Investing $50,000 in Myself (Part 3): My Transformative Journey Through the vYve Program - With Tia

part three. What made you want to participate in Vive, what were like the big selling points for you with the program?

Yes, initially, James set up a phone call with me because I did the four DS session, which is a one day deep dive about your business that me and Ike went to up in New York, and it was kind of just sold as like, this is going to be a four DS on steroids, but also we're going to have 10 other entrepreneurs or C suite executives that are in the program that you'll be able to learn from and get to, you know,

connect with and network with. And weekly, we're going to bring in speakers that are experts in all these different industries. And they kind of asked me, like, what kind of speakers would you want to have in? And I was like, I don't know. Like, I want to know more about paid media so they had a paid media person. I didn't know that. I wanted to know more about a lot of the

things that they brought in which ended up being cool. So even going into it like, I didn't really have a whole lot of expectations, because we were the first ever class to do this. So there was no one to refer to and be like, Hey, did you get a lot out of it? But I know how much Gary respects James and also respects Andrea. And so I was like, if he's willing to put these two people together to build this program that is this extensive, and you know, he's putting his name on it, and he's, he

obviously wants it to work. Like, I just had faith in that it would end up being worthwhile. And, yeah, the amount of, like, crazy speakers they've had, and rooms that I've been in with other people that are just, you know, like, the head of IT marketing for Amazon was at a party, the head of meta was at a party with us. Like, yeah, it's just crazy. The you didn't know that going, I didn't know that,

yeah. So the selling point was, like, the unknown, and being the first Yeah, it was kind of like, we're gonna do a lot for you guys, because you're taking a risk on us. And this is kind of what we have in mind. And you know, it's a it's a hefty price tag, but we know it's going to be worth it. Do you trust us? Yes or no. And I was kind of like, yeah, I guess, okay, yeah, interesting. And what's also really cool is, like, you mentioned this too, that they kind of did a lot of, like, the

surprise and delight. So it wasn't like they promised you, because it was the first ever. They weren't, like, saying you're gonna get this out of it and that out of it. It was, like, a lot of the stuff was just kind of, oh my gosh, yeah. And some things changed, like, some speakers couldn't end up speaking, and they put in different ones, but they were, they weren't. It was never like, we got a downgraded version.

It's still, like, it was always valuable. Yeah, cool. Obviously, you followed Gary V for a while now, so his marketing and content strategy with, like, pushing out content being super consistent, you followed that. But since doing Vive, how has your content strategy changed? If it has at all? Um, I think it changed the most from the four DS thing, because

that's like when I hired Bri like our community manager. But it's funny, because even in Vive, we didn't talk a whole lot about organic content strategy, even though that's all that it seems like Gary talks about, right? But it definitely has like seeing what the other people are doing and talking to them about their strategies and doing it

and learning more about that. It definitely in when vive happened is also when Gary came out with his most recent day trading attention book, which I listened to the audio version of that I think definitely made me look at the content and stuff differently. And not that I've done it enough myself, but like, I've pushed Bree to do the memes of the videos and try these different things, and I did a few green screen videos and, like, just

trying different things. But I'm I'm at the point now where I think I have enough of, like, backlogged content from doing podcasts and going to arrival last year, doing four DS, like, even, like I did some day in the life stuff when we did have speakers. So like, Yeah, I'm trying to, I'm trying to explore that more now. And I really.

Want to just get way ahead with content, where I have like three posts a day scheduled out for the next, like two weeks, and then in the next two weeks, create more content so that the following two weeks has that, you know. So I in my head, I know what needs to be done, but I haven't necessarily done that yet.

The whole vibe wasn't necessarily about content, which is really interesting, but I learned from everyone a little bit of like, maybe what types of content I should be putting out or, I mean, even doing the retreat like, made me think about like content a little bit differently, about, you know, what? People maybe don't talk about enough in business, and would be good topics to cover. So I think the implementation of all of that stuff is gonna happen

sooner rather than later. So my hope is that now that I've seen all of these strategies, like in live time, that I can implement them and see what happens. You know, yeah, a couple things on that. Is it's funny because like, vive was there wasn't like, a focus on, like, how to create content to better your brand, all that stuff, obviously, but it's so funny.

The few times that I did go with you to any like vive events, people, a lot, some of the others that were there are just getting content like, so much content, even you like, you're building content like you guys are wanting to share. And it's just, it's funny that he's like, kind of curated this like culture amongst the people who are business owners and operators like that. It's so important to like show, like the personality and like the real human interaction behind like

these brands. So yeah, I feel like even though that wasn't like, something that they touched on. I mean, what's a really cool thing? And it wasn't like, taught to you directly, like, hey, you need to have a team of people following you and recording. Tell me how many times you've went to a Vive or Gary V thing where he has a literal crew of people filming at all. We went to Gary V people just always film me. Not even

that. We went to the Vayner offices in California. Yeah, there are people walking around with, like, cameras and like their phones, and everyone is just getting content all day every day. Yeah, they're just used to it. So why do you think that's so important for that company culture? Because they're

constantly sending putting out media, like, yeah. I mean, that's, uh, people care a lot about the the behind the scenes, yeah, the, not necessarily behind the scenes, but like, who the people are that work for the business and who the leader is behind the business. Like, like prime Logan Paul's brand, for example, is built on Logan Paul. It's not built on the drink being a good drink. And no one thinks of VaynerMedia, yeah,

yeah. Like, people think of Gary V but he has a huge business that's people care a lot about the people that work for businesses nowadays. They want to work with a person, a human that they know about and have learned about, you know. And so

