This week on Acta Non Verba Brian Nabavi shares his journey through Adversity, leaving a six-figure position to hit financial rock bottom before building his own successful company. Listen in as Marcus and Brian discuss being unafraid to make mistakes, helping others through authenticity and sharing his story, and how to use Adversity as a reason to expand instead of shrink.
Brian Nabavi is the founder of and CEO of Til You Collapse athletic apparel. He has been in the fitness industry for 23 years and quit his 6 figure job as the GM of sales for a franchised gym back in 2014 and took the huge risk of pursuing business/entrepreneurship. He now helps others through coaching and sharing his story.
You can learn more about Brian and his company via his website: https://www.briannabavi.com/
Episode Transcript:
00:32
Acta Non Verba is a Latin phrase that means actions and not words. If you want to know what somebody truly believes, don’t listen to their words instead, observe their actions. I’m Marcus Aurelius Anderson, and my guest today truly embodies that phrase. Brian Nabavi is the founder and CEO of To You Collapse,
01:01
an athletic apparel company that has grown to millions in revenue. He started with $300 in a dream and started making t-shirts in the evening after work as a personal fitness trainer. While others laughed, he simply redoubled his focus on his goals and kept glibbing that mantra of till you collapse. His monster till you collapse podcast is amazing, always powerful and pragmatic. And he also has a highly sought after mentorship program. You can find out more about Brian and all these things that he offers at briannababi.com.
01:29
Without further ado, Brian, how are you doing, my friend? You are a busy man. Thank you so much for taking the time for being on here, brother. What’s going on, Marcus? Good to see you, man. And I love your podcast, honestly, man. Action, not words, man. That’s what I’m about, honestly. And that’s honestly why I’ve gotten to where I’m at. I’m not the smartest guy. I’m not the sharpest guy. I just work really hard. I take massive action and I prove it with my action. So I really love.
01:55
uh, meaning behind your show. And I live that, you know, and that’s what I’m about. I take action before I even know what the hell I’m doing. And I figured it out in multiple aspects of everything, you know, that’s how we’re doing good, man. It’s good to see you, man. In person, you’re a good looking fella, man. The head’s looking good. It’s all the lighting. So, and I can’t wait to get to see you in person with at the next art day of the year. I can’t wait, man. Give you a big old hug. Itching, man. Cause I’m the guy I don’t like. I mean, I’m very good online.
02:23
I’m very tech guy. I’m very good with all that. But me, I just want to give you big ass hug, shake your hand, pick you up like a baby, shake you around. I’m that type of guy. You know what I mean? So like this shit’s hard for me because I just, you know, I miss those connections and that kind of stuff. So it’s been hard, man. Yeah. It’s been tough for all of us. And that’s what I love about what you do. Like I was saying, that whole active non-verbal mentality, but there’s a lot more to you than just work ethic. Let’s be honest. There’s a lot of people that work hard. That’s true.
02:51
but you’re doing something different. You figure something out and it’s because you’re humble. Like you don’t have this ego. Like you said, you’re afraid to, you’re not afraid to go out there and fall down. As a matter of fact, you said that even when you began, a lot of people, even your family was like, what are you doing? Oh yeah, still. I mean, I still get that, but it’ll be getting in the, I still get it. Cause like I said, I’m very not polished. I’m very raw.
03:14
Um, you know, and I’m real and I appreciate it being humble. So I’m definitely very proud of because, you know, like I’ve had nothing and I’ve been at the bottom and really lost everything and everything I have I’ve earned, you know, and I just can’t stand when people taste a little bit of success and they kind of change and I see it all the time and it’s pretty unfortunate when that happened because like I said, I’m just, I am who I am. I’m the same guy. I was there then I just, you know, I learned a little things. I learned a lot along the way. And I.
03:39
have a little bit of money in my bank account. That’s really all he had changed. Other than that, I’m the same fucking guy, honestly. So, so yeah, man, it’s just those people that doubt you and those people that hate on you, they’ve always been my motivation. And you know, when I started, you know, I quit a 200 grand a year job. I mean, I was top of my game making 200 grand a year. That’s what some people strive for, you know? So then when they say this guy’s quitting that and he has a wife, he supports one kid at that time and I have four.
04:05
You know, I mean, what are you doing? Like, you know, you’re at the top and this is what everyone aspires to do, you know, but I wasn’t close to where I wanted to be or what I envisioned my life being. And I kind of envisioned that and saw that visualize that. And you got to take those risks, you know? Yeah. And that’s what I love about your story too. You know, my story, I mean, adversity is what teaches us. This is what we learned from adversity. He doesn’t care about your opinion. It doesn’t give a fuck about what you want. It just comes. And there was a point in your life where you had some ups and downs.
