach. She was very successful. And I was sharing my whole sob story. I'm like, I'm working so hard. Nothing is working, though. Like, I. I was basically trying to get her to feel sorry for me because I felt sorry for me at that time. And she. She just didn't buy any of my bullshit. Like, any good coach, they just don't buy your bullshit. And she looked at me and she said, well, who's mentoring you? Yeah. And I said, well, nobody. I don't have enough money for a mentor. And she looked at me again, straight face, and she said, that is the exact problem that would be solved if you got a mentor.

Yes.

That moment, she helped me see that my problem wasn't that I didn't have resources. It was that I didn't know how to make money when I needed it.

Yeah.

And so at that moment, I was like, I got to do whatever the f it takes to get these skills, because my problem isn't that I don't have money. It's that I can't make it.

Oh, my gosh. So true. I interviewed Dan Locke, and I'll never forget that he said that. He said that the big takeaway I had from him was that people get so stuck on their financial or their money problem. And it's never a financial, money, or debt problem. It's always a lack of something. Skill problem.

Yes. Yes. Because once you have the skills, you'll have money the rest of your life. I remember when I first really learned sales, when I first had confidence in my ability to sell, I was like, I'll never go homeless again. I'll never be hungry again, because it's literally impossible. I have this whenever I need it at the drop of a hat. And so that was the realization in that moment is like, I need the skill of generating leads. I need the skill of attracting people to buy my training. And once I have that skill, then I'll be good.

Okay, so help me through this, because I. And I've speak it. I've spoken into this, but I want to hear from your perspective, because I know there's listeners saying, okay, because so many people operate from when I have. I will be this like the. The have. They do it backwards. Not the be. Do have. So they. So they're listening to you right now saying, okay, got it. Need a mentor. I don't have the money. When I have the money, I will. You didn't have the money and you figured out you needed, so what did you do? How did you get to that so spot so you could have that mentor?

Well, the beautiful thing about where we live in the world, Natalie, is that there's this wonderful thing called credit where you can use other people's money to get skills for yourself. And in that moment, I was like, well, I don't have room on credit cards because I use those. I'd max those out to pay for rent and food and things like that. But what I do have is I have some people in my life, namely my parents, who I owe you to. That's right. Who I could get a loan from. I could tell them, hey, I really need this money for this business coaching thing. And hopefully they would do that. So. So that's exactly what I did. I went to and I was super embarrassed, honestly. And I think a lot of people are embarrassed to ask somebody else for money because I've wanted the pride. That's so. That's like, oh, I did this on my own. Like, nobody else helped me. But here's the thing. There's nobody, Nobody that's successful, that's self made. So give it up now. Try to be self made now. It's like you can either have your ego or you can have your vision, your dream. What's it going to be? And for me, it was like, I'm going to have the dream.

Okay, so if your parents had said no to you, what would you have done?

I would have kept asking everyone. Yep. I would have asked everybody. I would have literally never stopped. I would have ended up on the side of the street asking people, okay.

And then how did you figure out what mentor to hire first? Because that's a mistake people make. They hire the wrong one or they look for a budget one or like, how did you even know who to look for?

Well, thankfully, again, I was in this community of coaches, and so I was in a referral network where I could ask people, well, who should I hire for my specific business? And so the woman who'd asked me that question, I asked her, I said, well, who do you know that can mentor me? And she said, well, I know a guy, and he helps fitness coaches in particular to help grow their businesses. His name is AJ Mirzad.

Okay.

And So I was like, can you intro me to him? And so she did. And literally the next week or a week and a half later, I'd signed up after my. My parents sent me over the money to pay for it.

That's amazing.

For that first payment for it. Yeah.

So. And I've said this before on interviews, but I really believe when people listen. Y' all listening. When you invest in a coach, it's not investing in the coach, it's investing in you.

Right.

And I didn't understand that for years, but it really is because we make. When you put money towards something like that is. You have to think of it that way. Like you're putting it in an investment in you. And if you can't invest in yourself, like, that's. Then you've got to really rethink that. Like you really have a good plan. Are you really worth something? You have to invest in yourself.

Right, Right. It's so true.

People miss it. They think it's going to the coach. It's for. It's for their investment.

It's for their own level of commitment towards their goal.

Yeah.

