1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,560 Hey guys, welcome back to the homework assignment podcast. 2 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:16,080 We're really glad to be back after a week hiatus. 3 00:00:16,080 --> 00:00:18,600 I believe in two weeks. 4 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:20,600 We'll have this one out. 5 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:21,600 We're recording on Thursday. 6 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,920 We'll have it out tomorrow. 7 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:28,200 A lot of things have transpired. 8 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:34,560 We have our podcast plan when we're going to record and stuff. 9 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:39,040 Sometimes that gets adjusted with the crazy business that's growing. 10 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,360 As unfortunate as that may be from time to time, I think that's one of the important 11 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:50,120 things to be able to make this podcast so real is because we are just this established 12 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:54,320 nine, 10-figure company. 13 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,640 We're a company that's growing and succeeding and growing at a fast rate. 14 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:02,360 You guys get to see the development and all the struggles that we go through, all the 15 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:06,080 different things that are happening, all the life lessons that are going on, which we've 16 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:10,080 shared so many of them from time to time. 17 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:17,880 Today, I had three or a few topics that I just feel like are hitting home right now that 18 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:25,800 I wanted to talk about that I feel like a lot of people don't discuss. 19 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:33,200 One of those things are just a show that entrepreneurs tend to put on. 20 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:39,080 Have you guys ever met those people that they're a business owner or maybe they're in sales? 21 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:41,360 I see this a lot with salespeople. 22 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:49,800 It's like just this almost an ego, maybe a dramatic self-confidence or a pride that they're 23 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:52,920 just putting on or letting you know where they're at. 24 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,960 They're on social media, they're showing you their cars or houses. 25 00:01:55,960 --> 00:02:00,800 It's like that Instagram lifestyle where everything seems so perfect. 26 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:04,840 When you actually go behind the scenes, you start to see the facade fall apart and be 27 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:12,240 able to actually see, hey, you looked good from the outside, but now looking in, things 28 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:13,240 aren't perfect. 29 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:16,640 You don't have a car. 30 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:19,200 Hopefully it's not that dramatic where you're pretending you have something you actually 31 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:20,200 don't. 32 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:25,840 My point being is I feel like as entrepreneurs, people that are on this road to success and 33 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:30,080 whatever they're doing, whether it's trying to become a doctor, build a business, do real 34 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:34,080 estate, whatever the case is, there's so much pressure from the outside world because we 35 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:39,640 always deal with all these, maybe they're haters, maybe they're doubters, just even 36 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:43,160 family members like, hey, are you really going to be able to do that? 37 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,720 We've talked a lot about that in some past podcasts. 38 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:53,160 That drives a feeling of inadequacy in us. 39 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:57,840 Sometimes due to that feeling of inadequacy, we put on a show because we want to prove 40 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:01,120 people wrong. 41 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:02,840 Maybe it's not so much proving them wrong. 42 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,600 Maybe it's to make yourself feel better because you don't want to fail. 43 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:08,120 You don't want to prove yourself wrong. 44 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:09,800 You want to be right. 45 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:16,520 You try to put on this face, this poker face of how things are, how you want them to be 46 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:20,760 going, but they're actually not really going that way. 47 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:26,880 I don't think many people understand how dangerous that can be. 48 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:29,560 There's that phrase, fake it to you, make it. 49 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:34,960 I love that phrase because I do think that pertains to a lot of different scenarios, 50 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:36,240 case by case. 51 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:49,440 Another thing about it is that when you are putting out this lie in essence of where you 52 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:55,680 are and you're making yourself believe this lie because you've got to live it every day. 53 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,600 You've got to remember it and you have to show every single day what you're doing. 54 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:01,680 There's so much energy that goes into that. 55 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:05,360 Like I said, I think a lot of it comes from the people I've seen. 56 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:10,000 A lot of it comes from just not wanting to, they don't want to feel like they're failing 57 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:16,040 so they're trying to trick themselves or they have all these outers and haters that are 58 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:20,400 just throwing so many things at them and so they want to prove them wrong. 59 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:23,800 They want to show them that they're going to succeed and sometimes they get caught up 60 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:24,800 in this. 61 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,960 When you get caught up in that, you end up spending so much energy, so much time and 62 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:34,320 it robs you of all the successes and the wins that you could be spending time to get in 63 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,640 your business instead you're putting it over there. 