Edwin Arroyave, Why We Need Problems

There's an underlying burn that ignites your why and purpose , that causes you to be disciplined on the days that you don't want to do it and especially after you win . Today we have a story of an ultimate winner who has made the choice to rise up consistently in his life through adversity .

It's somebody I feel blessed to now call a dear friend , a partner of mine and Irwin McManus's mastermind , and I just want to paint a little story Before I welcome Edwin Arroyo a to the burn .

So I had the opportunity to get an invitation to speak for our mutual friend Ed Mylet , to honor him when his book , the power of one more , broke all kinds of sales records and became like the best book in the world when it was released , and so Ed invited me out to speak , along with some other friends of ours , and I take the stage To be at that event .

But before I take the stage , I walked into the room that day , and Sitting over on the right was Edwin . Now , edwin and I had connected on social media before . I'd heard great things , people it's oh , you guys would really get along .

And there was this one seat open next to Edwin and without even thinking about it , I go right for that seat and I go and I sit down and little did I know Edwin and I would have this Unbelievable bond in extra .

I would almost call it like an extreme bond , as if we were meant to have known each other and been friends For years , and I know many of you have had this . It's the relationship where you meet somebody and you just far advance , well past the amount of time in which you'd actually known each other . And , edwin , your friendship is a special one for me .

It's a hard thing that you're in California . I'm gonna say lose my man . I love to get more time with Edwin . I just want to pick his brain . I want to become better . But thank you for being you , thank you for the connection that we have and welcome to the burn my friend .

You've been through adversity , I've been through adversity and I always like to say you know , it's amazing what sometimes you see with these little eyes that you have to fight through , or somebody's little eyes are watching you and when I sat back and I was just blown away by your strength as a young boy , your conviction , what you saw and how you created a

fight in you very early on in life . So I would love for you to start there because it blew me away and I think it'll help people understand the strength that lies inside of you and the burn that you have .

In fact , it was two weeks after coming to the US Literally two weeks after coming to the US our home gets raided by law enforcement . Both my parents went to jail . That day I ended up at a foster home with my older sister and , luckily for us , eight months later , my parents get a credit of our charges . We're thinking this nightmare is over .

However , it was just getting started , because every year after that our home would get raided by law enforcement . And finally , when I was 10 years old , four years later , they finally graved my dad away for a very long time .

When they did that , cops were nice enough to allow me to speak to my dad before they took him away , and he basically just said to me it's none , you need to become the man of the house , and I took those words very seriously because he was my hero .

He still is my hero , and I gave him that promise that I would take care of the Family now that money he left us . We were okay for two years but now I had siblings and we ran out of money later and that's how we ended up moving into a city called Huntingham Park .

At first we found this three bedroom apartment , but then we realized we couldn't afford it . About six months into it we couldn't afford it . So then we had to rent out two of the bedrooms in the three bedroom apartment . It was nice , lived in this bedroom with my mom and it was , you know , didn't have any windows , it was a very dark kind of room .

But the one thing I did have going for me at that point is , even though we didn't have a lot of money , my mom just always showed love to me , you know , gave me a lot of love , always prayed for me . Those prayers gave me so much confidence . I laid wrong in life to just go after things that demanded more than I thought I was worth .

So that was kind of my upbringing . At 15 years old I was looking up to get a job working at a call center , and that's when things started to change for me and so I've heard a term many times in my life .

And when I think about your story starting and I love that you you stop right there at the 15 years old . Tell us what happened after that 15 , because you really did embrace that opportunity to take what your father challenged you with and to really own it , which a lot of people would find weakness .

You know your story is one where somebody could have said , oh , of course , ed , when he turned to drugs he did this , he went off on the on these terrible paths . Yet you really took ownership of that challenge from your dad . Tell us about that call center at 15 . And now , today , as you build into the story , I just want everybody to know .

Skyline , the security company the level of success is probably beyond what you saw way back in the day and it just continues to grow . And then now the solar company being recognized by Inc 5000 as the number 20th ranked company is absolutely incredible . So go from age 15 .

How in the hell do you go from that type of adversity , a first job at 15 , to the success that you have today ?

sure . So at 15 years old , like I said , I was lucky enough working . I was lucky enough to get a job , working at a call center , which was not a very ideal type of job for me because I was very shy and I was very , very timid .

