What's going on? Ladies and gents, Robert sighing sceeto Savage.com. Today. I've got special guest, Matt beaudreau on the line and we got we dive into all things parenting. So he is, he's doing all kinds of cool things. He's doing things outside of the conventional schooling method with his kids. He's seen great success with it. He's been able to replicate that across multiple different schools that he's become involved him. And I've just, I've learned a ton.
I've got a lot of, I mean, this is kind of a selfish podcast in a sense because I've got a baby on the way. I'm trying to be the very best that I can be from a father. Ain't I want Chris to be the very best mother that she can be and how we raise our kid, how we instill values, like Integrity work ethic, you know, all of these things that you want to Foster into your child. We want to make sure we prioritize that we set the stage.
We have a great foundation, and when it comes to schooling, there's a lot of question marks. I don't know if the conventional method is best. I don't have the homeschooling methods best. As a lot of, a lot of question marks there. So bringing Matt on diving into his mind, seeing what? Pretty well for his family and then just learning from hands as him as he's done. This himself and replicated. It was was super insightful. I learned a ton of got no doubt that you will as well.
I think this is a great podcast whether you have kids or not, but without further Ado sit back relax and do a podcast with Matt beaudreau. Live man, how are you? Brother? Yes, sir. He's good to chat with you man. Life is good. How are you? I'm good, man. I'm excited to chat with you. I've been watching your Instagram stuff for a while now and like you just bring a very interesting perspective to the table from like a mindset from a parenting standpoint. I'm about to be a dance.
I'm excited to kind of dive into that with you from a from a parenting, you know psychology. But before we do that man, give me some background into your background as far as like what I'll let you into this path is what brought around this kind of life path for you from a Content creation standpoint. Yeah, for sure, man. I'll go into that. And before I do, you know, I just again I want to congratulate you guys man on having that first kid.
It's nothing your life. I mean, you know, it intellectually, you know, things are going to change like you get it but you'll get it. Yeah, you know what? It just do it. It just shifts everything in it. Is absolutely the best. And, you know, I get to work with parents so often. And and, you know, I know from I'm from the conversations you and I have had and then kind of the way. I've seen you live your life. And I've said, I don't know your lady but you guys are going to
be phenomenal, man. So I'm pumped. Yeah, man is super, super cool. So, you know, high level, I've been working with young people for pretty much the entirety of my career, you know, and have been in education for a really long time at every level possible and that's, you know, K through University. Was was at Stanford University for for a long time. Have worked with hundreds of schools and school districts all over the world.
And so education is really been something that has been near and dear. And so I've gotten to see what kind of things are working. What kind of things aren't, I've also been working with Fortune 500's for a long time. Right? So I've got a very unique perspective. And these companies bring me in because they're going, hey, we've got these college grads, you know, 21, 22, 23, whatever. They're playing school still, this isn't working here at the company. Like will you help them? Not suck.
Will you help us understand how to find good ones and recruit them and retain them? And so all of that helps inform my mindset. And what would you know, what I've seen is? As far as being an effective parent? As far as, you know, being what is effective in education, how that is vastly different from schooling and it's what, you know, really prompted me to open
the schools. Open, you know, when I got a few that I own here in California, and I help people all over the world open these and then of course, our mentorship program as well. And so everything is geared back towards how do we help raise up? Strong, young human beings was this passion for Education, present before you had your own kids or that come, you know, strong and hard after you had
your kids. It was so the passion was there before and I won't say that it was a passion for Cuz when we say education people will think about schools and I won't say it's a passion for school. So I actually don't like most schools but I love education. That's a different thing. All education is self-education. What we're really talking about is personal growth, right? Who am I? What do I have to offer? This world? What is my inherent, genius? What am I excited about?
How can I shoulder as much as responsibility as possible early on. It's all of those things. When it comes down to That and who humans aren't you know, who God, created these young humans to be and what they parked their potential is, that is something I've always been passionate about and so then when I was going to have my first child and I was working in schools. Well, that was when the rubber hit the road right where I went. Okay, at this point.
My oldest is about to be school age in school, doesn't develop an educated person School. Ruled by Design does not. Give them the tools to really find out who God created them to be. That's where the rubber hit the road where I said, okay. Now I have to build something different for my own, for my own kids, but it's that difference between schooling and education that I think is so imperative people get totally. Is it like a kind of bounced
around a little bit here? Because it like a time frame in a child's upbringing? That is quote unquote, the most impressionable time from an education standpoint. The mindset of that person is always going to be the thing, right? So that's those first five years, believe it or not, is the most impressionable on the mindset and most parents actually do a decent job there to believe it or not, most parents. If you're good people, you're good.
Human beings. You're not, you know, there's and I know there's, there's bad parents out there and there's some, you know, abusive things. And I and my heart absolutely freaking breaks for that. Most people aren't in that category. Thank God. And they usually do. Decent job. And then what happens Rob, is they at five.
They send them to school and school slowly builds inhabits, where after a few years, you see these students start to shift their mindset and they no longer have the zest and Zeal for life that they often did. And yes, some people still can do well in that. They'll figure it out, but it's still not the ideal, right? I was on a podcast yesterday, right? Kind of gave this example. Sample, and I think you'll appreciate this too is.
If you've got a starving person, I can save that person's life by feeding them, something from McDonald's. And you know, I can give them a burger and fries and I can do that all three meals of the day and I can do that for 12 years and I'm going to save their life. They're not going to die. But is it the ideal and after 12 years of feeding them that three meals a day? What what are the patterns that are going to be ingrained?
What does that? Both look like for that person right in schooling versus education. It's that same thing. Yeah, they might come out of there and have a little bit of a skill set. They might still be happy depending on what other circumstances they have. But have we really developed 12 years of self confidence and self awareness and I would argue that we have not so that development.