I think that's just kind of what they've created. And if you, if you really want to put out three pieces of content a day on every platform, you have to be capturing a bunch and then just condensing that, you know, or else, one day content, you can get a month worth of content, yeah, if you do it right, yeah? Jesus, yeah. No. It was wild seeing how many people had it

was like cameramen, and it wasn't like a crew. It was like, just people individual cameras who have, like, I'm so used to seeing you, like walking around when we're doing hikes, or any like, of our instructor, like, your camera gear. It was like that time. And I'm like, if Justin didn't go down this career path that like you've gone down, I'm like, I could, so see you doing something like that. Oh, yeah, I would love

doing that. So even I like, I could, so see it, yeah. So it's funny that even though you didn't, like, get schooled on content directly, it was so surrounding you and like all aspects, that it's like, how are you not inspired? Or, like, taking mental notes along the way. Because I feel like they were preaching about content sometimes, like, yeah, yeah, yeah. But they, I mean, they didn't sell us on, like,

we're gonna teach you how to do content. Was it just so happened that, like, when we would go to the, like, the the Vayner offices, they had tiktokers there that were talking about their strategies with content, and we were just there at the at that time. It was right place, right time, yeah, well, it was also because Gary came out with a book at the same time. And so there was a lot of that happening, but that's all they talk about, anyways, content, content, content. What was

really cool and funny? Well, really cool and coincidental is there were two, like tik tokers there. And one of them does, like luxury travel. And I thought her speaking was really interesting, because in a world of like ecotourism, you don't think like luxury, yeah. And I think I like to say that, like, the kayaking thing is, like, the upscale, it's almost like the glamping of camping, right? Like, yeah, the clear kayaking is, like, the Yeah, we Yeah, we're, we're not just like a

rinky dink, you know, side of the road thing. Like, yeah, we try to create this whole experience out of it. It's definitely it.

Enhanced version. Yeah. And I think, like, we've all had that kayak experience, if you've kayaked, or just, I remember my first time, my first couple times kayaking, you show up and you rent like a canoe or kayak that looks like maybe there's three spiders inside of it, and like you don't know where your butt sitting, so you sit on a life jacket because you don't want to get your butt dirty, like, so I feel like hours it was interesting hearing her speak, because she was saying

that luxury travel was kind of up there, and people want to see, like, if they are not going on a luxury trip, like, they kind of want to see how it goes. And it was also interesting to hear how long it takes her to, like, bust out constantly, yeah, because she likes to live in the moment and experience, yeah, the thing and not just go to film, which I also loved, yeah, so I don't know. I thought that was really interesting, too. What was her name, LAX the luxury or something like that? Yeah, I

think, I think it was, yeah. And then the other guy was more of, like, the busting out content. JT, yeah. JT, is a great follow, yeah. I followed him for a while, and it was cool watching him speak in person about his process. And, yeah, his look, his outlook at it. And he owns a whole agency that, like, connects creators to businesses so that your business can kind of have a face of your business. You know, yeah, form of a

creator. Yep, I again, this is, like a thing that was not. This wasn't, like, honestly, no, this was we were in the office, and, yeah, and like, everyone there were, I don't know, like, 100 people in the office that were all listening in the Global Head of strategy for tick tock, was there, sort of like, so, yes, we

didn't learn content directly. But, like, there were so many things I didn't know if maybe you heard, like, a tidbit that was like, Yeah, change, kind of like the way that I think the book did that more than, more than vive. I think the book did that, but they did a good job of, like, weaving in some of that with the Vive content. So I don't know if there was like, one like moment in vibe where I'm like, oh, I need to do it that way. But it was more of just like seeing it all happen.

So I I'm not speaking for you, obviously, but like, there's something that I thought was really great, is during Vive, each of the Vive members got to have a call with Gary, a little zoom meeting. And what I thought was really cool is so we have this community platform on Facebook. We wanted to learn like after people. We wanted to to have something to where after people did a tour with us, how they can interact with each

other and like it's not just the end of your experience. No, it's like, how can we get them excited to, like, talk to each other, interact with us, like, feel like they can connect with us, rather than just, like, a business transaction. Yeah, and I like that. You asked Gary, one of your questions was, like, how can it be more of, like, a back and forth instead of talking to

the customers? Like, a lot of times it's just us posting and like, people like it, or maybe, yeah, or maybe they comment on it. But it's not, it's not them asking questions or posting a lot. So it's like, how do I do more of that? Yeah. And I thought what was really cool is that he his piece of advice was to, like, talk to the guests more. And it's funny because you already started doing that, and you saw an amazing response. So you Justin, you have sent out a text message to all the guests

one day. Or was it just Rock Springs guests? No, all of them, to all the guests. And what did you say? I hope you're having a good day. Yeah, saying Happy Tuesday. Hope the rest of your week goes well. This is the founder of get up and go or something. I don't but do you know how many people, yeah, we got like 100 plus replies that were like, someone booked a tour. Thanks so much. Oh, my God. I hope everything's going well. The coolest thing was someone who had a freaking bad

