Unlocking Hope: Overcoming Trauma, Building Brands, and Cultivating Self-Worth with Erik Cabral

Join us on the Beyond Hope Project podcast as we delve into the inspiring journey of Erik Cabral, a leading expert in brand development and entrepreneurship. Erik shares deeply personal experiences, including a profound encounter with self-visualization under hypnosis, where he revisited his childhood self to heal past traumas. He reflects on the impact of childhood bullying, emphasizing its lasting effects on his sense of worthiness and professional life.

Erik also discusses his near-death experience and the unexpected challenges life presents, highlighting the role of hope as a transformative journey. From navigating entrepreneurial challenges to prioritizing personal growth, Erik offers valuable insights into building successful businesses while addressing ongoing struggles with self-worth.

Learn about Erik’s transition from corporate life to entrepreneurship, the importance of daily practices like meditation and exercise, and the significance of surrounding oneself with a supportive team. Erik also emphasizes the importance of vulnerability, transparency, and asking for help in building strong relationships and fostering business growth.

Discover Erik’s vision for the future, fueled by his commitment to self-improvement and helping others through his experiences. Plus, don’t miss his closing remarks as he expresses gratitude for ongoing friendships and offers valuable resources for podcast hosts and guests.

CONNECT WITH ERIK: 
✩ Web: https://www.erikcabral.co
✩ IG: http://www.instagram.com/erikecabral
✩ Meta: https://www.facebook.com/erikecabral
✩ On Air Brands Podcast:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-air-brands-podcast/id1384524515 

CONNECT WITH JASON:

✩ Website - https://www.jasontharp.com
✩ BHP - https://www.beyondhopeproject.com
✩ Beyond Hope Project Podcast - https://www.jasontharp.com/podcast
✩ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wondervillestudios/
✩ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/wondervillestudios
✩ TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@thepowerupproject?_t=8e4jxMT9QFP&_r=1
✩ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/beyondhopeproject

OFFICIAL SHOP & BOOKSTORE:

📚 https://www.jasontharp.com/shop

MEET JASON:

Hi, I’m Jason!
Ever since I was six, I knew I was born to tell stories. As a best-selling author, illustrator, and sought-after speaker, I've turned my personal battles with grade four brain cancer, obesity, and negative self-talk into fuel for transformation. My keynotes don't just talk—they spark potential, ignite creativity, and build resilience. If you're ready for an engaging experience that challenges the status quo and propels your organization to new heights, let's turn your 'impossible today' into 'possible tomorrow' together!

For more information or to partner with me - https://www.jasontharp.com/bookjason

Transcript

but the work that I've done is um some visualization under self hypnosis where

0:05

I actually would visit that version of me as a child and then like kneel down

0:10

bro like literally this was happening wasn't physical but it it felt very real when I

0:16

was in those um in in in in those situations and that work was I I I

0:22

looked at myself and as a as a kid like my oldest you know Veronica he was like her age and I was like it's not your

0:28

fault like it's not your fault right you know all the stuff that's happened to you rocks

0:34

being thrown at you being abused as a child all these things like it's not your fault and I just hugged myself and

0:41

dude I have to tell you that that that was so like that the cathartic and um it just I felt I

0:51

changed after that

0:58

[Music] Eric thank you so much for joining me

1:04

today uh I'm really excited to sit down and talk with you uh you know we've we've known each other for uh prior to

1:09

co when we first met um I was on your podcast um and then disappeared on you

1:16

and then a couple years later we uh reconnected and I was like man craziest thing happened I had a seizure and a

1:22

tumor like a week after we talked and and here we are so we've reconnected

1:28

and uh you know so thanks for thanks for being here with me how how's everything going for

1:33

you great man yeah you're you're one of those unicorns in that and no yeah no

1:38

pun intended um where your story was unique when I met you and then it became

1:44

like you added layers above right where it was like dude I I had near-death

1:50

experience uh you know we've jammed on this we spent a lot of time which I'm blessed to have with you uh that time

1:56

that we had in in real life IRL yes where we talked about a lot of cool stuff and um yeah your your

2:03

Transcendence your your experience uh the value that you add on the conversations um it's just second to

2:10

none bro so I'm I'm I'm blessed to to be in your world man thanks appreciate that man so you know how I want to like jump

2:17

in with a question for you is like so i' like to explain to everybody that comes on here how we Define hope so Define

2:23

hope as a impact point so a place to start and then you're going to go down

2:29

your path and then eventually you're going to fail just like everybody else does and a lot of times most people fall into this I failed and I'm no good but

2:35

instead we also redefine hope as it's also now the part to discover that the path did not it just moved a little and

2:42

it's the Imp it's the journey back there so knowing that kind of the definition of what hope is like if you could go

2:49

back at any point in Eric's life how would you provide yourself with a little bit of Hope what would you say maybe

2:56

give us a little bit of that scenario background behind that sort of thing just love to hear your take on um how

3:02

hope could serve you in a spot where you needed it yeah it's funny two really quick

3:09

stories the first one hopefully less than a 60 seconds uh I wrote in my high school yearbook you know how we're

3:15

supposed to put quotes yeah and I said something like to the effect of you know

3:20

we go through hard times uh whatever whatever I can't remember all the words but at the very end I said um all we