64 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:41,040 Not only that but you probably feel like a fraud. 65 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:45,000 There's that, what's it called? 66 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:51,880 It's a certain phrase. 67 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:52,880 It's not fraud syndrome. 68 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:56,240 It's a different phrase. 69 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:58,040 I know, I'm trying to remember it. 70 00:04:58,040 --> 00:04:59,040 Dang it. 71 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:02,000 I say this all the time. 72 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:03,320 No, something's interesting. 73 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:04,800 Impossed, thank you. 74 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:05,800 Gosh, dang. 75 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:08,200 Isn't there a game imposter or whatever? 76 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:09,200 Yeah. 77 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:10,200 Gosh. 78 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,680 Anyways, imposter syndrome. 79 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:14,840 People always talk about fighting against that. 80 00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:16,320 Well, here's the deal. 81 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:20,960 If you're honest and you're true and you're confident enough in yourself to portray the 82 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,920 truth, you don't have to worry about imposter syndrome. 83 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:31,120 Imposter syndrome, it may come from, for example, this week I had a week to where I was like, 84 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,680 do I even know what I'm doing? 85 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:37,960 It's not so much that I don't know what I'm doing. 86 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:42,280 I know I know what I'm doing but things are so tough and I'm making these hard decisions 87 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:46,640 and I'm taking risks and there's that doubt, that voice in my head like, dude, do you even 88 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:49,680 know what you're doing or are you even making the right decision? 89 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:52,400 I think some of that's that imposter syndrome. 90 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:56,360 I think that's a health, not so much healthy imposter syndrome but that's the imposter 91 00:05:56,360 --> 00:06:00,040 syndrome that you should have as an entrepreneur. 92 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:03,360 Then there's the other imposter syndrome, the feelings that you get from pretending to be 93 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:07,640 somewhere you're not actually or pretending to be progressive, a point that you're really 94 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:11,840 not progressed to or pretending to have stuff that you really don't have. 95 00:06:11,840 --> 00:06:13,880 There's a lot of that on social media. 96 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:18,840 I know there's memes about people posting pictures on their cars sitting on the hood 97 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:21,680 and then the guy unlocking the car like, dude, get off my car. 98 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:24,520 What are you doing acting like it's yours? 99 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:28,400 The imposter syndrome there, the feelings that come from that, that's the negative part of 100 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:29,400 it. 101 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:33,280 It's not natural part of this imposter syndrome that you're going to hear a lot of people 102 00:06:33,280 --> 00:06:35,400 talk about. 103 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:40,680 It's important to recognize that because some of us, and I say this because I've been there 104 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:47,520 before, it's easy to not know you're doing something and actually be doing it. 105 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:48,680 You're subconscious. 106 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:54,160 You maybe got a new business truck and you're posting a business truck, hey, just got a new 107 00:06:54,160 --> 00:07:01,200 rig, but behind the scenes, you don't know if you can afford the payment, all that kind 108 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:05,200 of stuff and you're trying to show people you're succeeding, but you're not even sure. 109 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:09,480 I think you guys get the point and it's important to understand the difference between those 110 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:14,000 imposter syndromes and it's important to be honest with yourself and be comfortable being 111 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,640 able to show people where you are. 112 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:20,920 If you just started a business, it's okay to show people that you don't have any money, 113 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:25,280 but you're not making any money, that you're okay to show that you're driving a piece of 114 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:29,680 crap car because in five years, you're not going to be there. 115 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:38,240 Don't rob yourself of the sensation of success, that feeling you get that you actually made 116 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,440 it because what's going to happen is you're going to put on this show, you're actually 117 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,680 going to make it and you're not going to be able to really celebrate it because you've 118 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:46,520 been faking that you were there the whole time. 119 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:47,520 What is there to celebrate? 120 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:53,760 You already thought you were there rather than being honest, putting out your true face and 121 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:59,400 showing people that you're at zero right now and when you get to a hundred, people are 122 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:04,840 going to notice everything else is a byproduct and you're going to be able to actually really 123 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:09,640 feel like you accomplished something. 124 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:15,600 I think for me, I'm just so sick of people showing like, oh, just got this Lamborghini. 125 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:21,040 I'm in real estate, just bought the Lamborghini, but I know and they know that I know that 126 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,640 they're renting that thing for like $2,000 a month. 127 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:30,800 Like cool, bro, you're renting a $2,000 car, fantastic. 128 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:31,800 You know what I mean? 129 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:36,760 So like be honest because when you're honest, here's what happens. 