experience because they didn't show up. Yeah, like, Yeah. Someone was like, You guys suck or something. And, and then I replied saying, like, Hey, can you give me some more info so I can, like, yeah, look it up and get you a better response and whatever, yeah. And just doing that, like, I went in and did some research on what happened, and ended up making it right, and offered maybe a free tour or something for them to come back. And they were like, and they were like, wow, that's

the coolest thing ever. I know it's, it's that simple, like, literally just spending a little bit of time, like interacting with people and hearing them out. And I think people just want to be heard, you know, and like and and know that we care about it more than just a transaction. And so yeah, that that was a good takeaway from that, for sure. What's interesting is, like, one of the things I've learned from you, and it's one of your superpowers, which is funny, I

said that one of my superpowers is listening. Yeah, it's actually one of your superpowers, listening to people when they're complaining. Yeah, I feel like when I have a customer calling me and they're so upset, like, I want to have an answer for everything. And like, Justin has taught me. You've taught me to literally let them wait until it's quiet

and then you can speak. Because there's so many times you've been next to me when someone's complaining to me and I'm just like, well, you want to correct them right away, because all that they're saying is not true. Everyone's instinct is like, you want to just correct people, because what they're saying is not true, not true. Like, you know, I. For I showed up, and they the kayaks weren't there. And it's like, no, I want to be like, Well, no, actually, you showed

up. Justin's like, Tia, I'll get off the phone. He's like, next time, let them he goes, even though, you know it's not true, let them just talk. Let them go. Like, let them speak. It goes back, usually, like, air themselves out. And then they and then they get to the conclusion themselves that, like, oh, maybe, maybe I am not telling the what that is, like, a freaking skill that I feel like every business owner should hear, because I feel like that's the key to like, honestly, it

resolving itself half the time. I feel like people will. They feel like you're listening and they, you know, like letting them speak. Yeah, so at the end of them speaking, do you still correct them? Or what do you say? It's very situational, like, if they're completely wrong, then usually it's like, well, you know, I've spoken to my manager, I've spoken to my team, my tour guides that were there, we all came to the same conclusion that this is, like, kind of what happened. Am I? Am

I incorrect in saying blank? And then, like, they're like, Well, yeah, you might be, you know, and then you're and then you get to the bottom of it, right? But let them go. Yeah, just let them go. It's, it's funny because, like I said earlier, I said, my superpower is listening, but when it's like, something like that, I can't, like, I have to have an answer to everything.

And sometimes it's okay not to have the answer. But the text messaging thing was, yeah, it's really cool to see people's yeah response, but I feel like a year ago, you wouldn't have done something like that, yeah. Well, because, I mean, it caught that to do that cost me $800 to text everyone and to then give a free tour cost me another couple 100 bucks and whatever. So like, let's say it cost me $1,000 I used to think of it as like, you know that that that $1,000

is just a waste, quote, unquote. But now it's like, no, that's how you build brand. And you may not see the benefits of it that day, but like, maybe two months later, someone's like, wow. Remember when the owner of that company texted me and like, if you can keep on the front of people's minds in a positive way, like, it's only going to come back to you. Like, I was, I didn't do it for the hope of, like, an a return on it that day. I didn't even do it for the hope of a return on it ever. I

was just like, this is a nice thing to do. Yeah, let's show that we have a little bit of a personality here. And like, open the door for conversation. And it worked. It was and it was also, I feel like it was fun for you. Yeah, it was fun. Like, you don't realize how many people, like, care about the business, and people told us stories about you guys multiple times, or just their personal life. And what I loved is that, like, your

message wasn't like, Hey, here's $10 off your next tour. It was like, like, hoping that was a good weekend, or whatever you said, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was literally just hope you're doing good. And people, some people didn't someone, someone was like, something like their donut, or something didn't get delivered. We were, we should have, yeah, we're gonna try to, like, figure out where they live. But it was that would have taken, like, some people just want to ask, and they'll

remember that. And that's like, an experience, without even, like, booking a tour with us, which I think is so cool. Yeah, they might post it on freaking random fun fact, one of our locations, their like, employee had a flat tire, whatever they ended up paying for their car to get, like the tire repaired, or, like, even paid for the Uber or did something for them. The freaking guide ended up sending it to like, a viral Instagram

page that was called, like, fui quit. Yeah, it's usually negative about awful bit, like experiences at jobs, like people, I don't know, fast, yeah, this was, like, one of the only positive posts they've ever done, and we got a freaking shout out. So don't go into stuff, doing it for recognition, but like, you never freaking know, yeah, you do the right thing and the right things end up happening. Good comes kind of good. Okay, next question,

got like five different good things out of that. Okay, hard tangents. Sorry, this is an exciting one. Was there any connections that you made during the program that have led you to new opportunities, or like, collabs coming up, or anything like exciting, yeah. I mean, share, yeah. James, introducing me to Thorsten. You know, a guy in Germany who opened 100 plus subways ended up coming to the US to visit me in our locations

and see what we can maybe work together. So I have a call with him next week to talk through that more and see what that looks like. That's huge. I think even the people that are in vive like talking to Mandy, who's the CMO of Michaels, like she hopped on a call with me and helped me through the hiring process when I hired our director of franchise operations, she, she kind of, yeah, from her perspective, like she's built these massive teams. She used to work at Kroger, and now she