3:26

need is Hope and it's funny because I was 18 at the time and I always reflected on that

3:31

for 10 20 years like how cheesy and what would I mean by hope why didn't I say something else so dumb um but I must

3:39

have said it for a reason this is the first time I'm mentioning that anywhere um I was always embarrassed but now I

3:46

get it maybe I was ahead of myself but um the thing that happened uh was was

3:55

something traumatic at the time but then also um serving me now in terms of oh I'm

4:02

recognizing why I feel a lack of worthiness why do I feel uh it's hard to

4:09

give quotes to clients or people like for my time um it's it's it's that feeling of worthiness and uh only until

4:16

recent work that's been done in a group setting not one-on-one counseling or anything that I recognized through a

4:23

speaker who was who was talking to our group said that um you know being bullied as a child can affect your your

4:30

worthiness and when I was a kid there was one instance when I was at Camp dude this is in yers New York I was probably

4:36

six kids were throwing rocks at me bro like rocks um and I just couldn't as a

4:43

young kid you know those are formative years or you know neurons are firing and connecting at the time and who knows how

4:50

I wired that together um i' I've since thought I healed from it but didn't know it was affecting my life in business who

4:57

knew until I heard the speaker say that I was like who that's one of the many things that probably affect my

5:03

worthiness for sure yeah yeah I think you know it te it seems to be when

5:09

you're a creative person uh worth is seem seems to be the thread that kind of

5:15

goes through all everybody it's like we all go to art school and we all go through it and they're like they don't

5:22

teach you that part like it's like they don't teach you like you said asking for your worth or it's all about like get

5:30

the job or you know whatever and it's not until you get into the work that

5:35

you're like oh [ __ ] I gotta like now ask for and then you're like well wait a

5:41

minute I've you know because most all of us that are creative you know have a bully story or whatever like well now

5:47

wait now I have to speak up for myself like uh you know so um what like what

5:54

was the what was the outcome of that like what did you find was a great solution for you to start pulling after

6:00

you hear the speaker like what was some tools that helped you start to see it in a different light yeah so so full

6:06

transparency this is a recent discovery okay cool I knew that it was an issue um

6:11

it's it's affected my life and my business like I think you have high pulled on these threads when we're

6:16

together um I think it's affected my business like we could be making double triple quadruple what we've been making

6:23

and it's all along dude it's me like I'm the anchor that's not in a good way holding the company back from making

6:28

more money because feel insecure I feel unworthy I feel unloved so you know that's why I actually like you know you

6:35

know so plugging David melzer I know uh we have conversations with uh he's always talking about looking for the

6:41

light and the love and the value and all the things like this is yeah this is work that we need to do as business

6:46

owners because if we don't we could be holding holding ourselves back and not

6:52

even realize it but one of the things that I'm recognizing to this is this is a no one told me to do this I'm just

6:58

instinctively doing this I'm reaching out to the network of people who know me really well and going hey I just

7:03

discovered this and they're all confirming and validating they're like dude yeah you got you are you're such a

7:09

giver you're a terrible receiver yeah and I was like oh man thanks for telling me and I go can you please just tell me

7:16

what's great about me because they're like I wish you can see what I see bro I'm like what do you see right and don't

7:21

just tell me can you leave me a message so I can listen to it when I'm feeling like I'm unworthy they have yet to do it

7:27

but it's really a pep talk from all your your friends your Bros your loved ones like you know you're this you're this you're this I see this I see this I'm

7:34

like man okay good good now I can see from their perspective and hopefully that helps over time yeah yeah it's it's

7:40

it's interesting because I think when you're able to have people that see something that you don't see your first

7:47

inclination is that like well I don't believe it so I need proof right and and

7:53

you're like but the proof is like what I will say from you from just

7:59

some that kind of had dealt with that same sort of [ __ ] is that you you don't need the proof like it's it's it is 100%

8:07

everything that you are denying about yourself is exactly what they see in you

8:14

and I I kind of had a revelation myself to share with you is that what I realized lately was that everything that

8:20

I was doing was I was filling in blanks of things that I felt shortcoming for myself and I was filling with people

8:25

that I felt filled those voids for me and then when I asked for help it was

8:34

like they're feeding back exactly what it was that I was talking to them about it was like oh well you could just do

8:40

see this and you don't see this part of you you don't see that you have a way of like you said at the beginning like you

8:45

have a way of saying stuff that connects and it shows that you've evolved and all

8:50

those things like that and you know I'm just uh you know just as a friend I'm telling you like I I I think that

8:58

everything that you're insecure about is exactly what everybody else is seeing in you and you're protecting it because I I

9:04

would guess that maybe and I would question is there any part of you I guess that is a question is there any part of you that feels that are you

9:10

doing it out of protection because you're afraid that if you see that version of you then you're gonna

9:16

have to be like oh wait a minute now I gotta learn a new Eric is there part of that that is in the back of your head

9:22

kind of 100% it's in the front of the head um where I think um it's part of

9:28

the work right we have to step into it we have to open that door yeah um that door is open I'm just like my my toe is

9:35

in there I'm walking in and I'm like I've recognized it as an issue and a challenge and I've accepted the