130 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:43,280 You succeed more, you get more sales, you set an aura around yourself that people can 131 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:45,720 trust because I can tell you one thing. 132 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,560 I don't care how successful somebody is. 133 00:08:48,560 --> 00:08:51,720 I can tell when they're faking it. 134 00:08:51,720 --> 00:09:03,640 I can tell when they're trying to compensate and confidence by posting pictures or talking 135 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:08,400 about this one big win when they're losing behind the scenes, but they got this one win 136 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:14,760 and it was this big win and it sounds so cool, but it really isn't. 137 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,720 And so do like, I don't want to work around or be around those people. 138 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:20,600 I don't want to work with those people because I'm like, dude, you're faking it. 139 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:22,040 Like be real, be honest. 140 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:25,360 If you're doing that right now, how can I trust you in a business transaction? 141 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:30,160 How can I trust you in a business decision if you're faking it now? 142 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:31,160 Like, you know what I mean? 143 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:32,320 It just creates all that doubt. 144 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:40,480 So there's also power in just being able to accept where you are and own it. 145 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:41,480 Just own it. 146 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:42,480 Don't fake it. 147 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:43,480 Own it. 148 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:46,720 If you guys are driving a crappy car, drive a crappy car. 149 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:48,760 Post on social media. 150 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:54,320 Whatever the case is, don't be posting a picture of a Lambo when you don't own a Lambo. 151 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:56,360 Anyways, I think you get the point. 152 00:09:56,360 --> 00:10:02,760 You know, a big part into all this is, you know, it does something to the mind when you're 153 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:05,640 accepting where you are, right? 154 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:11,840 When you are, when you, for example, if you're going to need to do something that you know 155 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:16,080 you're not capable of doing, how do you get that done if you have to do it? 156 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:18,200 You try, right? 157 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:20,240 You do some research. 158 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:24,320 You start finding what you need, the resources you need to accomplish what you need, right? 159 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:27,280 You may even go ask for help. 160 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:29,800 Asking for help is really important. 161 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:36,360 Being able to have enough confidence in yourself to understand that it's okay to ask for help. 162 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:38,360 And this goes beyond business. 163 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:42,560 This goes into personal, mental health, all kinds of different areas. 164 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:45,440 But in the business, I can tell you something. 165 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:52,120 I know people that do not, they take the long road rather than the short road because they're 166 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:58,160 pride in wanting to say, I did this by myself without any help. 167 00:10:58,160 --> 00:10:59,560 And they get stuck. 168 00:10:59,560 --> 00:11:01,560 They prolong the journey. 169 00:11:01,560 --> 00:11:02,560 Maybe they still get there. 170 00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:06,320 I know some people that still got there, but they got there in 10 years rather than five, 171 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:11,640 all because they couldn't let that ego aside and ask for help. 172 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:17,760 I can confidently say that everything that my company is, is because of me, although I 173 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:18,800 did get some help. 174 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:24,760 I had an uncle who saw an opportunity to get a loan from the government to give me my company 175 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:25,760 a kickstart. 176 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:28,480 And if it wasn't for him realizing that, that would have never happened. 177 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:33,920 Who knows where I would have been without that 125 grand to start my company. 178 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:35,560 And I can tell you, I lost all that money. 179 00:11:35,560 --> 00:11:37,640 I didn't make anything with it. 180 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,360 And the only thing I got from that money was a huge life lesson on how to make money and 181 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:44,480 not lose money. 182 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:45,480 But I had that help. 183 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:50,200 I had people that were by my side mentors teaching me all that kind of stuff. 184 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:53,400 And so I don't know of anybody. 185 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:55,000 There's very few successful people. 186 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,600 And we've had some very successful people on this podcast. 187 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:03,400 There's very few, if any of them, that can say that they didn't receive some type of 188 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:07,480 guidance, some type of help as they began their journey. 189 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:12,000 And like I said, a mentor, someone guiding you that you can go to and ask questions about 190 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:16,680 whatever you're doing to know what the best decision is that is help. 191 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:21,340 And so like I said, I know people that are, you know, they're prolonged in their journey 192 00:12:21,340 --> 00:12:22,760 because they don't want to ask for help. 193 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:24,920 And that is because they don't have that confidence, right? 194 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:26,840 They're trying to put on an image. 