04:34
And then around 2007, 2008, when you had these cars, you had this house, you hit a low point. Can you tell us about that? Yeah. So that low point man, I grew up middle class. My dad worked really hard. He was an immigrant, came to this country in the seventies and always in sales. Sales is in my blood. I’m a salesman through and through. I’ve always done commission sales since I was a kid. My dad was commissioned sales. He wasn’t educated, but he was a hustler. He’s Persian. You know, it’s in our blood. And, um,
05:01
He made multiple six figures, paid off his house. We lived a great life, never went with anything. But that was my very first taste of loss. And it was after I was 25 years old, I was a man. I had my first baby, had my wife. I’ve always supported them. And kind of lost everything. At that point, all of our cars were refugged. I basically kicked out on the street, couldn’t pay in our bills. I mean, I’ve been repairing my credit since then, up until a couple of years ago, I finally got it back.
05:29
point. That’s why we broke our first house a couple years ago, kind of when this company finally turned the tipping point and started making some money. And then my credit was at that point. Like I said, I talk about it. I’m not too good. I am who I am was finally repaired from all those years of damage from missing all those payments, many stuff go to collections where I finally got it to that point. But that point of hitting rock bottom, that’s one of the fears that drives me as a chip on my shoulder. Cause as a man, me being able to support my family,
05:59
And my family’s my whole driver behind us. My family’s my everything. Forget about the cars, forget about, I’ll throw all that shit away. The freedom and the time with them is why, initially why I wanted to be an entrepreneur is successful. And as a man, kind of almost failing as being that provider, which is what I did, it’s reality, it’s what happened. That feeling is probably the worst feeling I’ve ever had in my life, being honest with you. And that feeling at that moment, and that happened, and that’s kind of when I turned everything around.
06:28
and took this, you know, when I got into the gym industry and I, you know, work my way up quicker than anybody to 200 grand and okay, we’re making okay money then life turned out very quickly because of my work ethic. But that feeling is what drives me that fear of that feeling, never letting myself get there again, no matter what I have to do, no matter how hard I have to work, probably the worst feeling I’ve ever had. And I never experienced it before, but I’m glad I went through it because the lessons of going through that the lessons of what got me there. And then the lessons I’ve learned.
06:56
taking action all these years to build what I’ve built, you know, but that is one of the biggest drivers of me, man. That’s on my shoulder, that feeling I can remember like was yesterday even though it was about 12 years ago. And that’s really the fire that’s under me every day I wake up. Like that’s why I’m still so hungry. And I’m still so fiery. Like, you know, people think I have something I really don’t have shit in my eyes. And that fear is really drives me like crazy. And I think that that’s beautiful because there are people that go through hardship.
07:25
And there are people that that’s as far as they go. Like they get up to that and then the adversity hits and they shrink. And then there are people like you and I that face it. And let’s be honest, it breaks us. If there’s a point where we break, where we, we, we have to capitulate for a moment. Oh yeah. But then it makes us stronger. Yeah. So can you put a finger on what makes one person get stronger from their hardship and what makes another person just saying, you know what, that’s enough. And they trying to stay there because.
07:52
The rest of their life is like that. Like they just compromise on everything once they’ve been broken one time and they don’t seem to understand that this is part of the process. Right? So what is it that makes one person like you successful and another person just kind of stays there? Man, that is a good question, man. I honestly, seriously, I think about that all the time. And I think about that because like, when you look around a society, especially nowadays too, more than ever, the people that are winning or quote unquote successful are even getting farther. And.
08:19
less and less. I feel like this day and age, this year more than ever, like with all the adversity going on in the world, everything, it’s really separating everyone. It’s shitty and it’s out of a lot of people’s hands, unfortunately, with what’s going on. But it’s really opening my eyes the way a lot of people think, the way a lot of people are. I mean, I kind of knew it before, but this year is kind of really exposing it more than ever as far as people’s views on everything and how they’re acting with everything.
08:42
And knowing about the one thing that is, I think it’s part of how you’re raised. I mean, how your parents, what they instill in you, how they, I mean, that’s definitely, you know, like with my kids, I instill those old school work ethics in them, you know, stuff that I feel like nowadays, a lot of these kids don’t have whatsoever, like, you know, just the old school shit work ethic. I tell them our story. I tell them, they see how hard I work. They see how many hours I still work. I still make time for them, but they know how hard I work. And I talked to them about, you know, it, you know, I talk to them all the time. Like they still make their own money. They still earn their own money. They buy things like, I’m not going to even though we’re.
09:11
you got a little bit of money, I still make them work for things. And I really communicate with them. And I think doing that, like I remember my dad doing that, and I’ve seen my dad, how hard he worked and that work ethic and earning everything he had. I just think that plays into it. I just don’t know what the thing is, you know, honestly, I couldn’t say, I just think it has to do from when you’re raised and how your parents instill it in you. And then that combined with, you know, some people have it and some people don’t like that desire to, like you said, a lot of people
09:41
A lot of people talk about it. I want this, I want that. I want that car. I want this money. I want that house. I want this. And, and all they do is talk, talk, talk, talk. But then like we talk about, like you got to take the fucking action. Like, you know, that’s the thing is talking about something is great. But when you talk about something for years and nothing changes as worse when you take the action. So, you know, I don’t know what it is, honestly, because like I said, for me, it was just work ethic and hustle that I always had instilled in me. Like I moved out at a young age. I supported myself at a young age.