The first five years is the most crucial but it's crucial that we develop solid patterns thereafter when it comes to the conventional School. In the, in a sense, the word. What what is that? Like if you were to Define that, what would that definition look like conventional schooling is predominantly about obedience. That's the main focus of conventional schooling. I don't know how you did in
school. I can tell you I got straight A's all throughout and I got straight A's all throughout College. I now run, you know multiple businesses and and do quite well. There what I try to show my parents not too long ago, the parents that some of the schools is I went back and took some some math, you know, some academic math courses. And I took a test in particular, to see what my quote unquote grade level was and it's currently at about sixth grade
level. Yeah, because that's not a real thing because certain academic math hasn't mattered in my journey. So I haven't had to utilize it. I know how to run a cash flow. I can run a cash flow projection. I can I can run businesses and I run them very well and I understand how to make money that's different than academic math, right? And so you To take that in quote unquote, all these different subjects and you start to take a look. Well, why are we doing this particular thing?
In this particular way, there is some value and a lot of that, but a lot of that is also, there is no value. So it starts to become a system that's around obedience. You only get to associate with people who are about your same age. You automatically Revere somebody who's older, you automatically get to look down upon somebody who's younger. That doesn't map out in real life. You and I are not the same age, but we're able to sit down and have a good conversation.
Ation, you got to raise your hand in order to go to you know, ask a another humans permission to go to the bathroom and that person might say no and then they won't trust you to go do it and come right back. So they're going to give you a toilet seat as a pass at you got it. So it's you engrain. All of these weird habits of obey Authority. There's going to be somebody that's going to give me a basic rubric and boxes to check whether those boxes are beneficial to me.
Long-term or not. Whether I actually learn this material or not. I just A play this game. And if I play the game at the end of 12 Years, everything's
going to be fine. Well, the problem is, you get used to just playing a game for whoever screams Authority, the loudest and then you've been taught to be just this obedient person who's looking for the next person to be obedient to or the next system to be obedient to, and you've been trained out of how to become resilient and actually share ideas and understand civil discourse like you just create A different population, and I think that's a dangerous thing.
It's interesting, man. Like my, like I was raised pretty conventional sense that, you know, my parents are both Highly Educated. My dad's a PhD professor teaches at the University. My mom's a Hound totem, pole and management at the hospital. And they both went to school. They both got their degrees, you know, Dad pursued higher education, and that just kind of how my brother.
And I were raised like we, they put a lot of emphasis on We're GPA is, and, you know, I had great grades all throughout my entire academic career, like, even into college. I had like a 3.9 or something like that, but it was, it was like all A's all the way through and I excelled in that sense. And that was kind of how they, I wouldn't want to say that they like gauge my my, you know, worth by my grades, but they put that in very, very high regard. Asians.
I wanted to, you know, please them by having those High grades and it came Pretty Natural. Me like, I mean, I didn't have to study too, too hard. I could just came relatively easy, but I think, I don't know if it's a generational thing or what. I mean, I love the way, my parents raised me in so many ways.
I mean, all my work ethic and integrity that was all instilled from them and I want my everything but when I look at how life was for them coming out of school versus how life is for me, coming out of school versus have life will be for my kids coming out of school. I can't really justify putting as much time. Human effort and energy into valuing. The formal conventional schooling system as highly as they probably did themselves at that. Make sense. Yes, sir. It makes complete sense.
So so one thing I always want to make sure what I'm talking about, is people hear this and they go. Oh, well, you clearly hate teachers, you clearly hate all academics. You clearly hate. And that could not be further from the truth. I was a public school teacher. It was a public school
administrator. I worked at the University level, many of my friends, still do all the same and what you touch on is, he said, you know, they taught my work ethic in my integrity and my values came from that, that is something that I do not knock any person who is exemplifying those first in their own life, and then holding young people to those standards of have a strong work. Ethic have integrity have character, be a person of your word. I am on their team, 10 times out of nine.
So, you know, kudos to your parents to for seeing because that's those are the things that really Matter, you're absolutely right. They were not wrong in the fact that they grew up in a time when. And this is interesting because when I speak to these Fortune 500's, what I'm speaking to them on again, is helping these younger generation, but I do it in the context of generational habits Trends and viewpoints, right? So your parents, my parents grew up in a Time.
We're doing well in school really, really mattered because it was going to open more doors, getting that college degree mattered, because it was going to open more doors, but then slowly systemically, those became big business opportunities for things like universities. And with the ability to make more money, you started to get different players that started to go in there and then, and it really became About the business. It became about the system in the self-perpetuating system,
right? And you see that in big systems altogether, right? And I would argue that, you know, medicine in a lot of ways ends up being this. There's a lot of amazing humans who are doctors, but there's a lot of people who also believe that all health is going to be found only in the hospital and from your doctors and that you shouldn't have any personal responsibility around it and that and that's a dangerous thing.
And you're taught to perpetuate the medical system rather than you know, I fully believe a good doctor teach us. Somebody how not to need them. Here's how to be healthy on your own. So you don't need to come see me. Well, a good educator at this point is doing the same thing. Here's how to find all the things you need because we live in a world. Now where you can, you can find the information that you want.
You just have to know how to do it, and you've got to have the willingness to do so. And so, you know, again, your parents weren't wrong, but you also correct. The world is different now, so we need a different solution now and it's not traditional, Mia, I promise. Yeah, I mean, I look at all of the peers that I went to school with and then went out into the workforce with and like I did the whole Corporate America thing.
Like after I graduated college. I got a job as a front line, supervisor with the railroad, you know, Fortune 500 company and I was doing pretty well for myself in that regard, but it was not, it's like that's how I was groomed to do things. Like, I like it was not in the cards for me to just, you know, sir. Go with the script and become an entrepreneur. Given that path that I had taken. Akin to that point. Like, that was totally me flipping the script to go the
Henry around. So it's not like, it's not made easy for people that want to deviate from the quote-unquote rigid system, that that going that life path, kind of forces you and funnels you into. And then I look at, you know, my peers that did all this stuff with me and they don't really seem to be happy and fulfilled in what they're doing.
So I didn't really want to emulate that, which is why I did flip the script, but I look at you know, what things would be like when my kids Come of age to be entering the workforce doing their own thing or creating a career path and I feel like putting them through the traditional conventional, you know, educational school system in a sense is going to be doing the more of a disservice than not.
Like it's not like it's going to be even neutral at that point is going to be more detrimental than not. It's a net negative because you get, you learn the pat again. These are the patterns over 12 years. So you learn I you don't want to get anything wrong again. Obey Authority at all costs, right? Getting Something wrong is a detriment. There is a specific way to do it and it's a very narrow way and you got to do this one thing, right?