9:41

challenge now the time it takes to heal and the process it takes to to go

9:46

through that I have I don't know right um there are people and I think I mentioned this to you before that want

9:53

to step up and go dude I'll help you get there 30 days and I'm like um a million dollars like I appreciate that bro I

10:00

wish I had a million dollars to give you but um I might have to just like read some books I might have to like ask my

10:06

buddy Jason to help me out but yeah it's it's interesting how uh there's so many different solutions but really it's it's

10:12

it's up to the person to choose the path like that whole you know back in our day back in my day when we had a Choose Your

10:19

Own Adventure yeah like I gotta I gotta go with what I think I know and

10:24

eventually just step into the fire right have you had anything that you can like pull back on when you look at like

10:29

you're you know cuz I know uh from our talking that you've been you know in the corporate world to like being on your

10:35

own like what was the what was that shift like for you um you know so I'm asking it because like there's some

10:40

people out there maybe listening to this that are in that space where they aren't they feel exactly like what you and I

10:46

are expressing like you know I'm struggling with worth I'm struggling with this but I know that I don't belong

10:52

here like what was the key Catalyst that got you to kick out and go on your own

10:57

and do all of those things uh were you forced into it was it just a revelation like what was the what was the key shift

11:05

happened then it was it was less than a gentle nudge I'll say it was um it it

11:11

was being laid off but typically you know I was it was it was not going to be difficult to find another job you know

11:17

I'm blessed that that could happen I had offers one big offer actually and I

11:22

turned it down I think I told you this but um the thing that I would say to anyone who wants to potentially step

11:28

into that Risky Business literally is um no

11:35

one really tells you the first time I heard this was James Clear who wrote Atomic habits said um

11:42

entrepreneurship is uh is personal development in Disguise and if I had

11:48

known that I probably wouldn't have done it Jason it's like that's hard [ __ ] man that's really difficult to look in the

11:56

mirror and accept yourself and take accountability and really focus on your flaws and um it's hard man and it's a

12:04

constant Challenge and it's it's daily work uh whether that's getting up early and doing daily prayers or meditation

12:12

exercise like we have to do the things that you don't have to do incorporate because you'll get that paycheck every single day every single week and you

12:18

could be a fat F you could just watch Netflix and eat Cheetos and do all the things and still make money that's what

12:25

I was doing that was me by the way um but dude I never would change it like

12:31

that was that was the right decision that was the right move yeah it was risky yeah I spent pretty much our entire life savings to get here um

12:38

that's risky but we don't know unless we do it I couldn't live with myself right

12:43

if I didn't take that chance and look back um um and go man what if like I never want to be in my deathbed Ro like

12:50

wow man what if right yeah that that that I mean that's also a driver for me same sort of thing it's it's just like

12:57

you can kind of question all the stuff and just like but you know but at least I know that I did this part um which is

13:04

huge have you have you found it like in the process of when you uncover stuff do

13:09

you have like now you have this new Evolution you're like oh cool now through the process of the other things

13:15

you've done do you kind of have a system that you run this stuff sort of through or are you at that spot now where you're

13:22

like damn this is so undefined right now I don't I'm not sure where this road

13:29

will go so I'm gonna just trust and take the first step like have you learned all

13:35

the things yeah you know what I mean yeah it's it's for sure it's a daily thing um there what I've recognized

13:43

is the awareness is the the the first step so now that I have complete

13:48

awareness of it my reticular activation system uh is is there

13:54

to recognize the opportunities now where um I'm having a conversation or pricing

14:01

comes up or you know uh a really great opportunity for me to say no I'm

14:09

this much or we're this much or we're gonna do this so that um I don't make

14:15

the same mistakes that's been holding us back and and and and what's really the driver for this Jason isn't just me it's

14:21

for my family it's for my team it's for my team's families it's for my clients

14:26

like in order for me I I have to step through this in order for not just me to grow but for everyone else that's around

14:33

me that I uh Inspire or that I serve dude this only benefits them if we

14:39

get bigger so that's like I gotta let's go right let's do this yeah it's

14:46

difficult right because you're like I'm growing but the company's growing at the same time it's like you're you're

14:52

learning on the go it's like this organic thing and I I think that so many people they get hung up on like I got to

14:59

have all this [ __ ] together before I can begin and it I don't know about you but

15:05

in my case I've always felt like you're like kind of throwing pots on a wheel like it you can be like molding the clay

15:12

and it seems like just when you got that vase right that shit's going to collapse and you're like H I got to sandwich it

15:17

down again and I start molding and it's spinning and you're just kind of like somebody might come by when it's still a

15:22

lump and go like what is that you're like I don't know but something's in there like I think that's where people

15:28

get kind of hung up on a they're wanting that there's no such thing as perfect

15:33

right like there's no such thing as everything's going to come together it's going to be this is the right way to do it um I've been recently waking up to

15:41

the fact that like you know I've been spinning too many plates and I've not

15:47

been focused on the thing and you know I know that you're starting you know your

15:52

new stuff like you know with the and helping people discover their brands you know all those things like that like

15:59

wonder if you could just talk a little bit about like what you've learned about yourself and how you apply that with people that are trying to figure out