10:10
always had it kind of in me, you know? And I like too how you’re able to, because let’s be honest, I respect David Goggins, I respect these people that push, but there is a point where we do break and you’re telling beautifully how you have on one side this chip on your shoulder, the other side, this powerful compelling why because of your family. Yeah, 100%. And so you know how to go between like, they’re the reason why you get up, they’re the reason why you’re doing everything. And then when you’re in that hardship, when you’re face to face with adversity,
10:39
Now you click over on this side, you’re like, you know what? I’m going through this till I collapse. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. You know, I will find a way or make one. And I think that that’s what people need to look at because they think either, Oh, I just have to be driven by my family. And what happens is if you’re driven by your family all the time, there’s a chance to get resentment. There’s a chance to feel aggravation. There’s a chance to feel like you’re giving everything and you feel like you’re not getting anything back, even though your family is everything. And there’s other people that are on the other side of the trail where they’re like, you know what, I’m just going to push through this, but then
11:09
There’s a point where you can’t go any further and now what you got. And that’s why you have to have that compelling why, which is why you’re able to go from $300 to millions of dollars. And yet you’re still driven. You still have that powerful. Why? Because a lot of people at your point, like we mentioned, and in the syndicate, we see this all the time. All these amazing entrepreneurs, Andy and Ed say, they say, I still don’t think like I have shit. Yeah. And people look at that and they’re like, is that crazy? It’s like, no, if you can see inside their head, it makes sense.
11:37
sure. And that’s how I feel too. And like I said, obviously, there are different levels of me, but I mean, still the same mindset, you know, the, I mean, eventually it’ll get to that point, you know, but just having that mindset, because I feel like a lot of people, once they get a little bit, they kind of just lay off the gas and they, you know, and they kind of, you know, once that starts happening is when everything starts going backwards, because there’s just as many people, if not more people that have become successful than kind of lost everything or come bankrupt, like that happens a lot. I mean, people, I don’t know if people realize it, but
12:06
It happens a lot in entrepreneurship and successful people. They reach some success and then they lose it. And just that reason why they’re talking about, you know? So you got to have that constant burn and that constant fire going. For sure. And there’s a place where, like I say, we feel like for us, I say for us in this kind of mentality, it’s easier for us to push on the gas than to let out the brakes sometimes. When do you know when it’s time to punt the brakes a little bit? Is there a place where you know, or is it just by feel?
12:32
For me, that’s hard because I’m all gas, gas, gas. Like I said, I, you know, figuratively I live, no, I’m joking. Depending on what I ate that day. But no, but seriously, I’m like my work ethic still, if I didn’t have a family, I would fucking work 24 seven. You know what I mean? They’re the balance, they’re pulling me, which is kind of good to have that balance, but it’s also one of the biggest things I struggle with. You know what I mean? Because I want to make sure, reminding myself I’m doing this because of them.
13:00
I have to have some sort of balance and give them some focus and time, because this is why, right? So, and that’s something I still struggle with and something I’ve gotten a lot better with over the years, but I still average, you know, 12 to 15 hour days, I still work six days a week. Sometimes still at this point, you know what I mean? Whereas, you know, I could, I don’t really necessarily have to do that, but like I said, I have that drive and fire still in me. I couldn’t just work barely six or seven hours and just, you know what I mean? Or five, four or five days a week. You know, whereas.
13:29
Sometimes like we talked about those people that lose it, they build something, they get a staff behind them. They can kind of take their foot off the gas as their responsibilities in the business, because they’re delegating stuff and they have people doing stuff for them and then they have almost too much balance and then they take, you know, their eye off the prize, foot off the gas and before they know it, shit’s falling apart, right? So it’s like, you got it, you got it with a family. You have to have balance. Cause then again, with entrepreneurship, there are a lot of families that break up, there’s a lot of problems with that. You know what I mean? So it’s just, it’s struggle for me.
13:56
It’s just work like anything else, man. You got to work and you got relationships, your business, you have to work on everything, but that same passion and desire, right? Or else none of it’s going to work. That’s it. And I always talk about adaptability being more important to balance because as an entrepreneur, as a human being in the world today, it’s about being able to adapt and undulate as necessary, as opposed to thinking, because a lot of people had this illusion that I’m going to get balanced, whatever the hell that is. Yeah. And then.
14:23
It turns into perfectionism and now they’re afraid to act because they don’t want to imbalance things. But if you’re on a surfboard or if you’re on a bike or if you’re even walking, you’re literally losing your balance all the time, but it’s your ability to adapt to pivot, just like what you’re doing in your business. You just launched this week and you just made an interesting purchase recently. Could you tell us a little bit about that? Oh man. That’s the source subject right now. That fucking thing in the shop. Yeah. So I got that Ferrari, you know, it’s been a goal of mine for a long time.