You see, because a lot of people, people vote with their dollars about the things that they care about. And right now, you and I are either spending our money on things that are going to help us get where we want to go in life, or are things that are going to help us keep our life the way that it is right now. And so if somebody wants to make a shift, whether that is they want to grow a business or they want to grow, they want to change their body, whatever, start putting more money towards that. Yeah, start putting more money towards your growth and development, because when you do, you'll start to pay really close attention to that area of your life and automatically improve it.

I also think when you invest in yourself and when you also invest in charity, both those things, it comes back, like tenfold, always.

Growth and contribution.

Yeah.

Growth and contribution are the places where you're going to get way more return back than you put out.

Always. Never failed me with that. Okay, so. So there's a gap.

I want to say this, I want to say one more thing on this, is that how do you choose a mentor? What I, what I did when I first went to Lauren, I said, who do you know that can help me with this? It wasn't just who do you know? It's like, who do you know that's already made this happen for somebody else? Because a lot of people, your particular.

Situation, and I want to talk about your Real situation.

Exactly. And I wanted to know, like, full certainty that if I showed up, if I executed, if I invested.

Yeah.

Then I would get the result that I was looking for. And so I didn't want to go with somebody that was guessing or could kind of do it for lots of different kinds of people maybe, or that had just done it themselves. I wanted somebody that had reproduced that result in somebody else, in a large group of people. And so that was. That was my criteria.

So you go into coaching, you learn the skills, and then I'm assuming that's when things start to really grow for you.

Yeah. So that next month, when I first got the strategies from aj I was. I blew up. I mean, I went from a thousand. Well, blew up. I went from a thousand to $4,000, which is huge. That first. Oh, it was huge. I mean, because I could pay rent that time. I had. I had money to put gas in my car, to eat three meals a day. I mean, it was a total transaction transformation. But at the end of that month, I had made up. I'd made some payments on some, like, really crescent pressing debts. I paid off my credit cards a little bit, but I still didn't. I didn't actually have enough money to make the second payment to AJ at that time. And so I was kind of in this conundrum, like, do I just take the skills that I've learned and move on and kind of end the coaching now, or am I going to find a way to keep investing so that I can keep developing these skills so I really get security? And unfortunately, I didn't have any room on credit cards to make the second payment. The only asset I had left at the end of that month was my car. That was the only thing what I had just been living in.

Yeah.

And I remember this inner internal conversation that I had that day, and it was, what does this car represent for me? Like, what is it really? And for me, at the time, it felt like freedom. Like, this is my ability to get around. I can go where I need to go. I can be with people I want to be with. But then I realized, what if for a moment, I can step into a different reality? What if I could, say, see this? As if I don't let this car go right now? Maybe it's actually the burden. Maybe it's actually the anchor that's holding me down that's keeping me from my success. In that moment, I realized I need to sell this car.

That's powerful because it was your security.

It was my totally. It Was like, if I couldn't pay rent the next month, I was going to move right back into it. But I was like, I have to make this work. I have to make it work now. And so I sold it and I invested that money into aj.

Did he know that you were selling your car for this?

He didn't know? No, he didn't know until later. Yeah, he was just like, hey, I need you to pay, or else, you know, I got bills to pay. Like, anybody. I got my bills to pay, and so I'm gonna need you to pay. And I was like, I just. Just give me a little bit more time. I was just saying to him over and over a little more time. And that. That was when I was like, this.

Is now that you sold.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. He knows we're good friends now, and he actually doesn't mentor fitness coaches anymore, and we partner together on. On Growing Life Changer, like, on that very thing. But because he. He sends his people to me now that are fitness coaches. But anyway, what was your question again?

Well, I was curious if he knew that you were selling.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He knows now for sure. I mean, I told him later. I just didn't tell him right away. I told him, like, the next ones. Like, hey, by the way, just so you know, to pay for the second payment, I did sell my car. And that led to a massive breakthrough for me. I mean, that next month, I not only invested in him, but I took even a little bit more money left over after investing into him and invested in another mentor, too. I just, like, put all of it towards my growth development. That next month I made $12,000.

That's amazing.

And my online training is.

You know, it's funny, I just had this conversation with my husband. We differed on this. I said, I don't want clients that's taking, like, their last dollar to pay for me. I said, I just don't. I have this rule, like, they need to make a certain amount, because I don't feel good about that. And he said, I don't agree with that. I don't think that's standing for someone. And we had a whole conversation around this. And he said he would let them put their last dollar because they're hungrier, they're more determined, and it's more of a lifeline. And, like, it really makes sense what you're saying. I think I'm starting to get that because, yeah, I think that person is the one that's really determined to make it work.