works at Michael. She's She's worked in these really big roles and with big teams. And I'm like, how do you build culture, and how do you know who to hire? It's tough. And so like talking to her was, was really cool, being able to to get that understanding. Ending even the bus ride out to our retreat, like Habib and Jasmine were two great people to talk to more about, and we ended up sitting down and, like, I showed them the new CRM that I'm

building. And, like, just that connection, I think could, could lead to things I don't know what or why or when or how, but like, who knows the amount of people that that the Vayner world are connected to, and then also these other 10 people that we're in vive are connected to Carrie and her whole Earth Kind business, like an amazing freaking bugs, yeah, bug spray, like, her bug spray

is out in Titusville now. So, like, these little connections that just, like, yeah, like, add, add to fun things over time, you know, as, like, I think if I ever wanted to come out with, like, a brand that's focused on giving back to the earth, like, I would partner with Carrie on that, you know, like, she'd be amazing for that, they connected me To to Manny, who's done a lot of huge mascot, logo work, branding work. He even, like, helped Gary create all of the V friend 2.0

drawings and stuff like that. So connected me with Manny, who's building our mascot. And could be so exciting. Yeah, yeah. It's really, really cool helping, like, with some of the branding stuff, colors and just new things that we're excited for. And yeah, they connected me to him and like, even if, even if him and I didn't end up working together, it, they're still willing to just say, hey, Manny, can you hop on a 30 minute or an hour call with Justin, just there talk, yeah, but even that,

like, for Manny to pick be like, yeah, sure, why not? Like, pick up the call, spend 38 minutes to an hour just talking about my brand, the business, what the vision is. And like, you know, like, he gave me a lot of feedback, even just on that call, that I could have then taken and done my own thing, but we ended up working together. And yeah, Gary was really excited to hear that. And I guess he when I told Gary that I was working with Manny, he like, texted Manny and was like, Hey,

I heard you're working with Justin funny. Like, so cool. So you know what that's really cool, I feel like being in Vive is, I think it was like Twitter or maybe Instagram. It's like, when you're verified on Twitter or Instagram, like, the only DMS you like, you can, like, filter your DMS by like, verified people. So it's like being in vibe, you're like, verified, yeah, you're verified,

you're verified, you're like, verified. So it's like, these people probably have people connect, trying to connect with them. And it's like they don't want to waste their time talking to 300 people who might not seriously want to, like, yeah, be serious about it. So it's like, being in Vive, I feel like you're like, verified through Andrea and Gary's people. So it's like, when you want to hop on a call and connect with, like, these business professionals, it's like, no,

they're verified. Like, they're good. You can, like, they're like, filtered out. Yeah, I think that's kind of fun. Yeah, no, it's really that's like, huge perk. And yeah, part of it too is, like, they told us that going into it, if you want to talk to anyone in the Who do you want to Yeah, and so that really gets your wheel spinning. Of like, what could, who could I talk? I know you're trying to come up with, you know? And so I had to think of, like, what things would really help my

business? And a mascot is something I've always wanted. And Gary talked a lot about so that that was really cool to connect to him. And then Thorsten was one that they came up with. Because they're like, Hey, we know this guy that's done franchising on a large level. And the BurgerFi guy, I was just gonna Yeah, another franchise, yeah, it was almost franchise, yeah, yeah. In La they were like, here, chat with him. He'd be amazing. Yeah? They're like, me too. You guys

should talk. Yeah. This guy was a chicken connoisseur. Like, every fried chicken fried, no chicken fingers, chicken burgers, chicken, this, chicken that. And like, he's going through his phone, and it's like, just a spring, or whatever, not a spring, like Little River in his backyard. And I'm like, Oh, he's like, legit, like, like I said, it's, they're almost like filtered out. And it's like they're connecting you to people who are pretty legit, you know. So I

think that is a huge, huge takeaway for my questions. Okay, they're good. Okay, I have a couple more there. A lot of these are, like, amazing questions. So let's get the use out of them. Those are kind of the same, how's your how's your vision for get up and go shifted in any way since doing the program or, like, I don't know, a little bit, yeah, I think they make you kind of think about the future more. I live in, like, the one to two month world, a lot, like, what's gonna

happen one to two days? Yeah, no, like, what's gonna happen in the next month, and I don't often get to the five month ahead world, but you have to in order to hire people or make changes or figure out systems that you want to implement. And so a few of those conversations made me think about that more. The Daymond John conversation with. The, you know, obtaining new customers is 25 times more

expensive than just retaining your current ones. That made me really think about our new CRM system and, like, texting platform. Text like, yeah, all of that. The Negotiator that we talked to really made, made me think about, like, the the future with our book, current booking software, and what that looks like, you know, is that sustainable over time, as we continue to grow and give them, you know, 6% of all of those bookings, like, what does that end up looking like after five

years from now? So it made me think about those things more

for sure. I do think there was just little things along the way that I was like, Oh, that's a really smart way to look at that, or to consider this, even the conversation with Nick Sonnenberg about the efficiencies and me creating that whole Help website for get up and go, like, just the little time, you know, there was like a there's like, a bunch of little things I felt like that happened along the way that will save me so much time and effort and money and yeah, and have given

me more of a clear direction on that. And I mean, even on last or on in August, on the monthly call that I recorded, I was like, hey, our vision is going to be, you know, I want to get to 50 locations by the end of next year, which I've never really put a number out to anyone. It's always just been like, yeah, we'll see how we grow, you know. And so now, like, I want to, I think one thing they've talked about is like, how important it is to share your vision with everyone.