195 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:30,280 They care about the image, the image that, oh, look at that guy. 196 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:35,120 He did that from nothing, from scratch with no help. 197 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:38,920 If that's all that matters to you guys, you probably aren't going to succeed in business 198 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:39,920 very much. 199 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:46,120 There's a huge burst of drive and motivation, but that wears off because a motivation of 200 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:52,200 being better than somebody else is only going to get you in terrible positions. 201 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:56,640 It's going to give you a life with no friends, no loved ones, people who don't want to be 202 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:57,640 around you. 203 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:01,440 It may make you a ton of money, but what is money without people to share it with? 204 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:02,440 Right? 205 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:11,240 So again, being able to know that it's okay to ask for help, it's okay to come to terms 206 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:12,440 of where you're at. 207 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:13,880 You know, it's really interesting. 208 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:20,200 I think when I was first getting started, you know, I've told this story before on my 209 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:21,200 Tudgin. 210 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:26,840 You know, I went to South America, I served a mission for two years, and I got on a 13-hour 211 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:31,680 flight home, and I flew home, had this awesome person sitting next to me, shared their snacks 212 00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:33,480 with me, and she was amazing. 213 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,440 I didn't prep for that flight, which was really dumb, I was really hungry. 214 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:39,120 So I'll never forget her. 215 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:41,000 Anyways, get back off the plane. 216 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:42,000 I see my family. 217 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:43,840 It's all emotional, it's fantastic. 218 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:45,160 We went to a restaurant. 219 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:50,960 I get home, everybody goes, and you know, my family was really big on like nap time, 220 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:52,240 midday for some reason. 221 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:53,560 Again, my family wasn't normal. 222 00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:56,480 So like everybody went to the room, my mom went and took a nap, and I'm sitting there 223 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:00,240 in my living room with a suitcase full of some books. 224 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:04,640 A suit, like five button-up white t-shirts, like everything I wanted on the mission, and 225 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:08,320 a pair of gym clothes and gym shoes that I used to run, and that was it. 226 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:09,320 I had nothing else. 227 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,440 My mom had gone rid of all my other stuff before I had left. 228 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:17,200 I had no memorabilia from high school, trophies, nothing. 229 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:23,360 I was sitting there staring at a wall like, freaking crap, what's next? 230 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:24,360 Kind of had a plan. 231 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:28,640 If you don't know the story, I got my mom in rehab when I came home. 232 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:32,720 I had a feeling I needed to go home instead of going to a college out in Utah. 233 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:36,160 And so I drastically, like a month before I came home, switched my plans, and I flew 234 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:41,280 home and realized immediately after I got off the plane, I saw my mom that she was having 235 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:42,480 a hard time. 236 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:44,520 Again, there was a facade, right? 237 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:47,960 So like on all of our emails, every time I talked to my mom, I'd say, great, she was 238 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:51,400 telling me she was doing fantastic, she was overcoming, she had overcome all this stuff. 239 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,640 And the minute I got off the plane, one look in her eyes, I'm like, yeah, you're bad. 240 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:56,480 You're worse than when I left. 241 00:14:56,480 --> 00:15:00,440 And so anyway, it's gone to rehab, but I remember sitting there and I'm like, dude, what am 242 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:01,440 I going to do? 243 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:04,040 Well, I started doing what I could. 244 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:07,380 I started doing what I could, which is a key component. 245 00:15:07,380 --> 00:15:10,000 Looking back now, I printed out business cards. 246 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:11,440 I started knocking my neighborhood. 247 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:15,720 I didn't have a vehicle, so I went to, you know, I ordered cards on staples. 248 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:19,920 I had my stepfather take me there the next day, pick them up, and then I went door to 249 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:21,200 door and just started knocking. 250 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:23,960 Didn't get one door answer, by the way. 251 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:27,400 About hundreds of homes in my neighborhood left a card there. 252 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:32,320 And then faith thing for me, I went back, no doubt I prayed that I would get some business 253 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:33,320 from it. 254 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:37,080 My stepfather had a bunch of landscape tools, and so, you know, I was going to use those 255 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:40,000 to start, you know, doing what I could. 256 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:41,720 Landscape is not what I wanted to do. 257 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:43,000 I wanted to start a business. 258 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:44,000 I had the tools. 259 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:45,000 I had those resources. 260 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:46,080 I used what I had. 261 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:47,080 But then I also asked for help. 262 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:49,160 My stepfather, I want big jobs. 263 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:50,160 He would come help me. 264 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:51,520 He never took a dime for me. 265 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:52,520 I owe him for that. 266 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:57,080 Like he would help me on Saturdays after his job, and he would never accept money from 267 00:15:57,080 --> 00:15:58,080 me. 268 00:15:58,080 --> 00:15:59,880 He was just supporting me, trying to help me. 269 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:02,000 I was using his tools, his trailer. 