But I quickly got the courage to do this job I did not want to do just in my desperation to want to help my family out . You see , I was tired of seeing my mom not be able to pay for the rent at the end of the month .

I was tired of us not having enough food at the end of the month because we were on food stamps and finally I was just tired of like roaches waking me up in the middle of the night . So the avoidance of pain caused me to take action towards this job . That I didn't really want to do because , again , I was very shy and timid .

But the one thing I did have going for me , ben was man . I was a huge dreamer . I remember at 12 years old my mom would leave me alone because she'd had to go work , so I'd stay at home by myself and I would just stay home , daydreaming all day how one day I was gonna make a hundred grand a year .

So then I just started using common sense at 15 years old and I started focusing on what I could control . At the time I knew that if I wanted to make a hundred grand by the age of 21 , then I had to become somehow .

I had to become the manager at 18 years old it's almost to get me halfway there and I just started focusing on what I could control , which was I could outwork everybody and I could out prepare everybody .

I could prepare like no one else and , sure enough , at 18 years old I was able to become the youngest manager in company history , but not because I was the most talented or the most deserving or I had the most seniority , because there's people that had way more than that than I did .

It was just because the six people in front of me that were way more talented all got fired for and I finally got my shot . And that was a big moment for me because , you know , I think other than hope and faith , the the thing you need is you need to believe in yourself , and that's because you could only receive what your mind can accept .

And at 18 years old I really started to believe in myself because I had accomplished that . So , almost to answer your question in regards to you know , at 15 years old , that I know . You know that now I'd be running , you know , a 200 million dollar a year company . No , I mean , I dreamt it , but I didn't believe it .

But my target was to get to 18 years old and become a manager . And when I did that it unlocked a new level of belief and now I was like wait a minute , maybe I can get to 100 gram by the time I'm 21 years old . And at 21 years old I finally had that opportunity . And the way I got that opportunity been is now .

I had the VP of sales who I'd sort of become his right hand because I started working with him closely . Once I became the manager , he comes into my office . He says Edwin , I'm gonna start this home security company .

He says I can't guarantee you the $70,000 a year that you make here , but if you make this work you could possibly double , triple , quadruple what you make here . And again , you don't have to be that smart to be successful . I'm a prime example of that .

I graduated with a 1.8 GPA , but I did have common sense and I thought to myself good job between them , $250,000 a year because he thinks he can make millions in this industry . That is really untapped .

Second thing I thought was man , if this guy's willing to mentor me how to start a company from the ground up , I'm like this is the mentorship I've been looking for all my life . And then the third thing I thought was man , I have these huge dreams .

You know , I promised my dad , I promised my mom I was gonna buy her house one day when I get the opportunity . And and $70,000 a year gonna make those dreams happen ? And the question I mean the answer was clearly no .

And then I looked at the worst-case scenario because I've always felt to eliminate fear , you just have to look at the worst-case scenario and be okay with the outcome . And I'm scenario which was okay . A 100,000 years still has me living in Southgate , which was a little better area than Huntingham Park . But I was still only a mile away from Watts .

And I thought to myself , if I fail miserably , I end up in Watts in the projects . And I thought to myself , that's not much different than the little apartment I grew up in , but if I make this work I'm gonna make all my dreams happen . So I went ahead and I took the plunge .

The other thing I thought about real quick was is $70,000 a year going to be available again ? And the answer was clearly yes , but the opportunity to make millions and to be mentored by the only Successful guy I knew at the time . So I took the plunge . Everybody thought I was crazy and here we are today .

If you really listen to what Edwin said , dreaming was very important , but he was also coachable . And now I want to set the table for something . I also know about Edwin that I want him to speak to . So many people tell you , man , I'm in great shape .

Yeah , I work out all the time and I like to invite people and there's plenty of people who could kick my button to work out , but I like to invite people . Hey , you know , let's go train in the morning . So Edwin and I , being at Irwin's event , I said , hey , let's , let's train .

I do this kind of crazy workout in the morning and you could tell Edwin was fit , but you never really know like if somebody actually working out or do they just say it . And I learned a lot about Edwin when he came to the hotel to meet me when we did the unrequired workout and many of you have heard me talk about it . It takes about 50 minutes .

