0:00:06 All right, everyone. So I did this podcast for me, and I’m going to explain why today’s guest is this guy named Jack Carr
0:00:09 If you don’t know who Jack Carr is you guys should look him up
0:00:15 But basically he has this series of books called the terminal list terminal list is now a it’s definitely a best-selling book
0:00:19 They’ve sold millions and millions of copy. It’s a novel about a Navy seal
0:00:24 Who’s wronged and then there’s like eight books of him getting revenge and it’s an Amazon Prime show with Chris Pratt
0:00:31 It’s awesome. However, I had Jack Carr on the podcast because I read his book when I was going through a little bit of a
0:00:37 period where I had just had a daughter and I wanted to do something where I would become a little bit more of a man than
0:00:41 Before I wanted to learn something about high integrity about things
0:00:43 I should be doing as a man and
0:00:46 It’s just kind of honestly changed my life and it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman
0:00:50 I think you’re gonna enjoy this episode. We talk a lot about his writing process
0:00:55 But we mostly talk about the process of masculinity and what it means to be a stand-up person
0:01:00 We talked about the business of writing books and how he makes money. I think you’re gonna enjoy this one
0:01:06 It’s a little bit out of left field, but try it out. I I love this guy. So check it out
0:01:17 So I’m happier here man
0:01:22 We um, this is a business show and so like we don’t do like authors and stuff like that all the time
0:01:27 But I published a podcast where I was talking about how I loved your books
0:01:32 And I I’m halfway through the third one and the reason I found you guys or I found you
0:01:39 Is because I tweeted out I want to read a book. That’s the ultimate man novel
0:01:46 Something that is action adventure page churning high integrity like teaches you values because I just had a kid
0:01:52 And I was like I want to be inspired a little bit and all these people were tagging you and saying jack car
0:01:56 And I was like, I’ve never heard of jack car. I don’t know. I don’t know anything about this
0:02:03 What is this all about and I started reading the terminalists and I read the first book and I was hooked and I’m so hooked
0:02:07 I’m on I’m halfway through number three and I’m gonna make it through all through seven and
0:02:13 You I think you actually are like a lot more business savvy than most authors if I had to guess
0:02:19 It’s more entrepreneurial then I think there’s a difference between being entrepreneurial and being business minded
0:02:26 Which is why at some point you grow like startups eventually sell or bring in a business person to run it and professionalize it and scale it
0:02:27 And that sort of a thing
0:02:33 But I didn’t really think of myself that way and tell about I’d say a month before the fuck first book came out
0:02:38 So I’m all into the novel leaving the SEAL teams and just writing because I love it
0:02:39 My mom is librarians
0:02:42 I grew up surrounded by books and a level of reading as you can tell from the background here
0:02:49 I have quite the quite the collection always been a reader and it’s really the foundation from which everything else has grown
0:02:56 And so it’s all about the book and then about a month maybe two before first book publication in March of 2018
0:02:58 I was like, oh, okay
0:03:01 I’m gonna look at this the way I looked at the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan
0:03:04 Meaning you are looking for gaps in the enemy’s defenses
0:03:11 You’re looking how to adapt how to capitalize on momentum and I just looked at the space in general and I was like
0:03:12 Oh, wow
0:03:19 Publishing really hasn’t kept up. It’s a very it’s a very legacy type of a business and they do so well because they’ve been around for
0:03:23 So long so they’re very entrenched in what they do and they make some money
0:03:27 But they’re safe as far as business goes very slow to adapt to things
0:03:33 Even like audiobooks or ebooks that sort of that thing. So I looked at it and I was like, okay
0:03:38 Why when I get my iPhone it doesn’t just come in a manila envelope
0:03:43 It comes in packaging and as much thought went into that packaging as went into the actual product
0:03:48 itself and when I was getting books from other authors for blurbs or that sort of a thing
0:03:54 They were just coming in these manila envelopes. Yeah, you you send these like amazing gift boxes
0:03:58 One of my one of my really close friends is Richard Ryan and I saw awesome
0:04:02 I went to his house and I saw like the boxes that you send to people. Yeah, I told I go
0:04:03 I told Richard I go after this pod
0:04:06 I’m gonna try and make Jack like me so much that he sends me one of these boxes
0:04:09 I got your names your names on in one of this for the next one
0:04:12 So it’s a gun case and it has the book. Does it have anything else in it?
0:04:12 Yep
0:04:19 So it’s you open this thing up and it’s kind of a way to make people who want to help you like make it easy for them
0:04:25 Like I might send this to Chris Pratt. Maybe he has time to open it. Maybe he doesn’t but if he does then this makes it easy
0:04:28 For him to do a 15-second something to help, you know
0:04:30 So that’s awesome
0:04:35 Bookmark that has the leather bookmark all super high quality stuff because everything has to be
0:04:40 That commensurate level as the novel itself. So everything I do has to be like right here
0:04:42 Like we talked about you guys talked about your site merch on the site
0:04:47 It’s not just a glass where you go to some company and like pick key chain pick hat pick mug
0:04:53 It’s like those are hand-picked by me and they’re all the best you can possibly find or the best that I could possibly find
0:04:57 I try to do Made in America not always possible try to veer towards veteran-owned businesses
0:05:02 But book is in there inside the book is personalized to the person and then they have stickers
0:05:07 There’s three stickers personalized all of them personalized all them. How many of those did you send out?