Yeah. And not just like, I live with it in my head, but I never really out loud, yeah. I never really, well. I never even, like, think about, like, I know I have direct goals, direct, like things that I'm trying to achieve over time. And how do those all correlate to each other? And usually it comes off in the form of me just saying, Hey, we're changing our systems. And yeah, and no one like I don't I need to reiterate the vision of why we're changing. I want 50 locations next year.

It's important that we have systems like changing how we collect royalties, because it's when you there's 50 people, you can't be like, hey, it's going through your text. Did that person send me their Royals? Yeah. And I can't spend 100 hours now, two hours per location, doing that. You know, it's like, never going to be able to focus on growing the business so or personal life. You've got it. There goes our micro. Goes our bike rides. There goes our bike rides.

There goes our Goldens for the next vive class. Is there any advice that you'd give them going into it? Yeah, I think they should try to they should ask for what they really want, like ask a lot to James and Andrea and Julia and the whole team, like, don't be afraid to ask for more conversations, or ask to talk to more people. Like I kind of felt, even though they told me to do that, I kind of still like, feel like I'm taking up people's time. I don't want to do that, so I need to do more of

that. I need to spend more time. So even yesterday, I talked to the negotiator that we had on months ago. That's cool, yeah. And like, I'm trying to push myself to do that, like, ask for that extra time. So I think they should ask for what they really want to get out of it. But also, like, have a more clear understanding of what they want to get out of it than I did going into but they also like going into it, they talked a lot about people at this, like, transitional moment in their

lives. And I'm not necessarily in a transitional moment in my life. I'm still know that I want to grow, get up and go, like I'm not trying to separate myself from it, like I'm still working that. And so for for people that are going through transitions, I think it's even more useful because they have some really good resources and feedback and and understanding of what big transition looks like.

So I think just knowing yourself a lot going into it and asking yourself maybe some of those questions, like, am I going through a transition? Who do I want to talk to? What do I want to get out of this? And in knowing that better, you probably would get more out of it if you knew those answers to

those questions going into it sweet, yeah, yeah. I think I also think that what I really liked is that before Vive, like, officially started, you obviously had a clear direction of, like, how long it was gonna take, like, the amount of time, yeah, and I think, like, a big one is you always made yourself very present, like, even when we scheduled, like, trips, yeah, yeah. Don't miss no. Don't miss out. I feel like to really get

the full impact of Vive, like, like you did. You just every Friday you knew that there was meetings, like, we'd be driving, and you'd had the zoom on, and we were, like, actively listening. It's like, from a kayak one, yeah, you did it from a Yes, you did. You even, like, showed them under the spring water. I think so. I think being super present and just like, knowing being committed to it, like, show up, don't just sign up for it. And I don't think anyone did that. But like, don't

just sign up for it. Like, be really fully in and committed. And, like. Anytime you know there's a zoom or, like, an activity, like, you're going to be around these really respected people in the industry and do it, yeah, yeah. Don't, don't miss out on these things. Like, ronsley lives in Australia and was on these calls

at like, 4am one time in Australia. I think he, like, had a layover in Dubai, and still showed up, yeah, but that's, I mean, you're paying for it like you should want to, and you should be, you know, yeah. So I feel like, I love that you are so present. And I feel like, Yes, you got the value very soon after doing Vive, but I think you saw it through all the way, and like you were always, yeah, taking initiative to make sure that, like, hey, my schedule is

cleared for this. This is important. I'm committed to this. There was a lot of emphasis during the VI program of wellness. Was there any strategies that you learned during the program that helped you manage stress or help avoid burnout, or anything you can share that like, really stood out to help with your wellness? Yeah, I think as a whole, I never really have thought about wellness too much, not nearly as much as I should. Especially being like an entrepreneur that works from

home doesn't really get out much. And, you know, maybe, yeah, maybe I go and, like, go to locations once in a while, or go hang out with friends once in a while, go to dinner or whatever. But like, work wise, like, I'm here every day in my office working. You don't, you don't think about the wellness side of it too much. You just deal with it. And you're like, oh well, you know, whatever. I'm a little tired today, or I'm a little burnt out, but I'm still doing it.

So it made me think about that more. You know, we had a sleep expert on and we have our aura rings now, which have been really, yeah, we love that. And just tracking sleep. You know, I did a sleep study knowing that I have mild sleep apnea. And now next step is like, Okay, how do we device?

How do we, yeah, treat that and work on that just being healthier, like even the first day or the second day when we were there and Mona and Mona and Chef palak were cooking for us, like the healthy foods, and just like giving us a better understanding of that body, even at V con, we, you know, there's a wellness a whole wellness presentation. We're so so many good things sleep. Sleep is so

important. You Like, literally, I think that's like, everyone's feedback has been that, like, sleep is like, one of the most important things, and something that I never recovered, paid much attention to until recently, where I've felt like, Man, I'm getting a good amount of sleep, but I don't really feel like I'm getting a good amount of sleep, you know, yeah, and it's because of the sleep apnea thing, so I think like that, and just acknowledging that, you know,

like I do need to ask for help if I feel overwhelmed, or just Understanding the mental state that I'm in when I'm doing work, or also, like, understanding that because I'm in a room doing work every day, like my tour guides don't get to see, that my franchisees don't really get to see, that they don't know that I'm, like, working a lot every Day, doing these things for them