You know, well, again, it totally depends on your offer, it depends on the context of what you're offering. But for me, I mean, almost none of the clients that I bring, I've mentored over a thousand other personal trainers or health coaches now to grow full time online training business businesses through my process in just the last year, a hundred of them have become six figure earners in just the last 12 months. And so what I found though is almost none of these trains, when they first come to me, have the money to invest my program.

No one ever has extra money for that.

Exactly.

Ever.

Well, especially fit pros and health pros because while they got into their industry because they really care about how people, they want to transfer people's lives, they're mostly all not marketing savvy, they're not business savvy. So like the average personal trainer makes 24 grand a year. Like in their households. They're barely making ends meet on that kind of money. And so nobody has the money to invest in me. They almost all have to do it on credit loans. And but here's the thing, they're super freaking motivated.

And you get it now because you were there. Like, they can't, they can't even make you feel bad for them.

I don't feel bad for them. I'm like, yeah, well, let this fuel you. Yeah, let this energize you towards your actual vision.

Amazing. It's so cool. Okay, so I could ask you like 20 million questions, but I'm going to, I'm going to reel it in. How did you go now? So you're helping, you're helping people now do something very different. So how did that evolve?

Yeah, so how did I switch to becoming a mentor?

Yeah, like you were training people online, you were helping them and now you're like teaching people how to do that.

Yeah.

How did that come about?

Well, it was totally by accident, to be honest with you, because I did that online training thing for, I mean, my first seven months out of being homeless, I made a hundred thousand dollars in my online training business.

And which is incredible anyway, because most trainers don't make that.

Yeah, they'll never make that in a year. And it's really sad because again, these are super disciplined, super hardworking, super caring people, but they just don't have the skills to make more and to help more people. And so at around that time, people started asking me trainers that knew me, fitness coaches, health coaches, they're like, hey, can you show me what you're doing? Because clearly I knew you a Few months ago. I know you're where you came from. Like, you were not making this bank a few months ago. And. And I'm struggling. Can you help me? And at first I was like, well, hell no, I'm not sharing this with you. These are my secrets. I share them with you, they're not gonna work as well. But that started.

There's billions of people living on this planet.

Yeah. It's not like there's like, hundreds of millions of people that are overweight. Yeah.

Like, I'm not gonna like, someone's. Com. Like someone's post on Instagram because it might take something from me. Like, it's, like, how people think.

Yeah. And it's craziness and it's scarcity mindset, basically. And so. But then I started to go down this rabbit hole and mentally, and I was like, what is my actual mission? Like, why did I actually become a trainer? And it's because I wanted people to experience the gift of confidence, of security that came from transforming my body. And even more powerful than that was, once I learned how to use training to create an income for myself, I mean, I was at the bottom of the bottom. I know what it's like to not be able to even eat today because I can't afford it. And I know what it's like to be on the other side. In fact, there's a specific moment early on in my training business. It was actually New Years of 2016. I was, like, literally three weeks into starting my online training business, and I remember I was having a really, really tough day. It was New Year's Eve, and I was driving to church, and I was already left Christianity by this time. But I was driving to church because I knew that if I went there and I told somebody that I was homeless that night and I needed somewhere to stay, that somebody would have pity on me and they'd bring me in. And so I was driving to church, and it was raining outside, which is rare in la, but it was. And I remember feeling, like, so incredibly sad. I was so. In fact, I was crying, and I'm not, like, much of a cry, or at least I wasn't much of a crier then. I'm much more of a crier now. Much more emotional and feeling in my body, but I was crying, and it was just like, I know that I. I can be better than this.

Yeah.

It was like a shame kind of cry. Like, I feel like I should be doing so much better, so much more for myself and for others. And I remember just in that moment, I was, like, gripping the steering wheel, just, like, turning it and just feeling so sad. But then an epiphany dropped in a moment, okay. Where I realized that not only I was like, I had my chest puffed out, and I looked up and I realized for a second, like, this is not my end. This is my beginning. And I am going to get out of this place, this place of brokenness, this place of destitution, of this prison, and I'm going to get into freedom. And then I slammed my hand on the steering wheel and I said, and one day, I'm going to help others get free, too. That's amazing, because in that moment, I realized that I craved a sense of real security. And I had no. I had no idea how I was going to get it. But I wanted to not only lift myself out and do it in such a powerful way, but I also wanted to be an inspiration for other people to get free, too.