14:50
And it is sexy. It’s amazing. It’s amazing for the week and a half I had it before. But, uh, yeah, man, that’s life. And here’s the thing too. Like it’s just a fucking car, man. Like I said, it’s life. It’s a great thing, but it’s just how you handle things. Like it may be, I mean, I honestly, it’s looking like the fucking transmission blue in a car with 9,000 miles brand new car, 9,000 miles of freak accident. That’s a 20 to 30 grand hit, right? Unexpected, right? I mean, that’s suck.
15:20
That’s fucking sucks, right? You buy, you buy your dream car. You’ve had it for a week and a half. You’ve driven it. I haven’t even registered it yet. It’s not even registered. And the transmission blows up with 9,000 miles in the car. Freak accident. Here’s a 30 grand bill. You haven’t even smogged the car yet. And then again, it’s the way I look at it, man. It’s just fucking money and it’s just a car. It’s a material thing. It’s not my health, not my family’s health. It’s not the shit that really matters.
15:45
I can make more money. That actually fired me up to work harder to make up that difference in money I lost, honestly. So that’s the way I look at things, right? It’s just how you handle things, man. And the car’s amazing and it sucks, yeah. I mean, it doesn’t make me happy, but am I gonna fucking cry about it for a week straight and make it distract me from everything else? You know what I mean? No, that’s not what I’m gonna do. So hopefully I can get the car back in two to four weeks and drive it again, we’ll see. So yeah, that’s the reality of the situation with the car right now.
16:13
I think it’s great that you look at it the way that you do though. Like this was a driver for you to get to that place and you have it, but it’s also a great lifeless and like you said, you’re like, you know what, this is great, but it is what it is. It’s money. It’s something that we can replace. Yeah. Not something that’s going to change your life. Yeah. And the thing I think too, is like a lot of people that are either faking success or a lot of people that are have that kind of attitude that we talked about that we don’t like, you know, some people think that they’re just too good for everybody or whatnot.
16:41
They put too much value on shit like that. Like all their values on material things. That’s all they’re worried about. That’s all they’re focused on. And yeah, I like material things. They’ve been my motivator since I was a kid. Like it’s a true passion and motivator cars. So it’s not like it doesn’t define me. It’s not like it’s my life. Like these people sometimes act like the material things are like everything to them. Right. So it’s just too bad when that happens, you know, as part of the journey for sure. Yeah. When people are going into an entrepreneurial space,
17:10
whether it be a side hustle or anything even bigger. What do you think is the biggest misconception that people have when they enter that? I think the misconception nowadays is that it’s gonna be easier than it is because that’s one of the misconceptions right now. Cause right now there’s a lot of people opening companies. It’s easier to start a company, especially e-commerce online with social media, with all the courses, all the podcasts. It’s easy to start something. Everybody started something like I can start something, but they don’t realize like…
17:38
you’re not going to really make money for a long time. Like, you know what I mean? So I think the misconception is, oh, everybody can do it. Yeah, everybody can do it to get it started, but as far as you’re going to make it successful and actually make money from it, not everybody can do that. You know what I mean? Because like it’s taken five years of more work than any normal person is going to put in for me to even start making some money to get to this point right here. You know, five years.
18:05
Not a month, not six months, not a year. You know what I mean? Like five years of, you know, and like I said, I tell people they see me now and they, you know, they asked me about how it was and my revenue building it up. And I tell them, and like, when they realized that I wasn’t even making enough to pay my bills, you know, for the first four years, they’re like, how did you pay your bills? Well, I worked 15, 20 hours and I also hustled shit on the side to keep my lights on and they’re like, what? Yeah, that’s the reality of your starting something from scratch.
18:35
with no other, you know, like, I mean, like I started from zero followers. Nobody knew who I was. No one knew who my brand was. That’s the hardest way to do something. Right. I mean, you know, I mean, nowadays you see people starting companies and, you know, these influencers and these people with millions of followers, you know, in my space, there’s a lot of competition because these fitness girls, they have a million, 2 million followers and they just started, started making brand. Which here’s the thing. I would do the same thing if I was in their shoes. That’s smart. I mean, if I have 200 million people following me, how am I going to monetize them?
19:04
More power to you. I would do the same as shit. I didn’t have that. I started with zero followers, you know? But the thing is, you know, they start a company, they release a product, they make a lot of money quickly, but they don’t really know the business. They haven’t gone through the trenches. They haven’t taken the losses. So they may be able to start something quickly, but as far as maintaining that, keeping that company going for three, four, five years, that’s a different story. They can start something to make money quickly. But as far as if you’re going to really make this the company that endures in something you’re going to have a long time.