and caring about them behind the scenes. So it's like, even maybe communicating that more to people, and not saying, Hey, I'm working my ass off every day, but like, just reinforcing like, Hey, thank you what you're doing, yeah, I see the work that you're putting in. Like, thank you, you know, and and acknowledging that piece of it a little bit more. So, yeah, I feel like there's been a lot of wellness things that have, that have come from it. And you and I were going to the gym a lot,

which we need to get back on that grind of doing. But I've been traveling a lot, riding our bikes, getting outside. I love my Pilates. But yeah, you've been doing really good with that, just, yeah, spending more time outside. And, like, even we were talking about, like, different lighting at night time, like, we got the hatch next door, shout out hat, shout out our ring. Yeah. Like, we've, we've actually done, I know some

of the things like, and we got the cold pillows too. I have. So listen, if there's one thing that you should implement in your home, and we got my parents on it. Fun fact, we live with my parents for like, three months after our wedding, while our house was being built. And we turned them on to this, keep your house cold at keep your house cold at night. Like, if you lower your temp to what was that? What was like? The ideal was like between 6061 and 68 I know it costs money, but, like,

it doesn't cost much if you look at it. What's the value of better sleep? Yeah. I mean, I mean, we keep ours at 6069 at night. Yeah, yeah, it's good. It is so nice to sleep in the cold anyways, yes, cold pillows, cold pillows, or ring hatch recipe four, we were talking about, you. We stayed with your parents, and then you went to cold temperature. I was saying when we say, I was like, if there's something you can do, like, lower your temperature. We

stayed with my parents. We transitioned them, and they never been the same. Yeah, I thought you were also gonna say cold pillow, because we got your mom on. I did get my mama. My mom has hot flashes, shout out, menopause, and I and I got my mom a pillow that's cooling. So I just, yeah, they say that the cooler your body is, the better you sleep. So cold, temperature,

cold pillow every morning we literally, that's disgusting. It can I see that they can literally get down rainy every morning we get up and we're so excited to check, like, our sleep score. It's nice, because you might be like, Oh, I had shitty sleep last night. But when you actually can, like, pull it up and it tracks your sleep, that's so cool. Yeah, yeah, I love that. Not only are you learning about wellness, you're actually doing things to implement how to be better with

wellness in our everyday life. So we've been eating so much better. Step is a bed that cools. I don't know about that. He was like, looking No, I mean, she was raving about, I I just don't know if I like the look of it. Yeah, I'm into the esthetic. It's literally like a big blow dryer machine under your bed. Absolutely not. We can figure out a way around it. Hey, if it's better sleep, it's better sleep. I think we can. I think we were just, you were just praising the better. I think we

can get there without the blow dryer under the bed. Okay, okay. I think the only other questions I have here, I mean, from a partner perspective, from your person, if you have a partner entering Vive, call me at one 800 No. I think, I think what's really important is having, like, a good support system. Just be a listening year after people do Vive, no, I feel like it was really nice to have a supportive, probably for you to have such a supportive,

yeah, it was, yeah, I agree. I mean, it was fun having you come to the couple events that you came to see, seeing everything happen in lifetime, getting to understand, I learned something you know more about who everyone is, and meeting Gary and seeing who he is in person, and and, and yeah, and then just weekly, like, debriefing about the phone calls and who we, who I talked to on the Zoom call.

You know that that weekend, and the little takeaways from that, and in the implement, implementing these different things. And me just being like, hey, we need to try this. Like someone just said it on a call, let's do it. And you're, you're like, Yeah, let's try it and see, you know, like, let's see it. Let's Yep, let's do it. And, yeah, that part of it's been really cool. And also, like, again, it's a, it's a hefty

price tag. So, you know, be being on board with that piece of it, and you're, you're kind of like saying you believe in me, because you want me to go and do this thing that I'm thinking is going to be worth it. So that that piece of it is cool too, to have your support in doing it was definitely cool. You know, like, at first it's like, you're spending how much to do what, and then it's like, okay, if you, if you think it's going to

be worth it. And you know, you've had those conversations you trust me and in that, like you're saying, Go, Go do it, and see what it's like and see, see how it is. So definitely important to have someone that understands it, supports it and is behind you in it, and will do do whatever is, you know, like I had to go and do things and you were here taking care of

whatever needs to be taken care of. So having someone that will support you through it, so you can show up every every Friday on the Zoom calls, or you can go to New Mexico for a week, or you can go to do whatever it is that you know that that's part of it is definitely a big thing from it. So, yeah, they say Happy wife, happy life. But I think it's like, happy husband, happy life, is it? I think so. I think it's just, if you're happy,

you're happy, you're both happy. Yeah, you know, it's like, I was just telling someone that when you're happy with who you're surrounding yourself with, or like, in life, everything else is like a domino effect, like happy life, happy business, happy it's happy everything. It's it isn't just happy significant other, happy life. It's happy every Yeah, and that was, it's funny, because that was kind of Gary's like ending talk at his becon is that was his. Why are people doing things

don't make you hold on, let's we're talking about that. What do you want to talk about? I thought one of the most moving pieces of V con was during Gary's keynote. Yeah? The ending one or the opening one. It's ending keynote, right? Yeah,