16:06

what it is that they're trying to build themselves like yeah you're going through it I'm gonna I'm gonna borrow

16:14

from your analogy because I think it's great you know it reminds me of you know Demi Moore and Patrick sesy ghost but is

16:21

a throwback to everyone in our generation right what a great movie like that's a guilty pleasure man admit you like that movie oh absolutely I mean

16:28

dude the Shadows literally like that scene to me was like what I've never seen read or anything about like the

16:34

Shadows coming to life and grabbing people out um but I'm I'm the I'm the I'm that guy walking around the

16:40

classroom like you and I you know when we went to Ark school and looking over their shoulder and instead of going that

16:45

sucks you know we go oh I see something there right and and and they're they're molding you know a vase you know to hold

16:52

flowers like hey no that looks like a fruit bowl or that looks like it's a you're sculpting like a a figure like a

16:58

a woman there or whatever it is and then also knowing at a level who the artist

17:05

is so now I'm saying hey this is what I know of you Jason this is what I love about you why don't you mold it to this

17:12

and then it gets them to really look at it from that perspective go oh wow I'm seeing it from someone else's lens

17:18

because they come to us and to be more specific because I know speaking in analogies here if it's a company or a

17:24

person that's like I have these real estate companies or I have this coaching company whatever it is is they're moving

17:30

towards something and I can validate and confirm that's the right move what you're doing there or sometimes I'll tell them straight up I'm like yeah I

17:36

don't know if you should be moving in that direction that's doesn't sound like it's aligned with your goals um so

17:41

that's really where I think um the rubber meets the road and I can make the most impact on people is like let's mold

17:48

the clay first before we throw it in the Kil and doing all the things and it's all perfected like you said there's no Perfection here but let's get it to its

17:55

best form with the intention that it's going to be holding fruit or holding flowers or whatever is versus building

18:02

towards something go you get there you're like oh crap why I build this thing that's not what I wanted yeah does that come from does that come from like

18:09

that ability to do that does that come from your like own personal awareness of like where you know did you learn the

18:14

hard way through your stuff and now you're taking that lesson yeah and passing it on

18:19

1,000% yeah so you know leaving corporate America I didn't know anything about business um I was figuring it all

18:26

out and I knew that social Med Med was a move and I had to do it and I just did

18:32

it and I just pressed record turn the cameras on but over time I started to recognize whatever I was saying online I

18:40

must not have been super clear because people would come to me and say dude I love your work I love what you're doing and saying but I don't know what you do

18:48

like oh man I'm really effing this up big time so that's when I had to like start reflecting on like oh what did I

18:55

do oh what if I just spoke about these three things that align with my business that's what I'm trying to build right

19:00

now and Dude 3 months became 6 months 12 months 24 months of just doing that and it's

19:07

worked it's been working yeah so I'm like now I'm like shouting that for the mountain tops that's amazing yeah it's

19:14

it's always so funny like we we what we learn when people are just kind of straight with us on stuff like and when

19:20

you have those like At first it's like you know I think back at Art School like it was like I remember like doing stuff

19:25

and you spent so much time and I I guess maybe it was a little different from when we were at school cuz like they were so brutal it was just like the

19:32

teachers would be like you know pull all nighter I mean one of my I remember one of the first days of school it was like

19:37

pull all nighter I had no clue what the hell I was doing and this teacher boxing doesn't even say anything and you had to

19:44

put all your artwork I'm sure you remember this you had put all your artwork on the wall and everybody's judging it and the teacher walks in just

19:51

starts going through and going nope nope and knocking them on the floor and one of mine was the one that got knocked on the floor and I was like damn but then

19:59

you realize that like wait like now I'm going to ask the right questions I'm

20:04

going to be more prepared I'm gonna know that I won't make that mistake again and

20:10

prepare myself so it's it's kind of like the same sort of thing is you're able to take what you're what you've learned

20:15

through your own mistakes and now you're paying that forward and helping other people out and in this launch of your

20:22

your your next to the you know be your brand are you are you taking people

20:27

through almost like a even though it's a business but like almost like a personal development part of their business so

20:34

they can really understand it or how what is it that somebody can expect when they come work with you on some of this

20:40

stuff yeah it's that's a great question there's definitely threads of and

20:45

foundations of personal development in there but you know but I I by no means am a professional licensed you know

20:51

counselor therapist or anything but I've learned enough through you know hundreds if not thousands of conversations at

20:56

this point right from people who are smarter than me um to be able to help people make those breakthroughs right

21:03

and and go into imagine you know you and I go to networking events masterminds and things like that and there's this

21:08

thing that we call uh in the front row dad's Community um are did you hit bonus

21:13

time meaning okay you know you pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to be there did you get your money's worth yet

21:19

on day one day two day three and it's bonus time everything's just gravy after that uh so my goal is to always get my

21:26

clients to bonus time like on day one know let's let's make a breakthrough uh

21:31

whether that's through whatever your vision is um you know who you serve like how you do it what's unique about you

21:38

dude that's the hardest thing like look I'm 51 years old and I'm only realizing I have this issue with selfworth like

21:43

how can I help someone else get there before they 51 you or it's like let's do

21:48

this now so that that doesn't hold you back when you're creating this content or you have that awareness when you're