19:33
That’s a different story. I’ve been through the trenches. I started this from zero. I know every in and out from it. That’s where I have a leg up on them type of thing. You know what I mean? So, you know, you see a lot of that nowadays and quick, easy money, but I don’t think they think about, you know, longevity of it, you know, how many years are going to have the company and what’s going to go into it type thing, you know? What does that always tell us? He’s like, I know a lot of people that were rich. Yeah. Oh, he said, yeah. A lot of people that were wealthy and just like you alluded to earlier, it’s like, it’s different. Are you going to get this quick? And then if you get it quick, you’re probably gonna lose it quick.
20:02
100%. Yeah. Because I mean, like I said, cars, nice things when you, when you have nothing and then all of a sudden you have something that’s human nature, but you want to spend some money, right? But the thing is, you know, living within your means, you know, if I’m going to buy a car like that, I’d be able to be able to fix it. The transmission explodes, you know what I mean? So you know, that kind of thing, you know what I mean? So like, you know, making sure you’re living within your means and making sure whatever you’re buying is a small portion of your income. And then if worst case scenario, you can fix it or repair it or whatever, you know, whereas not a lot of people do that.
20:31
They stretch themselves to the max, right? And then at the same time, they’re taking their foot off the gas. And then their money’s getting less, but their bills are still way up at the max. Right? That’s it. That’s the recipe for disaster. And I’ve been there. I was there when I lost everything. So I’ve learned from that, right? I’ve lived that life. So I’ve lived it. I used to be on my knees like crazy. I used to spend money like nobody’s business. I have done that. So I’ve learned from that, learn from your experiences and move forward. Right. And pain and discomfort are the best teachers. That’s why I love what you talk about. Because.
21:01
You talk about what you’ve done, where you’ve been, you don’t try to act like you’ve been somewhere else and done something different. You’re like, I can’t talk to that. I can’t talk about this. Which is why you and I get along so well. And I think it’s beautiful too, because you talked about this drive from going from zero and you talk about how you have to follow your passion instead of money, but it takes a lot of courage in the face of people taking your cars and being almost homeless to still follow your passion.
21:29
How were you able to be that courageous when you’re in that room and your wife’s looking at you with your child and you’re trying to realize, man, what do I do now? It’s all gone. How do you maintain that integrity? With that, I definitely made sure that I had the income built up. I went back to the gym industry. Fitness is my passion. I went back. I worked my way up. I got to top sales management. I started making that good money, which was paying our bills, kind of stability. And then I started this side hustle on the side. And that probably year.
21:58
year and a half was the most I’ve ever worked in my life. And there was no balance there, which when you, when you, when you build something in the beginning, you can’t even think about balance and you have that conversation with your spouse and your kids and like communication, you know, you got to communicate, make sure they’re on board and then, you know, working at the gym for, you know, from seven to seven and then working on this business from, you know, eight to AM, you know, 20, 18, 20 hour days, legitimate 18, 20 hour days for a year of time.
22:25
And then I built it up on the side where it was grossing, you know, six figures, grossed in six figures, not much, you know, business nets, which we worry about, you know, but I’m like, okay, this is grossing this much. This could barely pay our bills. I probably have to help from the side, which I did to make our bills, um, making sure that I had that where we could still pay our bills. And then that’s when I made the decision to quit that full-time gig. I made sure I was in a place. I had to make sure I could support them. I.
22:53
before I took that leap. And it was still even scary at that point because I was new to it. I’d never been an entrepreneur before. It’s my first business. I taught myself from Google, all that kind of stuff. But I had the faith of my wife and she trusted me. Everyone else thought I was crazy. And even she thought I was crazy. Honestly, we had conflict about it, honestly, because it’s scary. We had already lost everything before together. So she remembers that feeling too, right? And then going from decent income, we pay our bills. And you know.
23:22
making money to, okay, I’m going to quit this. I’ve worked, you know, six years in this company to get to the top, one of the highest paid positions, I’m just going to throw that away for this dream. That’s scary for anybody. It was scary for me too, but I knew I had to do it because I knew I wanted that freedom and I knew I wanted, you know, different things. Like I knew I was going to buy the car I have working there. You know what I mean? So I was going to have the freedom to have my family working there. So it’s like, I have to take this risk. So I definitely, you know, earn that trust by.
23:51
building it up on the side, you know, making sure my bills were paid. And at that point where I knew that it was making enough revenue after that time of hard hours, hours of work every day, then I kind of took that step, you know. I would definitely recommend doing that. I would never take that jump with, I was just saying, fuck it, I can’t pay my bills. Like that’s not a smart decision. You know, you gotta be smart. And I’ve learned that over the time because I’ve always worked hard.