yeah, yeah. His ending keynote. He had said that he actually mentioned it at dinner the night before that he was going to talk about it, but in line or whatever during these like Meet and Greet photo things or whatever, he noticed throughout the weekend that there were people who, I think he had met them at an earlier event or something where they weren't happy with their job. And he was like, then he met them at. Previous V con, where they told him directly, hey, I'm not happy

with what I'm doing. How do I change this? And he said, that's what you do. Yeah. Why is it that so many people are live in an unhappy place? Yes, but what's crazy, and he brought it into perspective, is like, if people work a nine to five, five days a week, that is so much of your we spend so much of our life working, why would we not change that? It's funny. Like, when people aren't happy in a marriage, they leave a marriage, they spend more time at work than at the house with

their miserable husband or wife. So why are people getting divorces but not leaving bad jobs? Yeah, they need to divorce their jobs. Yes. Divorce your job. 2025 Yeah. No. I do think it's an important takeaway is, like, that whole ending thing is just, if one people, if one person could take something away from it is like, don't spend time doing the things that you don't like doing. And a lot of that is your work life, you know, if you're miserable, but you're making $150,000

in a year. Could you be happy? Yes, at a hat, at a nice job, making $50,000 a year. Yes, like, why would you who cares about the 150 like, at the end of the day, if you're not happy, but you're making money? Who cares? Like you're not happy, you're not gonna have a fun life if you're not happy every day, you know. So I think vive really pushed that too. Is is they? They made us think about like, Are you, are you happy in what you're doing

currently? And that's why they talk a lot about transition, is because a lot of these people aren't happy with what they're doing, and they need some sort of transition. It's a little bit harder as you become C suite or entrepreneur, owner of an entire business, and people rely on you. It becomes harder and harder, but that's why it's so important to do it now and not keep waiting until, until you are in that hard position. But you know, it's like, why would you want to see it with friends?

It's like, I tell people all the time, like, like, dude or dudette, you seem unhappy, like, in your in your work, like, did you just say Dudette, you know? Like, come on. Like, why are you doing this? Like, I know, like, that's one thing that you actually taught me. Like, very early on in our relationship, there were so many and it's funny because I remember when I was like, younger, and let's say, like, I needed to call it

work, because I didn't feel good. Like, even I think I was like, 20 years old, like, I'm texting my mom, like, I don't feel good mom, like, I don't want to go to work. I She doesn't even live near me. And she's like, Oh, you need to call out. And I'm like, I'm scared. You're afraid. I'm afraid to call it. She's like, you're good. Like, it's almost like I'm looking for that reassurance, and it's and I remember you're just like, What are you like? What? What's the big deal? Like,

yeah, why? If they care about you. You have to feel good to go to work. Like, call out, like, if you don't feel good, yeah, if you, if so, what's the difference if you don't feel good, you're calling out of work. If you don't feel good, why are you going to work? Yeah, I remember there being times where I didn't want to do something, and you're just like, don't do it. Like, then why are you doing it? It's not the end

of the world. Like, and, yeah, it's like, every time we talk, it's like, not me and you, but like me and a different friend. It's like, they're complaining about the same thing six months later. And I'm like, What did you change? Yeah, like, what? It's not gonna change unless you change. It is so important. And I think at our age and even younger, it's, it's even more important, like, for the younger ages, if you don't like it, do and you just, I feel like that was, like, a big thing that you

taught me too. It's like, my parents obviously taught me that. But like, you guys all were just like, if you don't like something, then do not do it. Make sure. And Gary said it too. Like, don't just quit jobs if you have, like, plenty of bills to pay. But like, what are you applying for other jobs? Like, what are you doing in life? Getting you out of that situation? You cannot bitch about it if you're not doing anything at all to Yeah, you don't get to complain if you're

not trying to change. How wild is it that the people who complain aren't doing things to change? That's usually, what's why is that comfort people are afraid of change? Yeah, I think people are afraid of the unknown, of like, going out of their comfort zone to find something different. It's that's, I think that's the big question mark. Is like, why are people so afraid of that when all it's going to do is make

them happier? I know, but that's what so much isn't that it like, does that they're like, afraid they're going to let down a boss that's doesn't even care about. I know, and that's what you would always say to me, yeah. Like, with a friend when you have to cancel plans, it's like, if you're worried about making them mad, like, are they going to be in your life three years from now? Like, what? And you always say, like, in the grand

scheme of life's life, how important is that? Yeah. And if you actually think about it, it's not so, why are we so okay with just not being happy? Yeah, yeah. So that's maybe one of the big, biggest takeaways, is, like, don't waste time doing

things you don't like doing. But I also think that, like, Gary's a good going into this, I wasn't, like, a huge Gary V like, I just didn't know too much about him, yeah, but like, even going to V con, like, it's a limited amount of people that can go, because you have to have, like, the ticket from the ticket from the NFT.