That's that that mindset moving into the future where you and I are talking. Now on, you know, technology that did not exist. 10 years ago, dear God when your kids are heart n-nevermind twenty. What is that going to look like? Well, it's going to be something that we don't understand currently which means your kids are going to need to be able to learn whatever that is. They're going to need to unlearn
what was relevant. Two or three years ago, but is no longer relevant, which means they're going to need to be able to adapt. In the last thing, School teaches is adaptability and that's, that's really something. And again, you see it. I think with the older generation, they have a hard time adapting. Its, this is the way it works. This is the way it's always worked. The problem is, that's not exactly true. So, I think you're exactly right going back to that happiness and fulfillment.
People, confuse. Our school isn't all that. Will, you just don't do any academics at all? Know, we do we do academics, but we teach them to set their own. Our own goals, they have options and how certain academics get done. I've got no dog in the race on what a young person does with his or her life as they get older. My job is to expose them to as many experiences as possible, so that they know who they are. They know what opportunities are there.
They know how to create their own opportunities based on what their DNA is telling them. Right in the can put that together so that they are happy and fulfilled. I don't care what that looks like for them. I want them to have that feeling. I don't want it to be like you said, something just pre-planned laid out. You're going to follow this no matter what I've been on private jets with the owners of the jet,
who are the guy was coming. 50 years old crying because his life has been laid out before him his parents own this company. So he was going to take it on. He's never been happy and fulfilled because he wanted to go to a completely different route. We had a meeting with a gentleman yesterday family-owned company multi-million. Dollar company out here in this area where I am and we had a meeting around some services for our building. We got done. He came over to the side and goes, man.
Can I work for you? I don't like this. I, this is not what I meant to do. I'm meant to do something more. Like what you're doing. Do you have any jobs available? Right? Like, I don't want my kids, or any kids going through that kind of crisis at 30, 40 50. I want them. Knowing all doors are open and I know how to go through any of them. That makes sense for me. Yeah, 100% man. Have an options being adaptable. Being flexible and this is self-awareness.
I feel like so many kids lack self-awareness because they don't have a reason to think for themselves more often than not and that's been a big frustration. So but for people like listen to this that are looking at options, I mean, just just think of me selfishly here like when I when my kid gets the time where I'm having to think of options from like an educational path, like what did those options
consists of? I mean when I was going through school like homeschooling was like this weird thing that all the weirdos did, That didn't know how to communicate and be social at all. But I feel like I've, you know, do a little deeper into that and that's not so much the case
these days. And I think I'm more receptive to there being other options out there than the traditional, you know, private school public school because I just with nutrition, I've seen like my eyes have been opened to how the system of a patrician teaches you to do is a flawed system.
I've seen it in so many other things like you, like you mentioned with conventional, you know, Healthcare big Pharma like These things that are, you know, quote-unquote Zwolle the, the technological advancements that we've made. As we've progressed, may not be so much of an advancement when you actually strip the layers back and look behind the curtain. So when it comes to education, what are some viable options? You've got public school, you got private school, you get home school.
You got what? Yeah, that's a really good answer. A very good analogy looking at the health aspect of it too and I want to touch on something else. You said in terms of home school, when we talk about that because homeschool is a Phenom. It's actually never been a A better option, but that simply is just getting back to the way we always were right. People go. Well, you know, you go outside of conventional schooling and you're going to some sort of
alternative. Conventional schooling is only been around 120, some odd years. That's the experiment and it's an experiment that has failed and is not working prior to that Robert Sykes grows up and he lives on, you know, maybe he lives on a farm and he's got to take on The Daily responsibilities and chores. He is being schooled by Mom and his dad, maybe he's got brothers and sisters.
Maybe he gets to communicate with other kids in the neighborhood, but maybe he doesn't and he's being educated by Mom and Dad. And then he starts taking on an apprenticeship role at an early stage. Maybe dad's a welder. And so he's gonna go to work and he's going to learn to weld and he's going to learn to weld like that. And then he's gonna take over that business and become a welder. Because he went through that apprenticeship process and he's
a freaking Ninja at welding. That's the way things always worked forever and then we did this experiment. Of conventional schooling. So you're right man, when you and I grew up as homeschooling was, that's where the weirdos were. Yeah, dude, if you think about it, though. At it. Yeah, your public school. Did you have weird kids there? Oh, yeah, of course you do it kids. I was probably one of the wait a second. So then I guess it's not conventional schooling that
makes people not weird. Hey, guess what if your parents are weird? You might be weird my turn. I work right. And then there's everybody's definition of weird. So the whole home school and versus conventional school, that's not determining personalities and personality traits and communication ability. Not as much as people think. That it is, right. The parents play more of a role in that the culture of the community, all that stuff plays
just as much of a role. So so it's never been a better time to home-school. So you're right. You got your public schools. You got your private schools. You've got your, you know, your homeschooling sort of sort of families and even within that you've got groups of homeschoolers that are organizing and coming together in like coops. You've got, you know, the quote unquote, which I'm not a huge fan of the term, but it describes Certain subset of schools.
Kind of the micro school's, right, which is a you know, essentially usually kind of like a private school or somewhat of a co-op. But you've got a very consistent, you know, hundred to two hundred students that are coming together and and doing things from an educational standpoint. That look a little different than your traditional schools, which is those are the types of schools that that I built out here. And so you've got a million ways to play the game and the beauty
is All of them can work out. Well, all of them can not work out again, starts with the parents at home that plays so much more of a role than people want to admit. That it does. If you've got good parents at home. Then there's the kids are going to have a strong chance no matter where they go. So then the then the question is, how do you make it the most ideal situation. And and I really think, you know, understanding how to play the game from this micro School
standpoint. School standpoint, it really opens up the most doors. So that's what I would recommend, but a million different options, million different ways to skin the cat and not supposed education to. By the way, you do not have to go to college to get a good job. And in fact, there's a million ways to do it that I actually highly recommend because you come out debt-free and have more options. Yeah. Okay. I want to I want to dive into a
lot of these areas here. So before before schooling like a traditional or formal or just any type of organized schooling takes Place and there in that, you know, 125 years old impressionable stage. What would you say is the priority? Like what what can parents do to kind of hedge? The beds breaks like the chips in there and there's favor. So to speak.