24:16
maybe not always smart. So now I’ve learned you got to work hard and smart, right? But do both and all that kind of stuff. And that’s learned for me, you know? And that’s why it’s so important, I think, because people are saying, you know, I’m not sure what my passion is or blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, or how to monetize it. But what you have to do, especially when you’re creating your own business or your own brand, you have to just go boldly in this direction. You’re like, I’m not really sure. It’s like you’re on a map. It’s like, I’m not really sure where I want to go, but I want to go west. 100%. And you just start moving, going that direction
24:46
The path that you need to follow is probably not already paved. Like you’re going to have to whack your way through it. So all the industry, all you are around knowing that this was the direction you should go and then, Oh, there’s an opportunity here. There’s, here’s a sideway here. Here’s this thing here. Wait, I could do this. These people aren’t any better than I am. I’m just willing to fight harder than they are. And that’s how you get there. But a lot of people, like you said, they want it to just be easily laid out.
25:09
Here’s your sign. It’s going to take X amount of days X amount of hours They want everything perfect everything plans, you know, everything planned everything lined out I mean perfect and a lot of people almost say the same thing about having kids like I have friends and people I know Like they’re planning on having a we’re gonna have a kid this date this time this year I’m like, dude, just have a fucking kid like I popped for I didn’t but you know, I had a part of that Yeah, I had a part of it. I mean like you were there you can’t
25:34
plan your whole life. Shit just happens. Like with my car, with everything, you got to roll with the punches. And that’s some of the best moments in life when they’re unexpected and they’re just, you know, genuine like that. You know what I mean? It’s just, you can’t plan everything. You know, they want to line up the first five years of company on a spreadsheet and you know what I mean? It’s like, and then they never start the company. It’s like, you know, that kind of thing. Like they’re going to have their whole business plan. Like I didn’t have a fucking business plan. I still have a half-assed business plan. I have a great mission statement, great culture. I know my business.
26:04
business plan. Don’t ask me for a business plan. I never wrote one up, man. And that’s real. I’m not going to try to be someone like these people have business plans and business plans are great, but are you going to start the company? You know what I mean? That kind of thing. So, you know, people get too fixed on that and almost like just distracted by it. It’s all they focus on. Yeah. And when I was 38, I joined the military, joined the infantry. So again, that was sort of crazy, but I knew that I needed to go that direction. And in the military, they would
26:34
They would call it an 80% plan because they were like, listen, we can have all the Intel. This is the target. We’re going to go hit this house and stuff will change the weather. Somebody will be there that they didn’t think was going to be there. They didn’t have reinforcements. So with the perfect plan, it doesn’t matter. You’re going to get punched in the mouth. Oh yeah. Once the first shot is fired, it all goes to hell in the handbasket. So you better be able to pivot. You better have that intention. So as a warrior, the warrior doesn’t change, but the war might the where we’re going may change.
27:02
But we don’t change because we’re resolute in what we believe and why we’re doing it. And if we have those two things, everything else to figure itself out. A hundred percent. That’s the perfect way to explain it, man. And a perfect analogy for it. Yeah, that’s, that’s it. And that’s what people don’t realize. You know, they’re the ones you’re the one, you know, I’m the one, like we’re driving the company, we’re the one taking the action. We’re doing it. Like, you know, you worry about all these outside things and yeah, your staff, as you build up your culture, that all plays into it, but still at the end of the day, it’s you.
27:31
It’s you taking that action. It’s you leading. I mean, it’s on us, right? If we’re doing great, it’s on us. If we’re doing bad, it’s on us. Stop trying to make excuses and blame other people and blame things. Everything’s on us, honestly, in our life, right? I agree. That’s absolutely it. So what advice would you give to young entrepreneurs or even a young person who’s coming out of college and they need to thicken their skin up a little bit? What would be the piece of advice you’d give them? Man, that’s a lot of kids nowadays need thicker skin, man.
27:58
I know. I know. It’s one of those ones. Everyone’s getting offended and hurt by shit that they shouldn’t be, you know, honestly. They all need it, man. And honestly, the only thing that does that is experiences, man. I would say experiences. You have to experience it and do it and take action. And the unfortunate thing is people like this who don’t have a thick skin, they’re typically the ones that don’t take action. So it’s almost like you have to go through those experiences. You have to go through those losses. You have to take action to build up that grit and build up that experience and thick in your skin. Because if you’re not,
28:25
You know, you’re going to stay the same. If you do the same shit, nothing’s going to change. Right. So if you, if you’re consistently, you know, living this life, avoiding conflict and avoiding taking action and taking chances, you’re not going to change, nothing’s going to change. You’re going to live that same life nine to five, whatever, and nothing’s going to really change and you know, for them, they’re going to have to have that drive want more, whatever, whatever’s driving and whatever is motivating. And it’s fine if it’s material things. I feel like.
28:50
It’s okay to be motivated by material things. I feel like people try to act like that’s a negative thing. No, it’s not a negative thing, but whatever it is, figure out what’s going to motivate you. Figure out something that you’re really interested in and passionate about, you know, and then kind of follow that path and you’re going to lose, you know, you’re going to lose. I mean, you’re not going to, there’s going to be multiple losses. You know what I mean? But like I said, I love losing because my losses have made me who I am. They’ve taught me the most, right? So it’s like, you know.