So now you finally had a purpose. You had a true purpose behind.

Yeah. There was, like, a real vision for one day I'm going to do this. I'm not just going to do it for myself, but eventually, I don't know when, but eventually I'm going to help other people get free, too.

Okay. Now, I do want. I want to ask a minute about the religion thing, because this is. So many times I interview somebody and in their rock bottom, they found religion. You left religion. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Well, yeah. I mean, I found religion at a different rock bottom moment in my life when I was 15, when I was moving into being 16. And during that time, religion served a really important need for me. I was a guy that. A person that really struggled to have friendships, that struggled to connect with people. I was always an outcast in any social situation at school. I just had trouble making friends. But when I started attending church, where my friend invited me to go, found a group of people that really accepted me for who I was. And they spoke of a God that loved me, and they loved me, too. And the youth minister that I was, I was under his leadership, like, he really cared about me. He was a. He was a father figure that I never had, to be honest, because, like, I grew up in a broken home. My parents were divorced when I was 2. Both of my dad and my stepdad were kind of emotionally withdrawn. Not really there the physically, but not really there. And so I was kind of craving this. This emotional connection from a male figure. And he was that for me. And he spoke of a God, that was the same way. And so when I joined Christianity, I felt that sense of connection and belonging that I'd been missing my whole life. And then when I was 24, and I decided to leave the faith, the only reason why I thought to leave faith is because I started to experience connection and love from a different social situation. So it was through the personal development community. I started meeting people at events. I started meeting people in communities where these people, they also care about me and they don't subscribe to the same set of beliefs. And because of that, I was like, well, wait a second. Why do I actually believe this? Do I believe it because I want it to be true for my desire for love and belonging, or do I believe it because I actually logically think it's true? And the realization I came to is, I've believed this because I had an emotional need to, and I don't want to live that way anymore. I want to get that need met in a different way.

I understand.

Okay.

Interesting. It's just. It was just a different twist on it.

Yeah.

It's like the other way.

Yeah. And I think it works both ways. I think that religion can serve a really beautiful purpose in people's lives. And. And I don't. I don't sit here ever and say, hey, don't believe in any particular religion. Like, do something that energizes you, that makes you want to be a better person, that makes you show up in the world in a way that makes you proud. Believe whatever gets you there.

Yeah.

And for me, that required a different belief shift.

That's amazing. Okay, so today you coach specifically people in the fit space. Like something in that industry that want to now monetize that.

Exactly.

In a whole other level.

Yeah. So trainers that want to grow an online training business, or health coaches that want to grow an online health coaching business. I help them know how to structure their business so they know exactly what to put in it when they offer it, because that's the starting place for most people. They don't know how to structure an online offering. In fact, you even ask me, you're like, well, how does it work exactly? Most people don't know how online training or health coaching can work.

Yeah.

In a way that really benefits the client at a high level and at the same time, doesn't require the coach to spend hours and hours and hours, like, trading time for money with them. So structure it, Sell it. Because I think it's super important that when people switch to doing online training, they need to sell High ticket at first. Not starting with low ticket, not starting with ebooks. Unless you are walking into this, you have 500,000 followers or a million. I mean you have 500,000 followers to followers or a million followers. It's like it's very difficult to get a full time or six figure income.

I would disagree with that because I started with like no followers.

Okay.

And did it the other way. Well, well, I started the other way. I started through ebooks and low price point and then moved up. So. But I think, I think everything, everyone's different. But I think you're, what you said that's super accurate is you learn the high dollar, the high special client person first. Like then you're really unstoppable.

Yeah.

Do so much else.

Well, I think that that is the fastest route to say a full time income if you want transition out of a job. And then you can add in low ticket on the back end. Plus to really fuel low ticket. Unless you have a big following, you need paid traffic to do that. Okay. Because you need a lot of buyers.

At this point in time.

At this point.

Yeah. 10 years ago.

No, but probably not. Yeah. Yeah. It's harder to grow a falling from scratch today than a decade ago because there's just way more people on the platforms. So that's why I say start with high ticket and take the extra profit that you get from that and then you can sell low ticket on the front end to again fuel back up.