Great question man, first of all, talk to him, like adults, the the beta then, and I had people don't understand how important that is, but just from a communicative standpoint talk to them, talk to them often and talk to them, like, adults. We have never once done the googoo gaga, baby talk. Oh, you want to Do you want a spoon Iwakuni? Like that's just garbage, dude, like don't don't dumb down your language for your kids, because they will, they will take on
your. I always tell parents kids will do what you do before they do what you say. So, have the communication with them and talk to them early and often. And actually, before that, you make sure you're leading your life. By example. Because, again, they do what you do before they do it, you say, so you make sure you're a person of Integrity, a person of character, a Has their own Journey. Who's got a growth mindset?
You exemplify that you have good communication with them, early and often and you have that communication about everything. If you're struggling on something and your business, have the conversation with her three-year-old and four-year-old. Do they know what you're saying? No, they don't grasp all of it. They grasp more than you think, but they don't grasp all that. Who cares? You're setting up those patterns of, we talk about everything.
We talk about important things. We talked about the good, the bad, the challenges have Those Communications. And then after that man, it's really just exposure and play and I know that sounds oversimplified, but it is simple exposure to anything. If you guys get a chance to travel great travel, if the exposure, just means they're going to work with you and watch them what you do all day, and they're just hanging around and they're hanging around other
people. Great expose them to it, expose them to more people, older people, younger people kids their age and then let them have free play. Free play is massively huge. If they can get involved in something where they're just around other kids, and the parents are out there to make sure nobody kills themselves, but aren't directing traffic. Say no, that have a playdate.
It's got to look just like this, you have to do this, you know, give them a little bit of leeway and play as much as possible kind like when you and I grew up and we were allowed to just go outside and go play. That's massively important in those first. Five years for them to start to take calculated risks and start to figure out a little bit of the pecking order and how do I So I build Bridges, make relationships and mend, you know, arguments like that's
massively important. You do those few things. And those early years. You've set a solid solid foundation. I feel pretty good about crystalline eyes ability to do that course, I'm probably totally naive because I haven't had the kids yet, but I feel like by us being our own bosses kind of setting on schedule. We're going to be able to pour into our kid the way we want to and expose them the way we want to plus another big added benefit is my phone. They're about to retire and they
bought a sailboat. They're going to sail around the world and we're going to meet them at various ports all over the world. And we'll bring our kid just expose them to different cultures different foods. Different different environments. I think that's going to be super super valuable. So cool man. Super valuable. Yeah. That's a huge that is a huge benefit man. And really especially again for those first five years and you're setting that Foundation.
They're just learning. They're learning at that point. What does life and what does life look like what things are possible, you know as talking my buddy. Uriah. If you're familiar Thrive, Faber mixed martial arts fighter and you know, he's a man that I got friends that have private jets because they have all this money and they're going to go invest in real estate and they have the ability to just go. Hey man. I need to go check out this piece of real estate over here.
We're going to jump on a jet. So it's just a normal. I want my daughter to see that, that is something that is absolutely possible. If you're willing to work for it that that can be just normal if you're willing to work for it. And so you're exposing. To what normal quote-unquote normal looks like. For those first five years, right? Then it's after that. As they start to get a little more of an understanding of the world where you start to go, cool man.
All of this is possible. Hey, by the way, all of this is only possible through solid character and hard work and so they start to get that a little more at that age. And then you start making sure that any freedoms. They want are tied to a little bit of responsibility and you start letting them shoulders much responsibilities they can. And by the way, they'll Ask for it at that age. They'll desire. It. They will crave it. They want to help. They want to take on responsibility.
They want to grow. And again part of the reason I don't like conventional school because it kills that desire a little bit. But you know, that's when you start putting on those, those responsibilities thereto, man, and you know you my daughter, my oldest daughter, just turned 11. Anybody that knows her will tell you that's a she's an 11 year old. Adult. I know 11 and 12 year old adults. I know, 40 year old children. Want them to be young adults and that's not, that's not a hindrance.
Them, doesn't mean they do. I want them to be a kid, they'll still be kids. But I promise you get them shouldering that responsibility early. And often you'll have the most centered well-rounded young people that are super ridiculously happy and purpose-driven. I promise it. Yeah, I believe it man. I feel like You know, I've seen like I've become a lot more observant of parenting Styles now that I'm trying to think about how I'm going to parent.
Yes, and I feel like I've got, you know, some big shoes to fill with my folks for sure. I mean they were, they did a great job but I see like parents who like you said they talk to their kids like adults and their the kids ability to just synthesize information and respond in an intelligent fashion and just hold themselves. Higher is so so apparently I've got like when I was a kid, I would literally not even so much play with that.
A little kids. I would literally sit at the big kid table with all the adults and just listen to conversation. Even if I didn't know, what half the hell is shit. They were saying, you know, I just liked learning and I feel like you know, when you when you do that and as long as you're you do, so in a way that, you know, his respectful likes, adults are willing to pour into you much more as a kid. And if you can want, I don't know who I heard this from it.
If you can raise your kids in a way that makes other adults like Spending time with them, you're doing your kids, a huge service. Correct? You cannot let them know.
I think Jordan Pederson talks about that quite a bit and it's you know, that is one of those goals in those first five years to is you make sure that other people are fine spending time around your kids and it never because it just gives them more opportunities later to have people around them and more networking and more doors open, right? If they are a jerk of a human, nobody's going to be around them and that reputation does follow, you can work your way out of it,
but it's a hard. Harder deal to do its spot on
man. So we, you know, and I'd never we still will get everyone's well, if we go to a nice, you know, a nice restaurant, whatever, and people see us walk in. And I've got, you know, 11 year old and almost nine year old the five-year-old little boy, people, you can see sometimes when we walk in and we go to sit down at table, like, people got this guy's got, you know, they've got kids or whatever and it never, ever, ever, ever fails, by the end of it. They leave and people come by
our table and they go. Oh my gosh, your kids are amazing. And I'm like, you know what, because we have taught them to be just good humans. They're not named understand if you go into a restaurant people there and enjoy and they're just they're just not those Rowdy crazy whatever because they're too confident for that to be honest. Yeah, they're Centered for that. They have too much maturity because they also have responsibility. Right?