It's 10 exercises Planking for longer than anybody in the world wants to plank wall sits , jumping jacks for damn near five minutes straight . That'll make your calves want to fall off . And so I said to Edwin I said , hey , I've actually added .

I said here's this workout that I do , but I've actually added 500 push-ups and I do 500 push-ups every day with this workout . I said but you don't have to do the 500 push-ups . And Edwin goes no , I'm doing the 500 push-ups with you . So he absolutely destroys the regular part of the workout , totally keeps up with the 500 push-ups .

And I said , okay , this is a guy I really can love because he's a guy who backs up what he says with Discipline . And that was like another one of the connections for us .

I'm like this is a disciplined guy like Edwin and I are gonna get along really , really well , because we know that you can't just say you want to do something , you have to have discipline . So you are a dreamer . You also were coachable .

But how important has your discipline been and being an example for your family and your kids with everything that you do on a daily basis .

So just I went , I went off on discipline but yes , no , still one of the hardest workouts , the hardest workout I've ever done . But you know what ? I wasn't gonna let you down . And it goes back to like if you live for yourself , you can settle for less , but if you live , you are .

And I was like if I'm gonna go with one of the best mental Coaches in the world , I'm like I can't , I can't let him down . But yeah , like this is , this is a dream I'm working out with mental toughness .

I think the opposite of discipline is pleasure , and Pleasure is good , but if you sustain pleasure for a long time you're not going to be very happy , whereas discipline if you can sustain discipline for a long time , you'll be very , very happy .

It's just it's hard at first but if you can have that breakthrough , then you're able to sustain discipline again for a long time .

And I try to stay Disciplined in all areas of my life and I've been very cautious about an intentional about my , my faith , my family , my fitness , my finances , and I try to be Great in all of those areas right , and continue to challenge myself in those areas and try to stay disciplined in those areas .

Again , not an easy thing to do , but if you do , I mean I think that's what really takes you to that , to that next level , because you start to prove to your subconscious mind that you can do tough things and that's why I think I love your workout so much is , and I see card things .

I like doing hard Things because it allows me to build the muscles that I need to sustain success for a long time .

Because I believe life and pain are inseparable and the faster you can understand that , the faster that you can sustain successful long time , because life's gonna punch you in the face and when you can embrace I call embracing the suck , embracing hard you start to develop all the things you love to talk about great fortitude , resiliency and when you have those three

things , no one can take them away from you . You can go to any business , anything you do , and you can be great at it because when tough things happen , you can handle them because you're used to going through right . You know often here , when you get the more success you have , easier it gets and it's doesn't work that way . It gets harder .

You just make it look easier because you get better , and the only way that happens is by going through that resistance , standing in the pain .

Most people run away from the pain , so if you run away from the pain You're never gonna build the muscles , but if you sustain and you push forward with that resistance and you develop those muscles and at the same time , you create a story that now has a loyal following , because everyone wants to hear that story of having to overcome some challenges .

So , again , I'm a big fan of discipline and I think that's , that's been one of my , my biggest gifts .

But it's your faith and when I think about our relationship it's definitely an iron sharpens iron . It's like we almost skip these layers of the you know bs that we didn't need to talk about . We kind of went right forward . It was really amazing .

But this iron sharpens iron moment that was really triggered by both of our connection to our faith and I know you just mentioned faith is one of those four areas that you focus on . But how important has your faith been To make it , through what you endured with your family , to still have the relationships that you have with your family ?

How important is your faith been on your journey ?

I believe he doesn't place them there so you can accomplish them . I believe he Places them there to draw you closer to him , as he realizes you can't do it by yourself and it's in those moments that you realize that you need them . And that's why I've always embraced Uncertainty , because it's an uncertainty where I know I'm gonna grow .

It's an uncertainty where the gods always met me . My need for God is heightened and it's what we've always accomplished some great things Together . In fact , I think when you play it safe all the time , you are squeezing God out of the formula .

If you only go where you know and you only do the things that you know You're gonna succeed at , then you're sort of removing God from from the formula . But again it's . It's in those moments of uncertainty where you're like wait a minute .