21:54

creating content right because there's nothing more attractive than someone who knows them eles when they're talking to

21:59

you yeah they have that high level of self-awareness you're like damn bro what did you do give me some of that secret

22:06

sauce yeah you're you're you're blessed with the being 51 but look like you're mid-30s it's uh that helps too so

22:13

uh they say Asian don't rais it that's a new saying to me too how did I never how did I had never heard that until you

22:20

said it like when we were together I was like what I've never heard of that one before that's great I turned 50 and another Asian

22:27

brother was like you know man don't raisin what how has that been hiding from me great that's that's awesome

22:34

meanwhile we meet the other dude the other Asian guy we met I can't remember his name but he's like going to the wrinkle doctor and he's like he tells me

22:40

he's like you come see me and I can fix all your wrinkles you came up with a great name for him what was that I can't

22:47

oh it was s his name sounded like sidekick sigh it was like I was like sigh the wrinkle guy you know what I'm saying

22:53

yeah s the really cool guy I was like and he didn't acknowledge it I was like dude say it again that's like brilliant

23:01

use that you got free marketing Here There You Go free deal yeah it you know it um but you know kind of back to the

23:08

thing you know so what I'm curious like what would be the thing if if I were to say like hey Eric

23:14

here's a magic wand everything that you want to be fixed is going to be gone

23:22

like and but you only get like two wishes for it like what would be like

23:27

the first one that you about yourself that you would want to be able to like boom if I could only get this gone like

23:34

that would be the the one thing yeah that's that's what we've been discussing

23:40

that's probably number one yeah is um my feeling of selfworth and stepping into that power

23:45

yeah sure um because you know I'd probably be more financially set I mean don't get me

23:52

wrong we're we're we're in a good place and we're happy um you know with the magic W it would have

23:59

achieved what I was imagining would have happened in six years of owning a business that's the other thing I want to share with anyone who's listening

24:05

that's starting a business and you're in the early days or even if you're in like year five six like me um it's hard I get

24:12

it um it's really hard and you risk it all you can lose it all um is it worth

24:18

it to you and just know that you're not alone like there are a lot of people that fold businesses there are a lot of people that struggle during these times

24:24

and they don't make it we hear the percentages are ridiculous right like 98% of businesses fail in year five

24:30

whatever it is it's it's awful and we still do it um so that I would wave like

24:36

fix my financial mental mindset um and then probably the second

24:42

thing D would be just trust the process like I get up every morning and like meditate and pray I'm like and I justess

24:48

got to remind myself process the process the process process like just one day at a time one day at a time just be patient

24:54

yeah because we get I think we get in a spot where we try to we're projecting like this future out that it's all based

25:02

on old stuff like that's where we get stuck at is we think just because yesterday 2 plus 2 equals four yesterday

25:10

doesn't mean that 2 plus two has to equal four today and I think that's one of the big things uh in my opinion when

25:15

when you're doing a business or you're starting a business like you have no clue today who you might meet or come

25:22

across or that could just be that thing just like you're talking about like the

25:27

worth stuff like you know we we joke and say it's like a magic wand I'm handing you but like you could very well get off

25:34

this call with me and the next phone call you have the person you talk to is gonna say something that's gonna give

25:40

you that magic wand like and I think what you know I would encourage you to do just you know personal advice would

25:47

be like flex your awareness that you're dealing with now and just be like yo

25:52

that's what I've been looking for and like kind of build on that and I I think that uh what I have seen is so many

25:59

people get caught up on that stuff they worry that they you know when you're with worth it's like I mean do you think

26:06

it ever goes away because I don't think that it does like it to me I feel like it's just what is selfworth

26:14

now when you get to that next level it's going to just Flex again and go like well what makes you think you're worth

26:19

that you know like yeah you know it's funny I would love to ask you know our budy I'll just

26:27

say that Loosely you know buddy in terms of like we follow him you know our one degree separation but like Gary

26:34

vaynerchuk um I'm so curious like what happened during his journey because he went from you know like a six fig seven

26:41

figure Wine Company then the eight figures and then now runs this 250 plus

26:46

million dollar company with, 1500 people um garnering quarter of a million dollars just to speak I'm sure there's

26:52

got to be something in his head where it's like it all those level ups are had to be a challenge because if if not then

27:00

you're a cocky bastard how you're you're you're there's if you don't have a level of humility and being humble during that

27:07

process but how do we keep it balanced right how do we how do we grow and embrace and own the ne the whatever our

27:14

worth is whatever that value is as it grows like you said but still stay humble and it just don't come off like

27:19

an [ __ ] yes yeah I think that you and I both have shared that trait like we we

27:25

that's our goal is to make sure that you're able to get to that level where you're secure right you're you're everything but you haven't changed as a

27:31

person I think that's that's part of the the biggest challenge of all of that and as you go out and you're you're

27:37

launching your thing are you are you expanding out into um bringing on a

27:42

different team are you are you still working with the same group that you have with because you also have I should

27:47

point out with everybody like you have on air Brands where you deal with podcast stuff you have you know beer brand uh and you do investment uh stuff

27:55

with like I think you said you had a house in Ohio too right we have all these all these everybody I talk to has a weird Ohio connection always um and