And so and we saw it in Mexico to went down to Mexico a couple months ago with bade Roos. Kuleana, Ryan, Mickler and John Lovell, warrior pose society and Stephen Mansfield and Jack Donovan in Tanner Guzzi, and we had this kind of men's event down there and we sat at the table and just kind of got after some stuff and some some mission-driven things that we
want to do for our businesses. But we also all brought our kids and we'd all go, we get to work during the day and then for a week, you know, we'd go out to dinner every night at the at the place that we stayed and and different restaurant every night and we'd all sit down at one table us and our wives, and our kids would go sit at another table and same People are going. Oh my gosh. Now you have a now you have a table of 20 kids from 5 years old to 11 or 12.
And people are like, oh great until the end because you had a bunch of people who are raising their kids, the right way. All of those kids are walking up to each other, shaking hands. Nice to meet you. Good to meet you as well. They're shaking hands with the other adults. Good to meet you. Good to meet you as well. The waiter comes by all of them. Five years old up to 12 are all ordering their own food. They're saying, yes, ma'am. No ma'am. Thank you.
Thank you for bringing the food. Right? It's just and people go. What what what the, what is going on? You would think that, we, you know, you are continuously introducing them to Jesus and you're like, nah, man, it's just, young kids are capable of this. You just got to set that expectation. Totally, man. Totally agree. When people hear this, or when they, when they see, you know, kids that are really well, behaved. They see kids that are not just
acting crazy. A lot of times people automatically go to it, being some type of disciplinary action. So when it comes to discipline, especially at such a young age, what What kind of stains you take on that, like it? Like, how do you set the stage for proper discipline? So as to it, they get the message they comprehend, what's trying to be taught, but it's done in a very healthy way. Yeah, that's a really good question, man. People ask me all the time.
What do you, how do you discipline your kids when they, when they meet them? And what I always say is, I don't discipline my children. I teach them to be disciplined individuals and and that's a different thing. Right? So the biggest key is is consistency. It's the biggest key to anything. You know, that. All right. Working out, you got to be consistent. You're going to stay in ketosis, and you're going to, you're going to its consistency.
You're going to get your going to do your prep for a show. And you've got, you know, 12 week, 16 weeks for prep. It's consistency. It's not easy what you're doing, but it's simple because you're doing those little things every day. And at the end of the 16 weeks now, you've got a result. Now, you're freaking shredded stand-in there on stage, right? Parenting is the same thing. How consistent can you be modeling the behavior that you
want them to have? If I don't want my kids losing their shit and screaming all the time. Maybe I shouldn't scream all the time. Maybe I should be calm. Cool, and collected at home. Maybe I should talk to their mom like an adult. She talks to me and even when we disagree, we do, so in a civil Manner and let them see that to and keep it very civil. Maybe we talk consistently about Out the values that we have as a
family and who we are. Maybe when we see something, or someone, or some story, or some movie or read a book, that goes with those values, we over and above, go look, that's worth talking about, that's the beauty of doing what we're doing. This is why, this is how you're going to, you know, this is why you're going to be healthy. This is why you're going to have opportunities because you're doing this. And when they they follow suit and they opened the door for
somebody, we lose them. Yes, man. That's it. We lose them, are mine. Right at an early age, consistently so that they are trained to go. Okay. That's what, that's what good things look like. Equally when we see something that's wrong, you know, we'll touch on it and just we don't panic about it. We lose our shit about it, which calm? And that's a bad decision. Here's why that's a bad decision. Right? You do those things day in day out, exemplifying those
behaviors. They follow suit 90% of the time. They truly, truly do. It's not hard if you're consistent and then. They start to get to that 56 years old and they start to see they can, they can think a little bit more abstract. One of the things we've done is we've put a contract in our house and we put its rules. We call is the Bode robe, family Rules, right? We got 11 rules.
We've got them written and framed in our house and we talked about those as a unit and they're simply a core set of values that we all are saying, we're going to adhere to these 11 rules. What that means is I have Tangible. Go back to my nine-year-old starts, you know, having an issue around some whatever I can go back to this tangible contractor. We have and go. Look, you know, rule number one, right here, says to, to be a copycat, you're struggling on.
This copycat means you're, you know, you need to copy the patterns of success. So somebody that you're struggling with this. Somebody else has done it. Well, what did they do? How do you figure that out? How are you going to look to them, to learn your answers of how I'm going to figure this out? Right, we have those those rules that we go back to the key is they can hold Mom and Dad accountable that as well. Write that if I come home. And I'm complaining about some
at work. My five-year-old can go. Dad rule. Number six is no complaining. Fix it. How are you going to fix your problem? And I need to go. Yep. You're right man. Thank you for calling me, out on that. Let's walk through how I'm going to fix this problem. Right? It's all of it's those little things consistently and it makes things super my kids at this point. Dude are so easy. I like it, man. Can you rattle off as 11 rules?
So easy? I should have a memorize, but I do have it right here on my, on my phone and I will bring them up right now. So rule number one, is to be honest and start with yourself on that. So that's, that's where it goes back to that self-awareness. Right? And that's really what we talked about. So, it's be honest from a very, like, we just don't lie. We don't lie to our kids and that, that pisses people off sometimes because they're, like,
what about Santa Claus? You know, that's just a cute little right now. We don't even do that, man. I just, I don't lie to They know everything I say to them as honest and that sets the stage for them, always being honest with me as well. But I want them to be honest themselves. Be a copycat copying those, those patterns of behavior, be an emotional ninja, that goes into, kind of a stoicism sort of thing. We talk a lot about our feelings and our feelings are a good
thing. We're supposed to have feelings. We're supposed to have emotions, but we're also supposed to learn how to use those to our advantage. We get to control those. And what those mean we get to decipher those, we don't Get controlled by them. So, being an emotional ninja, be the hardest worker in the room, be the nicest person in the room.