I know I can't do this by myself , and my story of my life has been that your dreams should be so audacious so that when you accomplish them , people will know that God's hand had a be in it , because there's no way you did that by yourself .

I can tell you , what inspires me today is I want to continue to crush life so people will know , like there's no way that guy with a 1.8 GPA that was so timid at 15 years old that no one would give me a job .

Because during the interviews I start sweating , because I get so nervous that I couldn't complete sentences , and then I get in my head about it I'd get really hot . And then I just start swallowing .

And finally this kid at From my high school that knew the situation that we were in , ben , says to me hey , ed , when I found this job , they'll hire anyone , just show up and they're gonna hire you . So you sure . And I've been flying that like 16 different job interviews .

So I go to this and To an end , two minutes into the interview , the guys handed me over a paper towel and I'm thinking to myself oh crap , he's seeing me sweat . All of a sudden I get even more nervous and next thing , you know , I'm dripping and sweat like I just ran a marathon . I don't get the job . It's life-changing moment for me .

I don't get the job . I'm walking back to my car , I stopped by the restroom , I washed my face and I just start praying to God . I said God , just give me a shot . I promise you I'll work harder than anybody's ever worked and I promise you I'll always praise your name . And , sure enough , as I get out of that restroom there's a gentleman outside .

He says hey , kid , when do you start ? I said I don't start . You guys are completely full , it's like what don't you that ? I just interviewed with a couple . You walks me over to the HR room and he says I need you to get this kid started . I need him to start tomorrow at 3 pm .

That same person is the same person that helps me start the security company six years later . And here we are today and I'm a byproduct of one person seeing me and Haven't faith , you know , haven't hoping me and and my life has changed forever .

And what drives me today now is I Want to give people that same opportunity , where all it takes is one person to change your life .

You know , I think it's a word where a lot of people they've they've lost hope , they've lost belief , they no longer have faith because they don't have the , the hope that they should even be faithful . I mean , it's a word you don't hear as much , but I think your story really gives people hope that I could experience that too .

I mean , there are just so many pieces to your story . We're like that's improbable . That's improbable , just couldn't be , just couldn't be . And I just I love that fight that you have and everything that that makes you who you are . I just I always look forward to opportunities .

I can't wait for the next mastermind , I can't wait for Me to be able to make it out for a Rams game at some point this year one of the biggest Ram fans right here .

So , edwin , I just I can't thank you enough for your friendship , your honesty , your transparency , the impact you've had on my life In a short period of time , in very critical places and pieces of my life . So thank you for the impact you've had on me , and also for for coming on the burn and sharing your burn with us . I appreciate you .

So you know , obviously with success comes a lot of options , right , and you know , for many years I was driven by material stuff which is not a bad thing , right but I used to think that exterior factors like women , exotic cars , big houses , getting invited at the cool parties all the time would bring me happiness .

And just years of up and up and downs what I realized those things never brought me happiness , they brought me pleasure . Now , there's nothing wrong with pleasure , but you just have to keep in mind that pleasure is a sensation . Therefore it's always going to get balanced out by the discomfort and pain that you have to go through .

So one of the biggest things that I've learned is I've grown older is that happiness really comes from the inside out . And you start building that inside out with cultivating gratitude . I mean , gratitude now has been a game changer for me . And then the other part of that living inside out is Learning how to take a negative into a positive .

And if you could do those two things , you're gonna live inside out and you're gonna be happier than most people . For me it's , it's been a game changer . You know , I Went from the material world to the inner world . There wasn't ever gonna be enough money , there wasn't gonna be enough cars of sex is your thing . There's never gonna be enough sex .

But that's the problem with the exterior right versus the inner world . So for me that's that's been a big change in moment for my life .

And then I want you to rewind if you need to and listen to it again . Just thank you for your continued impact . Thank you for coming on the burn . Every single one of our listeners . We appreciate you . Like , subscribe , share it and don't forget .

This is why we come every single week to bring you stories like Edwin's , because it's so powerful when you understand that underlying burn that ignites that , why , in purpose , it causes you to be disciplined on the days you don't want to do it , and especially after you win , and he's winning big and he realizes by working on that inner , the best is yet to

come and it's the same for you .