28:03

you know so is it are you kind of Reinventing the wheel so to speak with a

28:08

new team or are you being flexible in what you already have um such a great

28:13

question so the honor Brands team is there they're they're they're running they're it's a lubricated machine um I

28:20

do have a COO who's running that but my intention is and we've had this conversation um she's also at the same

28:26

time she's like that girl with Double Dutch you know she like get in there we're going to throw a third rope in there um where I'm like hey I'm doing

28:33

this go run that company for me please um I'll support you when you need but she so she she's in good place there but

28:41

she's been 8020 working in the uh actually that's a gross Mis exaggeration

28:48

it's way more it's probably more than 50% of her time going towards be your brand um because she loves it so much so

28:55

she and I are really the ones that are running that show with some administrative support from the yor

29:00

brands team but the intention is to grow that as well and because the skill set over there and hon Brands they

29:07

production they editors they're graphic designers and for sure we can leverage some of those abilities like graphic

29:12

design um but the Strategic minded you know highlevel uh work that's necessary over

29:20

here um I think I think it's scalable to a degree with with us and then we're

29:25

eventually going to need some some other some help coaches branding experts too you know that's cool that's really cool

29:31

yeah it's and is this something that you are constantly taking on like new clients and things like that because we we'll definitely have all your links and

29:37

all that stuff in there I just you know wanted to make sure I hit that because I know it's I know I know for a fact how

29:43

hard it is when you launch something new to get the word out there and stuff like that so I want to make sure that we're

29:48

covering those bases for you I I appreciate that so the the initial

29:54

product was and service was one: one uh and then now it's group so we're about

30:01

to launch uh this the the first cohort and then the second right behind it uh and following Viner because you know I

30:06

stay close to them and they give me some inside information which is always great because then I they don't realize I'm kind of like following their framework

30:12

yeah so they're doing like the back the cohorts that are right behind each other groups of four to five um so I think

30:19

that's just able to expand and help more people so it's great and then also I learn um in that that environment but

30:25

yeah one to one 90 days and then typically our clients stay because they

30:30

need our services after that whether it's podcasting or doing their personal brand content um but then now I love the

30:37

the group the group stuff because then now where they're going to be able to help each other and learn from each other I'll be learning in that

30:43

environment so yeah I'm excited about about how we're helping all 90day Sprints Yeah you mentioned a couple

30:50

times in there helping and you know I just uh right before we got on on this podcast I just did a episode on asking

30:57

for help and one of my big things that I've Unearthed recently for myself was how

31:04

hard of a time I have asking for help and I'm just curious what your take is

31:11

have you had any so when you're going to a bigger client or you going to these different things like people that are

31:16

where you want to be what is your take on asking for help like where where do you find value or do you find it harder

31:23

is it something that you just have always done like what's the what's your what's your hang up on asking for

31:30

help um I I'm I'm grateful that was one of the hurdles but I've gotten over it

31:36

where um I've learned that the quickest way to something uh and to build a

31:43

relationship in a relatively quick time is to be vulnerable and transparent and

31:49

you know me right at that level uh like as soon as we started hanging out it was like B this this is me man this is all

31:54

the table you know whether you know love or hate you know could turn people some people off but what's great about that

32:00

is uh you get to know and connect with your tribe at a deeper level and the people that are of like ilk or like mind

32:07

did they'll show up right tenfold they'll just keep I love you I love what you're saying man thanks for sharing it

32:12

uh so that's something that I have uh really leaned into and gotten really

32:17

accustomed it's really become part of me where I just ask and I share it and and

32:23

it may sound offputting to some people because then they're like why are you telling me all this stuff

32:28

but it's really to get there faster because we don't have some we don't have time we're dudes there's like no fourl just get there this is what I'm about

32:34

let's let's get to the solution um and but I what I found the Magic in that Jason is um people I think endorphins

32:41

fire for sure uh when and oxytocin and all the things when you ask someone for

32:47

help like they're like oh man and once they help you it makes them feel good they may not realize it but yeah it's

32:53

it's firing and wiring something in them on a chemical level to help you um so yeah I love that man um it's like hey

33:01

this is this is where I'm at and I need help did you did you have any Hang-Ups with like the you know the when you were

33:07

a kid you mentioned like getting bullied and stuff like that was that that I've always found that asking for help one of

33:13

my Triggers on it was that I felt like if I asked for help I couldn't trust it like it was like always a catch like

33:19

there was like if I asked for help there's a catch to it because I think ultimately what I did is I rooted it back to like you know it was like

33:26

whether it was like going in Old business before me taking advantage of or if it was like growing up being bullied kid kind of like you know kids

33:32

would act like they're your friend but then you know it was like kind of like a trap where it was like really just end up being like another way to bully you

33:37

in a weird way like are those things that when you were going through your hurdles are those things that you kind

33:43

of did that how did you get over like what was your best tool to get over something like asking for help because I

33:48

think that's a bigger problem Than People realize is that so many people are stuck in their own [ __ ] they're

33:53

afraid to ask for help because they don't realize that every answer you're looking for probably is already in front