No complaining. Fix it think, because most people won't, and we talked a lot about the fact that most people will almost always react emotionally versus logically and how important it is to try to be able to take a look at something as objectively as possible, especially when it's you involved in it. And you would tend to want to be emotional how, you know, can you learn how to step back discipline equals freedom? Memento Mori, you are always
personally responsible. Everything is your your fault. It's your job to fix it. It's your responsibility to make sure. Something's right. And the last one is doing the right thing is always the right thing. I love it, man. Like, I hear those and those are, like, those are the same words that I say to myself, on a regular basis. I mean, I've always said, you know, it's always your fault for the, for good, or for men. It's always your fault like the
world owes you nothing. And that to me is just so much more. Erring than to think that I'm expecting something from someone else and that to me is debilitating. But if I know that it's always in my court and whether right or wrong, it's my fault that to me is just liberating. That's exactly it. Not so people get, that's what people misunderstand. It partially is be. It's not a, it's, a whole chicken versus egg sort of deal. I work harder than almost
everybody. I know, and I work harder to to make other people's lives better. More than anybody I know. And it's that hard work and my responsibilities around. That, that gives me a purpose that also. Oh, by the way, I'm actually happier than almost everybody. I know. And it's not because I'm seeking happiness, is because I'm seeking responsibility. It's because I'm seeking to help
other people. It's taking that responsibility on first that, then you get, you know, that happiness out of and kids. It's the same, their kids are people, and it's the same thing for them. And your Spot on me. And the all the good news. We know if we taught, you know, and you and I have a bunch of mutual friends too. And of course, Danny comes to mind is one of our, you know, Mutual buddies. And he's a hard-working dude who pours into other people.
Him are both and but oh, by the way, that's why they're happy. Yeah, 100% man, when it comes to, this is a man. I'm a Segway a little bit on you here when it comes to technology and introducing that into your Laughing, what do you stand on that? Because I've gone back and forth. I don't want to you know, be so stone age that I don't introduce technology to the point where they're left with a disadvantage because that's where just everything is going with the same time.
I don't want them to be living in this freaking metaverse prematurely and not able to, you know, understand what it's like to look. Somebody in the eye, shake their hand and pick up on social cues and facial stuff. You know, that's a big one, man and good for you guys for even thinking about it. And I don't ever pretend like I've got You know, all the answers. I just speak out of the patterns of the hundreds, or let me know, thousands of young people that I've gotten to work with.
So I always just speak from that perspective. And of course, what we've done with our own kids, our kids never even saw a screen for the first couple years of their life. And I mean, phone screen, I mean, iPad, I mean television, they never saw one period and the story, they had tangible things to play with. We had conversations. I don't think it's accidental. All three of my kids were speaking in full sentences at 9
and 10 months. It's and I mean, full-on conversations by the time they were a year. They were as articulate as most five-year-olds. Yeah, and I don't think that's accidental. They literally, did not see a screen for two years. Again, not saying that's the way to go. But and then even at that point, it was very very limited to maybe a little bit of a, you know, quasi educational.
Coming here and there for 20-30 minutes, but they weren't playing on anything where they were really scrolling through anything. We haven't introduced that to our kids, until right about 5. And when they do that, it is, if you're going to search up something on YouTube that you want to learn. Okay, we'll teach you how to do. That's fine. If you want to do an education, like an eye Excel, or a dream box or Lexia.
That's that's about, you know, learning numbers and math, 15, 20 minutes here and there at five years. Old. And that's about it. I don't go much more than that, until really when they're about 910 and then, you know, maybe an hour or two a day, but what that hour or two is for my kids, is exactly what I'm talking. It's either research for work that they're doing something they want to learn or it is some sort of educational sort of
deal. We just don't do a whole lot of TV, they might watch a movie, you know, maybe one movie on the weekend, kind of deal. We just we don't we stay away from Screams a ton just because it's not. We want them to understand how to use it as the tool but understand that it is a tool and it is nothing more than that. And any good tool can be used for good or bad. And so that's really that's really it for us.
Oh my girls, you know, they'll get a couple hours a day at this point, but it's all school-related or maybe, you know, 30 minutes of a TV show before they go to bed. But that's it. Yeah, I think that's good, man. I mean, I grew up without a TV. I've still don't have a TV. I've never had a TV. Her life, it's awesome.
Awesome. Yeah, and I don't feel like that's been a bad thing for me, and I feel like that's probably what I'm gonna continue to do. I want to teach them, how to research, how to look things up, how to use their brain obviously, but but I think, you know, getting kids sucked into like social media. For instance, way too young before, like, for me, social media is a tool for networking
for building a business. Growing the brand, but so many people use social media as their social status symbol. And that to me, I don't Think is healthy at any age. Is their social status symbol, but it is also their past time. It is also their relationships. It is also their right. And that's adults, never mind giving it to kids. Is they're still developing. And the, you know, we did this kind of long to with a research firm.
I work with it kind of this long tail study, and you got gen Z right now, who it was somewhere around 70% of them, start to have physiological. Responses, like, you would see from somebody who has a drug addiction and they've been x amount of time without that drug. And you start to actually see a physiological reductions of mental and physiological response. They start to do that within three hours of not having their phone on them. That's just raw sane man.
It's insane. That's a problem. Right? So, I am 100% with you. I think adults need to learn better. How to do. You know, again, I'm saying, was you man all use social for a tool. It's great. Business is great for connecting with you humans, but I'm not going to sit and scroll and take I just I don't I don't do it and I'm not going to do it for kids. They don't need it. It's not a tool for them. It's more of a fun thing for the side.
There's no there's no real giant upside for them on social video games is another one that a lot of people get mad at me about I am not a huge fan of video games and people say well allows them to be social it allows. You know, there's possible job opportunities there. I hate him, i-i'm on your camp with that. I don't you don't 90% of these youngsters, especially these young men. You're going to start getting these.