270 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:09,520 He gave me, his dad was deteriorating sick at the time, and so he couldn't drive. 271 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:14,680 And so he let me borrow that Ford F-150 as a first truck that I technically had when 272 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:19,680 I came home, and I drove that every single day. 273 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:25,400 And so for me to sit here and say, I absolutely do this without any help by myself doesn't 274 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:31,560 mean that literally I didn't have any resources or anybody to give me those little, you know, 275 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:35,400 boosts or have those relationships to give me a truck, borrow a truck. 276 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:38,200 Of course, I had help 100%. 277 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:43,040 If I didn't have that help from like my stepfather, if I did, if he didn't already have landscape 278 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:46,160 tools, I probably wouldn't have started a landscape business because I didn't have anything to 279 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:47,160 do. 280 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:49,680 I had $3,000 to go buy every tool needed, right? 281 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:52,280 I didn't have money to go get a truck. 282 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:56,720 And you know, from that, I had a friend who was trying to get rid of a truck. 283 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:58,480 He let me take over the lease of that truck. 284 00:16:58,480 --> 00:16:59,480 That was a good help. 285 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:03,760 Or else I wouldn't have had my first vehicle because of Ford, the motor blew in it. 286 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:04,760 So that was no good. 287 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:05,880 So I had to get another truck. 288 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:07,560 I couldn't, I had bad credit. 289 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,480 Due to my dad ruining my credit growing up because he had the same name as me. 290 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:13,880 So I couldn't go just get a vehicle, right? 291 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:19,560 So like looking back, all these little things were, you know, blessings, but those were the 292 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:21,680 things that helped me get to where I'm at. 293 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:27,080 So 100% understanding where I was and being humble enough. 294 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:30,440 Like when you have nothing, you're humble enough to get help, right? 295 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:36,160 And so even now, if I take that lesson and apply it to now like, Hey, well, how do I 296 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:37,160 get help now? 297 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:38,520 Well, now I want to expand my business. 298 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:39,720 I need to go get money. 299 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:42,040 So you ask people for money, you go get loans. 300 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:43,520 That's it's getting help. 301 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:49,240 Sure you have to qualify for stuff, but the word help people, I think fear it so much, 302 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:50,360 especially us men. 303 00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:51,360 It's like, Oh, help. 304 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:54,720 I don't want to be an absolute just whoosh. 305 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:58,160 But in reality, that's not what that means. 306 00:17:58,160 --> 00:17:59,920 Getting help isn't a negative thing. 307 00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:05,240 And I think the world has just put a just over time has put a terrible thing on that 308 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:11,840 word, you know, therapy, getting help with your relationship or like there's there, some 309 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:12,840 things are bad, right? 310 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:15,720 There's not too much of anything's bad, but there's all these things out there that we 311 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:21,520 use on a daily basis that help us get to the next level that we don't realize it. 312 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:27,760 And so understanding where you're at and being able to accept yourself or who you are and 313 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:32,400 where you are at that time being and being able to understand that you can pull and get 314 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:36,160 help from all these different resources to make your vision come to life. 315 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:42,760 I know people that have skipped out on certain amazing opportunities for like just people 316 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:44,800 helping. 317 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:47,800 They didn't take those and they still got to where they're going. 318 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:51,640 But when you ask them and they look back, man, if I would have just done that, if I 319 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:55,000 would have just said yes to that, if I just would have accepted some of that help, I'd 320 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,600 be way further than where I am now. 321 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:00,760 And it's like, I don't know. 322 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:04,280 It's so annoying because, you know, you get it's like a mom. 323 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:05,440 Oh, I told you so. 324 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:08,000 You know, in 10 years from now, you're going to tell me, mom, you're right. 325 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:10,960 And it's like, my mom used to tell me all the time and there's certain things that I 326 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:11,960 do look back on. 327 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:13,080 I'm like, holy cow, she was right. 328 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:18,680 And it's so irritating because like you hear like me telling you now, like, you know, those 329 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:22,800 people that look back and like, oh, if I would have just accepted that help, people get those 330 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:25,520 stories and they still make the same mistake. 