Okay. So no question. Anyone listening? That's like in fitness and wants to figure out how to create six figures. Sterling's your guy, clearly. But I'm going to challenge you that I think you're bigger than that. I think, I think you've limited yourself to this small niche of fitness people and I think you've got a lot more in you. I, I see you doing even bigger.

Thank you.

That's what I see. So I asked him right before we started interviewing. I'm like, that's all you coach, just that I, I see.

Well, here's the thing. What I wanted to do when I became a mentor for trainers and health coaches is I knew that in order for me to do what I really want to do for these people, in order for me to really create a process, a program that can get them to seven figures and be the best in my industry, I have to become relentlessly, militantly, obsessively committed towards building the best product for them. And the advantage that I have compared to somebody else that might serve lots of different kinds of Coaches is I can build the product so custom and so specific for fitness and health people that it can make success pretty much automatically.

Yeah, but I think you could take probably. I've seen your process, but I'm guessing your process would probably work with anyone's hobby or interest.

It can, but it works really, really good for fitness.

No question. You guys are fitness and health and you want to figure out and make six figures. Sterling is your dude. That sounds like it.

Well, in like three years or something like that, there's going to come a day where I either take on other partners who will license out my process for other different kinds of markets. But right now it's like the fitness and health industry is not only huge, but it's growing rapidly. So still. Yeah, and so it's. Yeah, it's growing hugely month over month, year over year. Yeah.

So you stay. Don't let me sway you away.

No, I love it. I love my people so much. And that's the thing of, like, fitness and other people is like, I feel so connected to them. It's like I care for them so deeply. It's like I. I crave to make them successful because I was that person. I mean, it's really personal.

I got it. So, Sterling, I do have a final question that I ask everybody. If somebody's listening right now and they're in their own personal rock bottom, maybe they're living in the car or they just lost their business, or it could be relationship or health scare. Whatever their own personal rock bottom is, if you were to give them advice on what they can do to start changing and turning things around and leveling up and creating everything from nothing, what would you tell them?

Most important thing that I did was to find the person who has what you want and make them your mentor.

But don't just ask them to go have coffee with them.

No. Hell no. Pay them, like whatever thing you can do to get proximity to them. Do that. Because by changing your environment, by changing your connections, you will automatically change your life more than anything else. We are social creatures, humans are. And we become like the people that we're closest to. So hire whatever money you have or don't have. Like, get around the person that has the result you like, whether that's a relationship, that's a health thing, that's a business thing. Do that because that'll provide the fastest route out.

I love that. And I want to add to that because I think people hear that and then all of a sudden, you, me, other people get messages. Can you Meet for coffee and I want to. And then when we say, they say, well, see, I tried. And they go to victim mode. And I want to say that that's not investing yourself and it doesn't make someone want to help you. The way that someone wants to help you is either you're investing there or you're doing something of service for them first. And now they know you and want to help. And I think it's super important to point that out because I can't. I know you get countless messages. I do too. Can I pick your brain over like that sounds like that hurts.

Yeah.

Like I don't have time to have coffee with my husband and I don't want anyone picking my brain. So, like, it's just a funny question.

Yeah, yeah. No, and I never. I don't really respond to those messages when people. People send those to me because again, that's. That's a me first mentality. And you're never gonna get ahead in life by just thinking about yourself first. You're gonna think about like, what can I do for this person to serve their mission? What can I do to like, earn the right to be around them? And when I do that, then obviously they'll want to give back and help me.

So true.

Yeah.

Well, this has been awesome, Sterling. We'll have to have a part two when you do your next business, which is not just fitness.

I love it.

I can't wait to see you expand. I cannot believe you went from homeless to multiple seven figures in four years. That's incredible.

I did in two years, actually.

Two years. Incredible.

Yeah.

So where can people follow you?

Well, Life Changer podcast. I mean, we're on a podcast right now. Life Changers, all one word. Come hang out with me. And if you're a fit pro or a health coach and you want support, you just want to like, hey, help me figure out a strategy to grow my business. Then go to sterling griffin.com G A I N Z sterling griffin.com gainz and just let me know more about what you want help with.

And they can still they would like your podcast even if they're not a fit program.

Yeah, that's true.

Okay, awesome. So follow Sterling there. All right, thanks, Sterling.

Thank you. Natalie.

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. And come interact with me over on Instagram at Natalie Jill Fit. I read all the direct messages and comments over there. Make it a great day. Creating everything from nothing.

Sam.