29:16
And I’ll lose again, trust me. I mean, we’re all going to lose multiple times. You know what I mean? No one’s not going to lose again. Yeah, that’s the key. And if you’re not facing adversity, then you’re not doing something. You’re not moving forward. We have to go out and seek out that hardship, these little micro adversity. So like when you’re working out that translates to everything else you do. It makes you stronger, gives you that resilience, you know, a cold shower, whatever it is, being able to have that conversation or, or watch your business go up and down, I mean, this is part of the game and if you don’t have the thick skin to handle that.
29:44
then you either better get calloused up or you might wanna step out of the way because you’re gonna get hurt. And here’s the thing, it’s not for everybody. That’s the thing, this is not for everybody. The stress, the pressure, the amount of work, it’s not. That’s why there’s, you know, successful entrepreneurs make up some of the smallest percentage in the economy. That’s it, there’s a reason why, like, you know, it’s not for everybody. I mean, the amount of stress, the amount of work, the amount of everything, people aren’t cut out for that.
30:11
And that’s fine. But just you realize that it’s not for everybody. You know what I mean? These people that kind of try to glamorize entrepreneurship and try to act like it’s easy and prey on people. I can’t stand those people. You know what I mean? Because I’m just real and I’m like, I mean, yeah, everybody can do it. Yes, you can start an e-commerce business. You can buy something from overseas for two bucks and try to sell it for six bucks. We all can do that. That’s simple. Everybody, yes, everybody can do that. But not everybody can be an entrepreneur. Not everyone can handle the years.
30:40
handle the work, handle the diversity, that’s what it takes. I mean, so it’s like, yeah, you could start it, but can you make money from it? Can you maintain it? Oh, it’s not for everybody. That’s why this is one of the most small niches around. That’s why most people work nine to five. Most people live those easy lives and just kind of routine, go to work, go home, go to work, go home. That’s it. And it’s not glamorous, it’s not sexy, but it’s what has to be done. You don’t have to like it all the time, but it has to be executed on regardless, right? 100%, man.
31:08
And, you know, there’s definitely, if you can do it and you do it for long enough time, you can get over those humps and, you know, obviously the payoff, you know, very successful entrepreneurs, you become very successful and it’s great. And that’s great, but it’s very hard to get there and it’s even harder to maintain that, you know what I mean? So that’s the thing is like, like we talked about trying to maintain that. It’s harder to maintain. It’s hard to get there as well, but it’s even harder to maintain, you know? No, I agree. Are there any books that you recommend for people, whether it be on this, on mindset, what, anything that you?
31:37
think would help people? Honestly, I’m not too much of a big book guy. I’ve read a few books like, you know, Andy’s my main mentor, Andy and with the artists, I think it was always Andy, I listened to all his podcasts. And, you know, he had those originally like five or six entrepreneur groups he recommends to everyone, you know, so I kind of read his initial six at the beginning of my journey, probably a few years in a couple years in because his podcast didn’t come out for a few years after I started my company. But, um, you know, I was a couple years in and I just
32:04
For me, as far as how I ingest data and how I soak things up, it’s just for me, I’m just not that big into it, honestly. I’m more of an audio podcast, that kind of stuff. And just by doing, honestly, I just do more than I take in, honestly. I know more people take in more than they do, but I do more than I take in and then I try to figure it out. Or if I need to figure something out, then I figure it out. So that’s just how I’m wired. That’s how it should be, in my opinion, because again, I see so many people. I mean, we’re getting ready to go into the new year.
32:35
So how many people are going to, you know, do all these things that they do. But the reality is if you ask most people, if I put a gun to your head right now, what should you be working on? What is the direction you should be going? Most of them have an idea. They don’t need a course or a book or whatever it is to tell them that. And most of the answers they’re trying to find if they would actually do the work, the answer that they look for is in the adversity that they’re avoiding. So like you said, you go out there, why not go out and get paid?
33:03
to fall down, to learn, to get better, to get stronger, as opposed to, again, listening to all these things and then not executing against it. There’s a handful of things, a handful of books, a handful of principles that will serve you. Figure out what that is, figure out the direction you wanna go, and then just have faith in that idea. And books are great, mentors are great. I mean, mentors, even for me, mentors are better than, mentors are better than books. Like when I started working with Andy and Ed, that’s kinda when I made my biggest steps forward, you know what I mean? It was a big investment, it was my biggest investment.
33:32
but I invested in myself and you know, yeah, I mean, books are very good, but if you can work with someone, that’s always better. You know, someone that’s actually done it, you know what I mean? Someone that has experienced and done it and that there’s a lot of these faith mentors out there, but, and like I said, books are good. They’re just honestly not my thing. I have read books. I still read books, but I, as far as me, my time, I don’t have, you know, I don’t, I know how I operate and that’s just, we’re all different, right? But you can definitely get a lot of knowledge from books. But like you said, it’s applying that knowledge. Like your podcast is taking action from that knowledge.