33:59

of you in the circle that you already are in you know yeah I I think the key

34:04

is and this is easier said than done is surrounding yourself with people you trust and that takes time um

34:12

because they sometimes some people reveal their true self uh right away

34:19

like like me like I have nothing to hide but others it takes a long time so I've definitely had business partners where

34:24

over the years you know that serpent revealed itself and I'm like whoa right but meanwhile when I reflect on it dude

34:30

I'm like oh it it reared its head there and there and there I ignored it that was on me yeah so I think it's really

34:37

just about um vetting the people and being very careful with who you l in your inner

34:43

circle um but then also allowing and and forgiving along the way but not to the

34:49

degree where you're harming yourself so um yeah I I feel what you're saying like

34:54

that if I ask for help can I trust the source can I trust they don't have some ulterior motive uh I just tend to make

35:00

sure that I ask people who I trust um and just if I don't know them well I

35:06

just pray on that problem like how do I uh hopefully it it works out but yeah

35:13

dude over enough time you'll build enough network of people that you trust and um hold on to those people tight

35:19

yeah I appreciate that that definitely you know as I'm as I'm building this New

35:24

Path right you're I'm kind of like you know and and the same sort of thing I I leaned to the people I could trust and

35:30

that was where my first step was and I started leaning towards those people and asking and it was like whoa this is

35:36

crazy like you know and it's kind of and it's kind of weird having gone through all the crap I've been through that

35:41

you're like that something is as weird as asking for help is a thing that kind

35:48

of kicks open a new door of like Evolution because you're like man I did brain cancer I did like you know and

35:54

you're like but just asking for help has been a thing and you know and I say that because it's

35:59

like I think it's a thread that a lot of entrepreneurs don't realize is that is a

36:04

huge not just entrepreneurs people like I I love the whole analogy you talk about like entrepreneurship is self-development and 100% for sure like

36:13

it is asking for help is being vulnerable enough to say like maybe because I think in general at least you

36:18

know you know as well as I do when you're in a room of entrepreneurs they all want to seem like they're the smartest guys in the room and if you ask

36:25

for help then you're like oh wait a minute I I seem like I don't know anything like

36:30

and that whole imposter syndrome yes yeah I I think though Jason what we're

36:35

also talking about is um you know not not not just the ability and the courage to ask for help but it's also

36:42

recognizing that you need help because sometimes it might be too late right like you're in that boat and it's been flooding but you're just G yeah you're

36:49

trying to be that optimistic guy gal and you're like everything's fine we're going to figure this out meanwhile now

36:54

it's like the boat's gone I'm in the water like Rec izing it before that actually

37:00

happens um so like quick example and and and I'm blessed I'm not name dropping

37:05

here but this was literally uh something that exper I experienced it not too long ago um I called Jason orini from Vayner

37:12

media and I said hey dude I am I need some help um I said I I don't think I'm the best CEO for Honor Brands um I think

37:20

that I'm holding it back like I think you know here's where we are on a on a monetary fantastic I don't think I can

37:26

get there without somebody who has experience like you secretly I was like maybe he says I'll do it that was like

37:33

my secret wish yeah but he said to me dude he's like you know how huge this is as a leader for you to even ask and

37:39

recognize that you're not the best person for that so sometimes ego can get in the way like can you imagine dude I'm

37:45

actually admitting that I'm not the best CEO for my company right um because I recognize we've been stale there's

37:52

whatever I'm whatever ideas I'm coming up with isn't good enough right there's got to be someone out there who can make better choices uh no more people

37:59

whatever it is and unlock that so I think just asking and recognizing that

38:04

oh it's me and and I need help um and then finding the right people in your in

38:10

your circle to to to lean on that's great my camera overheated let me turn it back on right no

38:17

worries so as we you know I I do have one uh one last question for you as we

38:23

start to wrap up here because I want to I want to definitely respect your time and we cover so much stuff here it's

38:28

great man I I really appreciate you going going there for me um on a lot of this stuff and always I always value our

38:35

conversations because we can kind of dive into each other's stuff a little bit and kind of

38:41

offer advice from the angle and the perspective and I think I do want to add pause for a second and let everybody

38:46

know and I know you and agree with this because we've talked about this is that perspective shift is kind of the key to

38:52

all the whole thing like you know it's like you you have to you can't keep the same perspective and think you're going to change you have to kind of like be

38:58

willing to shift your perspective and realize you might not be like you said the best CEO might not be the best

39:05

whatever but in a shift in perspective you can kind of see a different a different route or whatever so the

39:10

question I do have for you though is and we we can wrap with this because I think I'm interested to hear your stories what

39:16

is like if if you could duplicate little Eric the the one that was getting the rocks turn with him and stuff like that

39:22

and you can tell them all the stuff that you've done now and all the places you've been knowing it like what your

39:28

parents were like then and what life was like back then and where you are now what do you think that they would think

39:34

about your life and and all of those things and um you know all that good

39:40

stuff like that yeah I mean for sure I think

39:46

uh I think I envisioned this like where I would be um I fantasized about it for

39:53

sure like hey I would live in a nice house beautiful wife and kids so I think I manifested all those things

40:00

but the one thing where I thought you were going to go and I'll I'll share this and I'll say it quickly because you know me I can get emotional about this stuff you know this is deep stuff but