331 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:30,080 What does that tell you about humans is that it's almost like a seed of belief thing, lack 332 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:31,080 of faith. 333 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:32,920 We just have to find out for ourselves. 334 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:34,920 But what if you didn't? 335 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:36,960 Sure, there's a great lesson there. 336 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:42,600 But I would rather forfeit a lesson of being able to look back and be like, okay, now I 337 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:46,920 know to accept help and just do it from the get go and get to where I want it to be five 338 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:51,640 years quicker and be like, yeah, if I didn't take that help, I wouldn't be here. 339 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:52,720 So there's the lesson. 340 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:55,240 It's just you learn it one way or the other, right? 341 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:57,240 It's like, choose your heart. 342 00:19:57,240 --> 00:19:58,240 Right. 343 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:03,160 So if I would have done road A, I would have looked back and been like, yeah, but I learned 344 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:05,720 a lesson and now never to get here again. 345 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:08,360 If I would have just done it, I still would have been able to look back and learn that 346 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:14,760 lesson the better way, the way where I actually did it, succeeded and learned that it works. 347 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:15,760 Right. 348 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:19,960 And I need to keep doing that because why would you stop doing something that is working? 349 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:20,960 You wouldn't. 350 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:22,480 You would put more effort into it. 351 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:25,520 You would grow that you do more of it because it's working. 352 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:26,680 Right. 353 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:37,240 So anyways, I over the last, I would say three to four months, I have reached out to a lot 354 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:42,720 of mentors, a lot of family members for helping many different areas and forms because right 355 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:47,120 now even growing, I know where I know where my weaknesses are. 356 00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:48,920 I can tell you guys, I'll be straight up. 357 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:53,080 It looks like, you know, you look at our company, everybody can look at it and say, wow, your 358 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:54,280 company looks amazing. 359 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:58,560 Now we don't, you know, we post our work, you know, I'm not out there posting my truck, 360 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:01,120 posting my bank balance, any of that kind of stuff. 361 00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:06,040 But you know, people can say like, Hey, you got, you know, 20 employees, you got a bunch 362 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:10,040 of vehicles that have your wrap, your logo on it, you have a great office space, like 363 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:12,520 you're doing so much work or Instagram looks great. 364 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:16,520 So like, yeah, it's, you know, we're never showing the bad stuff because people to get, 365 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:18,560 you know, people want to see the good stuff to hire us, right? 366 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:21,720 So we're posting all the awesome stuff and all of the team events we do and showing them 367 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:25,320 why it's such a great place to work, work here. 368 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:28,240 But we have, we have pains, we have things that are wrong, right? 369 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:34,400 You know, we have issues all the time with cash flow, we have issues where, you know, 370 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:35,520 some we can't please every client. 371 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:40,520 So we have upset clients and, you know, as we grow, you know, do bigger jobs, there's 372 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:43,520 more liability, more legality that goes into everything. 373 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:47,640 I mean, mistakes, I've, you know, we've been sued, like all these things, it's like in 374 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:49,840 those moments, what do I do? 375 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:50,840 I go get help. 376 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,520 I understand we're at, I need help to grow, right? 377 00:21:53,520 --> 00:22:00,360 Whether it's money or guidance or, you know, somebody's help that can help us build something, 378 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:05,920 sharing a job rather than taking it myself. 379 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:06,920 You know what I mean? 380 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:12,880 So it's like, I guess a good, a good thing, a good example is like we just, we have six 381 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:16,800 commercial jobs that I had to get done and I didn't have time to do them. 382 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:20,600 We didn't have the right person with the right qualifications to do them. 383 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:25,080 So I asked my brother a lot of do them and he wanted, you know, a hefty percentage of 384 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:27,200 the profits to do it. 385 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:29,400 And I needed help and I get that. 386 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:33,640 But to me, it was like, okay, well, either I could be prideful and say, you know what, 387 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:34,640 no, I want the money. 388 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:36,000 I want to do it. 389 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:40,320 And, you know, I'm going to do it, but I could tell you two things again from experience. 390 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:45,880 If I went that route, I would be in a horrible position right now because I didn't have the 391 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:46,880 manpower. 392 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:52,360 I'm sure I'm making less money, sure I wanted to be able to say like, Hey, we know that 393 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:54,600 we did this is our job, blah, blah, blah. 394 00:22:54,600 --> 00:23:00,240 But now I have him got off a zoom call this morning with the realtor or the property manager 395 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:04,280 and, and this guy, my brother-in-law who's running the jobs and she was like, I'm extremely 396 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:07,440 happy with how fast everything's going, how quick it is. 397 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:08,800 Like this is just an awesome experience. 