34:01
And a lot of people, they read too many books, they do too many mentors, even mentors, the people that invest in mentors and they don’t even apply what they learn. Right. And they feel good. I mean, they feel good about themselves and yeah, it should feel good investing in yourself. But if you’re not going to take that investment and that knowledge and what you learn and taught and do something like that, then it’s kind of pointless, right? I mean, it’s just spinning your wheels. That’s it. You’re spending a lot of money just to feel good about something you’re not using. Speaking of mentorship, you offer three different levels of mentorship as well.
34:30
Yes, I do. I do. I just started that. It’s something that’s new to me too. I’m learning. It’s going really good. I got a good amount of clients and it’s something I really enjoy doing. I did it for about a year, year and a half for free. So I was offering it online and just letting people know just because I wanted to kind of get experience at it. Like I said, if I do anything, I try to over deliver and I want to make sure everyone’s, you know, very happy and I don’t want to, I want to have experience doing it before I do it.
34:55
as much as possible, right? Especially if I’m charging money for it. And then, you know, it went really good for the first year, year and a half doing it as far as kind of giving back, just, you know, but as I become more busy and more things pop up, my time becomes more and more valuable. You know what I mean? So then there’s that point I’m like, OK, there’s got to be some kind of exchange for my time and my knowledge, because it’s worth something, right? And just having that, that I.
35:15
yourself, right? You know, you got to know your own worth and know your value and command it, right? So then I started that and it’s going really good, man. Like I’m learning as I go, like I said, it’s still new for me, but I’m learning as I go. And I’m very transparent with everyone I work with and, you know, just communicate with them up front and we’re doing great. Yeah. Well, that’s the key. And I also understand what you’re saying because people don’t respect what they don’t pay for. So if you put a price point that kind of makes them go, makes them commit. Now, when you put their feet to the fire, they’re going to do it.
35:45
But if it’s free and you say, listen, you need to be doing X, Y, and Z. And they’re like, yeah, baby, I’ll do it. You’re like, you’re wasting my time. So as a mentor, as a coach, I know what you mean. Yeah. If I’m trying to give them the best that I can, and I know that they’re not going to execute on it, I hold back. Yeah. They can subconsciously tell that I’m not giving it to them. And now we’re just wasting time. Thank you. And I even tell them that, I mean, there’s even been clients already that we stopped working together because it was one of the good mesh. I didn’t just do that effort there. And.
36:13
And I’ve told, I tell them from the start, like we’re not going to work together if you’re not going to apply what we learn, you’re not going to give a hundred percent every day. Like, you know what I mean? Like I command that from you if you’re going to be a part of this, you know what I mean? So it’s not just like, hey, you’re paying me, I’ll do whatever the fuck you want to do. Like, you know, even though you’re paying me, like I’ll give you your money back and you can go somewhere else. You know what I mean? So it’s that kind of mindset. Yeah. Those are the people that you make them pay you triple and you’re like, am I charging you enough to make you execute now? And then they’re like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You’re like
36:41
It’s your business plan right there. Heck yeah. There you go. Listen, where can we learn more about you? Where can our listeners find out more about everything you’re doing? Just my Instagram is probably the best place, just at Brian Nabavi or my website, but usually my Instagram is the best. I’m pretty active on there and all that, but that’s probably the best place or my website. But yeah, and I try with social media, like I said, I try to be real as possible there and in real life. Whereas like nowadays you see everyone trying to be something they’re not, or just, I can’t stand that. And like I said, I just…
37:10
I’ve been following you for a while. You inspire me and you motivate me. I know you’re doing great. I’ve talked to multiple of your clients too and nothing but over the moon with your mentorship and stuff like that. So you’re definitely doing a good thing with that man. I respect that for sure. Well that’s what I respect about you. Amateurs can motivate but our goal is to inspire. That’s why I love what you’re doing with your message. Until You Collapse is the name of the podcast, right?
37:33
Yeah, it’s a typical podcast. Yeah. And it’s going pretty good. I need to get better recording episodes, but you know, I try to shoot for one a week, but that’s been a, not happening so much lately, so we’ll get back on it. But you know, another thing too, is just like, you know, I don’t want to force talking about things too, like I said, if I feel like I want to talk about something, I just need you to try to record the SAP, but just what the way the world is and the path I’ve been focused on talking about over and over again, so I don’t want to spin my wheels that way as well. So
38:02
We’ll get more recorded and just got to talk about. I think you have plenty of value to deliver to people. I think at your level, you don’t realize how much you already have. You know, we assume that everybody assumes that they know what we know. So I think just going out and doing what you’re doing is incredible. I highly recommend your mentorship to everybody. Everybody subscribed until you collapse, go follow him, give him a five star review, give him some props. This guy’s amazing. I really appreciate your time. I know you’re busy, so I want to value that, but thank you for the time.