40:07

the work that I've done is um some visualization under self- hypnosis where

40:13

I actually would visit that version of me as a child and then like kneel down

40:18

bro like literally this was happening it wasn't physical but it it felt very real

40:23

when I was in those um in in in in those situations and that work was I I I

40:29

looked at myself man as a as a kid like my oldest you know Veronica he was like her age and I was like it's not your

40:36

fault like it's not your fault right you know all the stuff that's happened to you rocks being thrown at you being Abus

40:43

as a child all these things like it's not your fault and I just hugged myself

40:48

and dude I have to tell you that that that was so like that the cathartic and

40:56

um it just I felt I changed after that session um and I think that anyone

41:03

listening to this you know look into some ways to get some therapy whether it's hypnosis or um you know iwasa or

41:11

MDMA whatever it is you need micro doing or just breath work is is you know I try not to take Pharmaceuticals or drugs you

41:18

know you're similar like I just don't but breath work can get you there for

41:23

sure and you can do some stuff some really heavy deep exploration uh and

41:28

some healing if you just visit yourself and and and deal with those past traumas and heal those past traumas yeah that's

41:36

a great answer man yeah I I just want to like you know before we wrap here just you know just commend you for being open

41:43

and willing to evolve and and to keep going and you know uh you I had the

41:49

fortune of meeting your wife and your kids and you know you you have a great life and a great family and um you know

41:56

you're doing it great job dude at this human life you know and and it's not easy and there's times where things are

42:02

rough and you know just I think sometimes we don't take a little bit of moments to celebrate how awesome we are at doing this stuff and I just want you

42:08

to know that you know as somebody that is from the outside looking in um you're

42:14

you're doing great like you know I know that you struggle with worth and and all of those things but um I just want you

42:20

to know that I don't think that you're Unworthy of anything and that you're

42:25

just as worthy as the next person and the beauty of that to me is that um I

42:32

think I shared with you I'm not sure if I did but like it really hit me one day was that there is nobody in this world

42:39

that can do exactly what you do in the exact way you can and if that doesn't show you that you bring value to this

42:45

world then you need to go find the mirror and look at it and just realize that like like there is only one you and

42:53

that's pretty damn special and and I'm happy to be sharing this world with you and uh I just appreciate you as a friend

42:59

I appreciate what you're doing um I can't wait to see what you grow this into um uh and I think you're the great

43:07

CEO for this one you know and and getting that and doing all this stuff and all the work you're doing it's it's

43:12

going to it's going to pay off and and uh I think you're you you nailed so many things right about entrepreneurship it's

43:18

a lonely ass thing and when you struggle with worth it sucks and I just want to

43:24

Echo a lot of that stuff that you were saying to the people out there listening to this stuff that when you're trying to

43:30

build a business it's not the magic stuff they put online like these guys

43:35

are saying like you know I just did what don't hustle your face off like such it you can't do that it's just doesn't work

43:42

that way it's a lot of times it's a lot of mirror work it's a lot of breath work it's a lot of all those things and you

43:48

know so I just want to celebrate you man for doing all that stuff and and just continue down that path you know I'm

43:53

here if you need any help along the way and all that stuff like that and you to of you listening like you know I will

43:58

make sure that all of Eric's uh links are in all the show notes you can be able to hook up with them all this stuff

44:04

great dude he's out there he puts good stuff out always like always is your shit's always on point too like always

44:11

Crystal like clear videos and you know it's really nice well put together so I

44:16

I appreciate that man and um I don't know is there anything else that I missed in there that uh that I could uh

44:22

that you would like to say uh well first I just want to say thank you for all that thank you for your friendship man

44:28

um you know I'm proud of you and watching you grow too man I've seen you evolve into so many versions of yourself

44:33

and it just keeps getting better and better um you know you you've made it through man literally like

44:40

literally you know you're and and and it's for a reason yeah you know I know that for sure I know your your purpose

44:47

is so great in this world um and it's necessary and it's needed and my kids love you and millions and countless of

44:54

other kids do uh you're you're you're helping gener ations dude um with your work um you know and and I love your new

45:00

work so yeah thank you and and if there were rolling credits or the be your brand project and all this stuff that

45:06

I'm doing you'd be at the top right because you I was like dude help me unlock some of this stuff and I think it helped influence and I'd love to share

45:13

with you where um it's where it landed because it's very much influenced by not

45:19

necessarily you know all the stuff you did to help us but also um just what you've put out there just in general uh

45:26

definitely I feel um was influenced by you so thank you for that yeah absolutely man uh the only giveaway that

45:33

I had and I've had for the past several years is if you go to my website Eric cal. guu there's a free pdf there for

45:41

you to download that gives you all the tips on um my past you know six seven years of podcasting on how to be a

45:47

really good guest or a really good host so um and there's also a calendar link there if you want to just share some

45:53

time and pick my brain up for for any reason but yeah it's there right on man I'll make sure everybody gets that link

45:59

dude I appreciate you man uh yeah and guys until we uh we see you next time uh

46:04

we we just more than anything just hope this helps man uh and uh we'll talk to you soon Eric have a great one thanks

46:10

man bye [Music]

46:22