It starters tricking you. You get the same dopamine release its Arts. Tricking you into believing that you've actually accomplished something young men especially want to grow up and they want to, they want to accomplish something. They want to build something. They want to create something. They When it has an enemy to
battle. When I say enemy, I mean, maybe it's the other guy that I'm wrestling against my wrestling match, or maybe it's my team, Banning together in a basketball game, or maybe it's, but we have this inherent, you know, built-in DNA, Desire video games tricks, young people into thinking, they are accomplishing those things. It checks off those boxes and it doesn't actually do anything in
the real world. And I think it is one of the sneakiest, most detrimental things we've done in this country is allow our kids to have this game. Aiming culture, when they're doing multiple hours a day of this. I don't see long-term benefits of that for 99.9% of the population. Yeah, totally great, man. And I think, you know, there's
certain. I don't really know anything about gaming, but there there are people that have found a way to monetize it and they apparently do quite well with it. But I've seen so many people, many they put all their their significance in the their status in this game at the detriment of their status in real life and Like when it comes to that point you are just totally upside down
and backwards. So I mean, I think the net effect is definitely in that - for the vast vast majority of people and I just don't think it's healthy. I mean like I don't want to look at a screen for that long. I don't want to be so consumed by it that it distracts from my life and every aspect in my life. It's real. So yeah, I don't think I'll be a big advocate for games. Yeah, for sure, man. We just there haven't seen a long-term.
Yes. There's some people that have monetized stuff and that's and that's Great. I don't know enough about them to know. How does the rest of everything. Look, what is your relationship look like? What is your self confidence self awareness? You know, what is your happiness actually look like other than just a monetary value that you've been able to derive from that. And again, somebody's able to do that and do it and maintain all those other things more power to him, man.
I just know human behavior. The vast majority. That is not going to be such an ultra positive outcome and it's going to be far more net negative than anything else. I think that's I think that's Provable at this point from, for the vast majority. Yeah, totally agree. I'd love to can switch directions again and have you really kind of flesh out the, the model of your education program in school? Like how does that look like if we were just taking my kid as a? Hypothetical example, for
instance? How would that Evolution through your school program? Look. Yeah, really? Good question, man, and I gotta, you know, this is I Shameless self promo, but the, I have another Ted Talk that I just That just got released like a week ago and it kind of talks about the structure of our. So, if anybody's ever interested in it, you know, just Google my name and tedx, and not the one from five or six years ago with no beard. But the one from from this year
we'll meet again. I would recommend it and beard man that beard. Stop nudies. Yeah. Thank you, sir. Thank you. I don't know whether it is or not, but it is with us. So but it kind of lays out the structure. So, the first thing I usually tell people To really kind of set.
The stage for is in, this isn't cliche our ideal day on this campus or any of the campuses that I have or any of the campuses in the network is that the adults don't show up and the kids don't notice and nothing matters. Nothing changes that go for it and crush the day like a Fortune 500 company, whether the adults who they're not and people hear that and they go, what are you talking about? But that's how I set the stage because we're much more of a
personal development center. And work space for young people than we are a traditional school. Again. Remember the difference in education and schooling. So from a developmental standpoint, you know, our youngest Heroes, they come in at 56. We're focusing on those things that we talked about earlier, 56 years, they need play. So, they're, they're playing a bunch. They've also got the ability to start working on academics, but they're working on academics in ways that we're giving them
choices, but good choices. Because people learn to make choices by people, learn things by doing those things, right? So you learn choices by making choices. So we got five and six-year-olds. We're going to have kind of a Montessori type of approach where you've got the choice to take on all these quote-unquote jobs. Some of those are academic jobs. Some of those are actual jobs in the studio of, you know, cleaning up or starting the day, you know, starting the days hand
morning, handshake kind of deal. Which by the way, every Studio does that they stand up, look each other in the eye and they Shake. Hands, and they say, good morning. That's 5 years old updating. So they'll go through the day, you know, very play bass, but they're taking on responsibilities. They've got jobs on campus and they've also got a contract that they've signed on kind of a code of conduct.
I like the 11 rules, right? They put together their rules for behavior and their Rules of Engagement. Are we going to engage with each other? So that when somebody breaks those rules, they've got a tangible conversation, they can have even at five and six years old where they can say. Hey, Robert. You know? Right now I'm trying to do this. You came over, you're distracting me. Rule number three says, we will not distract other heroes in the
workspace. So I'm going to ask you to please stop by. They can start to have these adult level civil conversations at that age. So very play-based up through that, but they're going to be working with a lot of the older Heroes on campus as well. We're going to come in and do some direct instruction for them as they get older, the contracts in each Studio remain there. So they have those tangible conversations. But they start taking on more and more responsibilities.
They start learning to set their own academic goals. So if you and I are both the same age where roughly working on some similar math stuff, your goals may be to do, you know, a certain amount of math and a traditional kind of math. Course, you know that you're doing through Khan Academy or dream box or don't like that, and maybe you've got some older Heroes that are coming in and helping you with some tutoring and direct instruction. Maybe I go a I don't really love
doing it that way. But I like these individual projects that teach me how to run a p&l or a mock business, and I'm learning math that way. Both of those are fine. I'm learning to set my goals. You're learning to set your goals. And then we've got systems in place to help keep each other accountable. So they'll do that all the way up through elementary and
middle. They'll knock out all of the Academia. You would normally knockout and in K through 12 environment, but they'll do it in a very short amount of time. Each day focusing on academics the Majority of the day is focused on collaborative projects. So we're exposing them to Big Ideas, big projects, giving them an outcome to try to tackle in six weeks. You got to Elementary studio right now is creating an escape room that they're going to run
all the parents through will. Do, you know, electricity Quest where you've got to go build a city out of, you know, some of it hammer and nails, some of it 3D print, some of it, you know, build out of clay and cardboard. And then you got to run electricity to the whole thing. And we're going to bring 300 people and from the community, and we're going to try to flip the switch and see, does it all run and does it all light up. They'll take on these big projects every five or six
weeks. They'll spend the majority of the day on that, and then they've got responsibilities on campus. So, again, the older you are the more responsibility. So whether that's cleaning whether that's working on our social media for the school, whether that's teaching younger Heroes, whether that's older Heroes, bringing in younger out, and doing a Woodshop course, and they're teaching the younger ones. How to make a bird house. They're Can a mask
responsibility. And they also will take on apprenticeships and internships in fields that they are interested in working. Oh, and by the way, all five years old, all five year olds through 18, either start a business every year or they take their business into perpetuity. So we've got people making real money, nice. And this is all physical locations, only, California, right? All physical.
So we are Global at this point. My mind that I own personally are, are here in Northern California, but You've got people that I partner with and that we partner with that are all over the world, man that are launched in these. So and there's some pretty big entrepreneurs, that you would know who are who are looking at jumping into the game and launching these as well. So it's pretty excited.