398 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:11,920 And it's like, that could have been the exact opposite. 399 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:13,840 Have I been, had I been prideful? 400 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:17,880 Had I been, no, I don't want to share that much money with you. 401 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:19,280 And I would have lost more money. 402 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:23,320 I would have burnt a relationship and it would have hurt me for a year to come, right? 403 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:27,880 So understanding when you need help and being able to accept that help and sometimes it's 404 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:32,160 going to cost you, whether it's a coaching program, therapy, or in this example, me hiring 405 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:36,840 my brother-in-law who was more expensive than a project manager that I could have just outsourced. 406 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:41,320 But, you know, I was okay with where I was at, right? 407 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:43,720 And so you win, you win, you win. 408 00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:47,400 And your win may not be a grand win, but you still win rather than trying to get, you 409 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:51,880 know, go the hell Mary and then losing, right? 410 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:57,480 So on all guys, I think one of the biggest things, and I always feel like I say that, 411 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:01,600 I always feel like everything's so big, but it's true because these lessons that I'm sharing 412 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:07,960 with you guys, this isn't just stuff that I, you know, you can hear, right? 413 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,840 I do a lot of, I'm in a lot of coaching programs. 414 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:12,720 I listen to a lot of podcasts, read a lot of books. 415 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:15,320 These aren't things like I'm not just regurgitating this information. 416 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:20,280 I'm living this, I'm experiencing it, and I'm sharing this wisdom with you guys so you 417 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:26,760 can try and avoid the mistakes that I've made because if I would have just listened, like 418 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:31,200 if I was in your guys' positions right now, and I was hearing all this stuff, and I was 419 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:35,720 at square one, or I was, you know, in these business situations, if I would have just 420 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:40,120 made these decisions at these points that I'm telling you now, like I would be, you 421 00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:42,520 know, five years more progressed, right? 422 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:47,840 So my, what I do now is when I get coached and I hear these stories and I hear these 423 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:52,520 experience, now I really listen, now I really pay attention, now I really apply what these 424 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:56,280 people are saying because they've been through it, they've done it, they know what's going 425 00:24:56,280 --> 00:25:00,880 on, and I don't want to miss that opportunity, right? 426 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:07,760 So I guess a quick recap is, you know, understanding and being okay where you are, not putting 427 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:12,360 on this poker face, not pretending to be somewhere where you're not, someone, be somebody who 428 00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:17,480 you're not, and being able to accept where you are and be able to ask for help. 429 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:23,160 If you can do those two things on a daily basis, you guys are going to one, stay humble, 430 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:28,400 you're going to hustle, and you're going to succeed far more because you're going to 431 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:33,400 use resources and relationships around you to help you progress, you're going to leverage 432 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:39,760 time, money, people in a healthy way, in a good way, to get where you're going, you're 433 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:43,640 going to get there 10 times quicker and you're going to have so much more fun doing it rather 434 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:46,640 than trying to pretend to be something you're not. 435 00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:54,240 Pretending is exhausting, it's exhausting to pretend to be this amazing successful person 436 00:25:54,240 --> 00:26:00,160 and then go home and realize, man, I'm lying, I'm losing right now, but it's okay because 437 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:04,280 my friends and family think I'm winning, and in your head you're sitting there like, well 438 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:09,720 the day come when everybody's going to find out I failed, and it hits even harder, avoid 439 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,520 all that, avoid all that. 440 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:18,600 When people tell me, this is my way of doing it, and I don't know, people might see this 441 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:25,240 as a way of being ungrateful or being just like, I don't know what the word is for it, 442 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:29,560 but when people are like, hey man, you're doing so great, fantastic, so awesome, like 443 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:33,040 dude, you're building such a great company, I'm like, yeah, but man, it's stressful, it's 444 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:37,280 hard, not making mistakes, we're going through growing pains, and they always tell me, oh 445 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:42,280 that's just part of it, but being able to say that out loud, that's me being able to 446 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:47,000 come to terms with where I'm at and make sure that, yeah, it looks good, but I am still 447 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:52,280 struggling and I'll tell you, dude, I will tell you what that did for me, I have a great 448 00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:54,880 experience. 449 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:57,520 One of the things that's bugged me, I'm going to be very upfront with you guys, you know, 450 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:01,680 we're on track to do a ton of money this year, more than we've ever done, meaning we're 451 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:06,560 hitting our goals, which is fantastic, right, hey, it sounds good, I just bought a new truck, 452 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:11,520 GMC, fantastic, right? 