Right? And it's like, when you would see some of these really famous speakers, you could get close to them, because there wasn't, it wasn't like a full house where you guys are, like, fighting to get good seats, because it's so personal. And when you look at how big of a production, like the stage was, the lighting was, like, the outside venue they had, the freaking Grammys museum was shut down for the weekend for the

conference. Like, if you think about it from like, a business perspective, how much money it probably cost to put on V con, and then, like, how many attendees there were to, like, the scale of this big thing. Like, he is not just speaking, but he's like, proof that. Like, he's not in it. Like, yeah, and if he can change a couple people's perspective on

their work life, then he's won, I know. And like, it's crazy when he's doing this speech on the stage, like everyone could be so close to him when he's saying it, because he purposely put on this huge production where you still feel like you're right there with him. Yeah. And what's really cool is during him speaking and saying, like, you know how he's talked to people this year who were previously unhappy and, like, they've quit

the jobs and they've changed things in their lives. He actually had people stand up, yeah, there was, there was like, 15 I had goosebumps all over my body. He said, I like challenge you to, like, do things that'll change you being in that situation. Yeah, and I'm so curious at the next V con, like, that'll come up. But even the night before, we were at dinner and he showed up, which was not expected, and he, like, was really touched at how many times he kind of, like, saw that

recurring thing that during that weekend. So, yeah, I just, I forgot all about that. But like, there it isn't, like, how much money am I gonna make from doing this? It's like, No, how much happiness? Yeah. Like, happiness is so much more important than any amount of money. And say it. But like, people don't live it,

yeah, yeah. And I think he embodies, like, living it too, which is very rare for someone of that, like, well, he gets to work early and leaves late because he literally just loves what he does, or drives 30 minutes, streaming at like 11:30pm while he's working. And I'm like, he just loves it, you know, like I do too. That's why I'm in bed at midnight, sitting on my laptop, doing work, because I love working. More. Do you love enjoying, like, life more? Do you or do you think

they're equal? There's they're not equal. But I find enjoyment out of both. Like, I find enjoyment out of progressing the work and, like, opening new locations, giving people more opportunities, yeah, higher, you know, getting more tour guides because of that, giving back more money because of that. But like, when we go on a vacation or hang out with the dogs, or go, you know, bring the dogs kayaking, or whatever, like that

stuff is so much fun. And so, like, I enjoy both of that, both of that, but, like, at midnight, I can't necessarily go kayaking with my dogs, but I can do some work stuff that I find is somewhat enjoyable, you know, and it to be real. It freaking it funds the life. It funds it like you enjoy it. How lucky are you that you are doing something every day that, like, also funds, like, this incredible life that we can Yeah? Well,

that's the sweet spot. If you find something that you can make money and you're happy now you've won, and you've always had that since day one. Yeah, so like, and I'm always just like, it's only kayaking at the end of the day. If you're that stressed out about it, like, you know, you also got to look at the other side. Like, the happiness part is cool, but when it is tough, you also have to understand that, like, it's we're not like rocket scientists or doctors, like we're just

providing a fun experience for people. And what's also just to point out, there's been times like where, like, if I get stressed out with kayaking stuff, because business can be stressful at some points. Like, even in our industry, we work on like, I'm a franchisee of yours. You say you do say that you're like, if you don't enjoy it, then don't do it like. You don't

just say it to like other things. You say it like, as soon as it doesn't become we say it to our tour guides, as soon as you stop enjoying being a tour guide, yeah, I will support you doing anything as long as you're happy. So I think practicing what you preach is so important. I feel like you do that, like on the reg, yeah, if I ever stop enjoying this, I would find something else, you know, but I haven't stopped enjoying it, and it's been eight years. So like, even going into kayaking, I

thought I was gonna be a tour guide the rest of my life. I never thought I was gonna go do this. Like, I literally was like, you are, you are the bread and butter of the business, yeah, like, and I still, right now, would be happy if I was doing tours and not making what I'm making now and still just being happy doing what I'm doing. You know, I think you need to have me on here more often. Yeah, we have some. I

mean, how many? How long has it been since we started filming? I know it's been a while, it's been a minute, so I feel like we could talk for hours, but we won't talk people. I feel like you need your own podcast at this point. I think you would like your own podcast. I think so too. I have a lot to say. Apparently, I told you that was one of my skills, I know, but I think you would like your own Yeah, yeah. I think it's so much fun I could talk for hours, yeah. Well, you should.

Just like, set this room up to where, okay, don't get carried away. We already have one room in that. You have your own podcast room. That would be awesome. Well, for the next home that we build, yeah, we'll have a farm in Idaho or Wyoming that has a podcast room. We can fly, perfect. Yeah, I can have the cows on so what you're saying is we need to do more podcasts together. I like it. I think,

yeah, we don't get to debrief like this. We do at dinner randomly when we're in bed talking or hanging out talking. But yeah, not directly for, you know, an hour and a half of like, just going deep into it. So it's fun, it's fun, and you're good at talking and listening. What a skill your superpower. Yes. All right, signing off T and J, yeah. Is that what we call ourselves? J and T, T and J The bootsies. The bootsies.

Peace. There you have it, guys, the end of the debrief of the vibe by Vayner program with Tia. Had a really fun time recording this with her. I think you guys can probably see that through the camera. It was fun. Our dogs kind of hopped in and out in the background from time to time, and gave us a little bit of distraction. But this was really fun being able to go backwards and reflect on the experience and moving forward. I'm still

part of what they're calling the Elevate program. Now it's kind of the ongoing monthly thing for another year that we're going to be a part of. So really looking forward to that. They've actually invited Tia to be a part of that as well. So we're kind of going into it as like a package deal, and being able to continue the these learnings that we've been having from Vive and the community that they've built already and really excited. So thank you guys for sticking around for all three

parts. Hope you enjoyed it and hope it was a little valuable for you guys to be a fly on the wall while we kind of debriefed about my experience with vive. Thanks again. See ya.