And it's all following this, this specific type of curriculum, may be a bad word for but approach that is very standard as like this based off of the age group and kind of what their expertise are. Whether expertise isn't building out and giving them all these experiences and having them all take on these entrepreneurial Ventures and apprenticeships and internships and yep, all of that and we all band together as a network to help each other get better too.
So we're all, you know, I talked to owners from all over the world all day every day. Just helping each other get better at what we're doing and ultimately provide more opportunities for these young kids. And what is the name of this again? Like if somebody wants to dive super deep into this, where do they go? If they're excited about it, man? It's the actin Academy. X OE, CT 0, n Academy people go. Was that a franchise School, dude? It's not a franchise.
It's much more like CrossFit, where you've got an agreed upon set of principles and ideals and values and systems, but you got sovereignty as an owner to bring this to your community and do whatever makes sense for your community. But you also have the network of where you can continuously touch base with people and get better and compete with each other and you know, build community. So act in the academies and And actin is named after Lord. Acton, who is most famous for
saying, power corrupts. Absolute power tends to corrupt. Absolutely. If you've heard that saying, and that's where the name comes from because we we disseminate power down to even the earliest Heroes Heroes, they get to make decisions that actually impact how the campus runs like that. The students are called Heroes and non-student. That's pretty cool. Yes, sir, as well as we go back to Joseph, Campbell's work, right?
The hero's journey and we believe in In the journey for each one of them and and that whole trajectory and and the value that they bring. So again, you know, five year olds seven-year-olds, 12 year, olds 18 year olds. They're all making decisions that impact not only their lives, but the lives of other heroes are working with and the impact our community, in general, they get to shift rules if they can, you know, band together and figure out a more efficient way to do something and go.
Look, this is where we need to go, they get to make those changes. And that's, that's a powerful thing. And how long is this? This core principle acting academy been in In effect. Yeah, we've got. So our first location. 14 years, maybe the MBA program actually came first and then the first K through 12. So we've got, we've had had some of these for about 14 years. We got a few hundred of us.
Now. We're just starting to kind of go. Okay, we're going to let people kind of peek behind the curtain because it's not Theory anymore at this point. Like we we see the outcomes. Nice. So you've had seven people that have since graduated. So there's bacon gone out into the real world and they're seeing success as well. Ridiculous. Yeah. It's the some of the stories we could share and not even the
ones that have graduated. It. And then when you have, when you got high schoolers making 40 50, 60 Grand a year, when you've got, you know, when I tell you, I got a little ranch here in California and I got horses on that ranch. And oh, by the way, my horses are there? Because my daughter's bought them with the businesses. They run, that starts opening people's eyes a little bit. That's awesome. I've got one more question for you. Yes, sir. When it comes to your journey as
a parent. What's a what's a very vivid memory. That's that. You just totally I failed like when you did something incorrectly with your kids and then recognized it, and then course-correct and like, what did that look like? Why did you make that decision? And how'd you fix it? That's a really good question, man. So there's there's too many Tintin to name mall. And there's going to be. I think every parent goes back
and goes man. I wish I could change this but some of the most Vivid memories for me come from, you know, for unfortunately. My first child got to be the Our mental child and it's it always has to do with me, losing my cool. Right? Like that's always what it boiled down to you because I wasn't setting the example of who I want to be as a good man in general and definitely who I want to be as a dad and who I, you know, how I want them to tackle.
Those problems. One of those rules is to be an emotional ninja, right? So as you say that, I go back to, you know, my my oldest and she's probably to the we're in the mall and she was, we didn't know she was struggling. Going on some she was tired, but she was struggling on some things health-wise early. We got those fish. She's the healthiest thing going now, so that's all good. But she was struggling on some things and was making her tired
and cranky. She was always a great kid, but she was crying and losing her stuff in the mall. And I just got pissed. And I just started yelling in the mall. And I remember, ripping her out of the, just aggressively like a ripping her out of her stroller and just stomping away and just making a fool of myself, but I go back to, you know, a Things like that ever beat my kids. I never did like a little things like that and go, dang.
I wish I could take that back because I was setting a chump of an example. And whether she remembers that or not, you know, in her psyche is something that she can actively. Remember. I don't know. But she was too, but it played a role in her self development. And I wish I could take those things back where I just lost my cool and made. Them think they were doing something outside, the realm of normal human experience. You know, I would take all those things back, man. So keep it cool.
Yeah. Nah, that makes sense, man. I'll definitely try and keep it cool. I love what you doing, brother. I think what you're doing is
incredibly admirable. I feel like you're a mover and Shaker by every sense of the word and like it's just exciting for me to see people that are doing things outside of the conventional methods, whether it be nutrition, whether it be parenting, whether it be whatever, because it Makes you realize kind of like you were talking about earlier about just going travel and seeing different things getting outside
your bubble. Like you can do that same thing, you know, behind a freaking Zoom meeting talking to people that are doing things that are doing things outside of the conventional path. It just opens your eyes to all the opportunities out there and like you said, there's more than one way to skin a cat man. So as I go down this parenting Journey, I've got no doubt. They'll probably have to put you on speed, dial on and asking more questions for sure,
anytime, man. Like I said, I'm so, I'm so pumped because you do have Have that mindset. I know you and your lady doing so you'll be open to to thinking you know, and changing your mind when better evidence, you know, presents itself and all those things that are so important on just human growth in general and you guys are lead by example in that way to man. So I'm excited for you and anything I can ever do to help man, and anybody else listen,
and I'm glad to do so man. So I appreciate you. Yeah, for sure, man. Just one more time. Where do people go to find you and anything you're working on. I appreciate a man active on IG at Matt beaudreau. If you want to see more about the school's, its And Academy the podcast which by the way, we had a handsome man, you know a while back named Robert Sykes on. There is the essential 11 and highly recommend checking that
out. And then our mentorship program that I do Tim. Kennedy is a pudgy strong.com. So any and all awesome. And I'll be sure to link out to all those and keep doing what you doing man. I appreciate you. Appreciate your message and you're fighting the good fight for sure. Appreciations mind man. Thank you, sir. Take care of him.