453 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:16,880 And the one thing that bugs me is because of my credit, I haven't been able to buy a 454 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:22,440 house, and so that's been a bummer, right, do all this money, all this revenue, you know, 455 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:26,800 all this business year and I can't even get a house, well, I finally came across an opportunity 456 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:30,760 that bypassed my credit to be able to get a home, and actually I'm closing this week 457 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:36,920 on my new house, which is phenomenal, I'm very grateful, I'm very blessed, but I needed 458 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:40,760 to come up with a higher down payment than I would have normally needed to because I 459 00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:45,320 was getting a favor or having a deal made between another homeowner. 460 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:49,320 And so if I, you know, one of the things I was looking at is like I put everything back 461 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:53,000 into the business and we've had so many growing pains, I like, hey, a lot of the money that 462 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:57,280 we have is either out on projects that like our actual capital or we've lost a lot of 463 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:01,400 money because we're continually growing or I've invested and spent it, right, so I was 464 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:05,080 getting frustrated, I'm like, man, I don't, I should have this money just sitting in my 465 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:09,600 check, my personal checking account based on how much business I've done over the last 466 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:12,520 five years and I don't, it was very frustrating. 467 00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:19,600 And so, you know, I went to lunch with our architect and we were having lunch, you know, 468 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:24,600 we go to lunch all the time, I like to go to Bucking ride or awesome seafood and I do, 469 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:28,240 I go to lunch because I, when I enjoy the people we work with and I'm all about the 470 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:31,720 relationship, I want to learn about people and know about people and I want to know how 471 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:36,240 we can benefit each other, how I can help people outside of just business because life 472 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:37,680 isn't just about business. 473 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:41,960 But anyways, we're having lunch and you know, we're talking and you know, we're talking 474 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:45,960 about our businesses and stuff and how everything's succeeding, blah, blah, blah, but then I 475 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:46,960 got real. 476 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:49,360 I'm like, yeah, man, you know, things are great. 477 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:52,960 I just, you know, it's been difficult here to some of the difficulties I'm going through, 478 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:53,960 you know, it's really irritating. 479 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:54,960 I'm trying to buy a house. 480 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:59,360 I can't pull the money out of my cash flow because it'll hurt and I'm trying to get a 481 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:03,880 loan but my, you know, I'm still working on some of my credit stuff, blah, blah, blah, 482 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:06,520 you know, I've been looking anyways. 483 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:07,880 And so I'm just, I'm venting, right? 484 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:11,240 I'm telling them, yeah, it looks great, but here I still have issues and he goes, oh, 485 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,160 you're looking for a loan for what? 486 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:16,400 Told him he's like, oh, he's like, dude, I'll, I'll loan you some money. 487 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:17,400 What would the terms be? 488 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:18,400 Boom, boom, boom. 489 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:20,640 Yeah, do you all loan you the money? 490 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:21,640 Boom. 491 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:26,480 Got my deposit without hurting my company, without stressing myself out, all because I 492 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:28,480 was honest. 493 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:32,960 Like I just, I just remember that, that situation because I talked about it for like a week 494 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:39,120 to so many people like that is the result of being true about where you're at, what's 495 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:43,040 going on, who you are and not trying to pretend. 496 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:45,320 I could have been like, yeah, dude, things are great. 497 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:46,320 Yeah. 498 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:50,840 You know, I'm buying a house, you know, I'm putting 75K down on it, whatever. 499 00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:52,480 Just an example, right? 500 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:55,320 Just I'm putting all this cash down, like, yeah, I'm just rolling right now. 501 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,720 I could have, and he would have been like, oh, that's great because he makes money off 502 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:00,200 of me and I make money off of him. 503 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:04,520 So that would have been a beneficial conversation, but instead I was true. 504 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:11,800 And that truth and that honesty brought me a blessing that I was so stressed out about 505 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,240 because I could have taken out my business and maybe it would have been fine, but I didn't 506 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:18,600 want to because the business is everything. 507 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:25,240 So anyways, long story short, guys, be true to who you are, be willing to take help, be 508 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:30,000 willing to ask for help and seek help, be willing to apply these things that we're talking 509 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:35,160 in this podcast because all I want to do is watch people not make the mistakes I made 510 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:41,560 and watch them succeed 100% because life is great when you succeed. 511 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:43,160 This is the homework assignment podcast. 512 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:49,840 We'll see you guys next week.