0:05:12 I send out about 350 and most of them go to people as just thank you there
0:05:17 So people with no social media presence at all just a thank you for whatever x y or z someone helping me with
0:05:19 research on a novel
0:05:23 This one someone helped me with some aircraft stuff because I’m not a pilot so he’ll get one
0:05:25 Some fans that were with me from the very beginning
0:05:32 They get they get them and then people like Chris Bratt get them and and and he gets the same one is as everybody else
0:05:36 But the coin goes in there and a coin different coin with every single awesome
0:05:41 And you can’t buy these and I know you talked about on that podcast where you talked about me and James Patterson
0:05:45 You you also talked about the memento moray coins
0:05:52 I don’t sell these you should it should but so if I were to first if you were to make some money on it
0:05:56 But for me right and I don’t say I never will because people ask me to sell them all the time
0:06:00 But I have to give you one so that’s kind of the thing with these is I have to get a book signing
0:06:05 Law enforcement military firefighter or somebody they coin you and they have this in their hand
0:06:09 And they shake your hand and then I have these in my back pocket and I coin them back
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0:06:57 I want to talk about the economics and all this stuff
0:07:01 But how do how do I introduce you to people so like I was thinking about this I was like well
0:07:08 So Jack writes these books that’s so the the one-line summary is basically a navy seal
0:07:13 Who’s wronged and he goes and gets revenge involving family country and a bunch of adventure
0:07:16 It’s a seven or eight book series now
0:07:21 It’s an Amazon Prime show starring Chris Pratt, but the cool thing about the book
0:07:26 You do a bunch of things interesting interesting, but it’s like a huge hit and
0:07:32 When I was on Amazon it has like a hundred thousand plus reviews across all the books something like that
0:07:34 Can you say how many copies have you sold so far?
0:07:37 You know, I don’t know because I don’t keep track of those things
0:07:42 And this is where the entrepreneurial side versus the business side comes in that we talked about at the beginning is I spend zero
0:07:50 Bandwidth worried about that. So my my metric is is Simon and Schuster happy and how happy are they and they’re a static
0:07:57 So that is my millions I would assume. Yeah, it’s up there. Yeah, is it do you think it’s north of 10 million?
0:08:01 No, so that’s just a guess. I don’t know, but I think they tell me if it was north of 10
0:08:08 It’s up there. I think we had um, I’m friendly with James clear and Mark Manson and I think that they have
0:08:12 Some of the best-selling books of the last like maybe decade
0:08:15 I wouldn’t imagine I would have imagined that after a few more years
0:08:20 You’re gonna be up there because you you’re a navy seal what you’ve talked a bunch about but you started writing
0:08:22 But the books are relatively new, right?
0:08:27 Yeah, so 2018 I started writing the first one when I was still in as I was getting out of the military
0:08:31 So I think December of 2014. I wrote my first words for the first book
0:08:36 So they first that but it came out 2018 and then there’s been one a year ever since and this is the first year with two books
0:08:41 So I have my newest one the seventh book in the series red sky morning comes out in June
0:08:45 And then I have my first nonfiction that comes out in September
0:08:50 So September 24th and that’s on the 1983 Bay root barracks bombing and you probably noticed I weave a lot of history
0:08:55 Into that as well. That’s why I liked it so much, you know, I’m reading a looming towers right now
0:09:01 And I typically read American history. That’s what my audience knows me for and that’s why I wanted to read yours
0:09:06 And what’s weird is a lot of I think without giving away. There’s talk of a virus
0:09:10 There’s talk of Ukraine before any of this stuff was even a thing
0:09:16 Yeah, that was crazy. So the book with Ukraine came out in 2019. So I was writing it before I was writing
0:09:20 Actually before I sent the first novel to Simon and Schuster. I didn’t have a publishing deal
0:09:24 But I always knew I was gonna write two books because of the John Grisham story
0:09:27 He wrote a time to kill first and he could not give that book away
0:09:30 And then he writes the firm that takes off
0:09:34 It’s the movie with Tom Cruise and we’ve had a John Grisham legal thriller every year since
0:09:38 You’ve got a good track record at the moment for like predicting a handful of things
0:09:43 Well, I hope this next one doesn’t come true as this next one’s pretty brutal. So I hope this next one does not predict the future
0:09:48 What did you I know that you’re writing you’re talking about like finding an agent and things like that
0:09:50 And you’re like, I didn’t even know you needed an agent
0:09:53 I think he read like Steven Pressfield to like learn a little bit about the publishing process
0:09:57 But what did what would you have defined as a success?
0:10:03 Like when you’re first starting because I imagine now you you’ve made millions of dollars. You’re famous your books are loved
0:10:06 It’s a movie. I know that you originally
0:10:10 Before Chris Pratt was even a movie star. He was just a parks and record guy
0:10:13 You’re like Chris Pratt’s the guy so like you’ve kind of manifested all this
0:10:20 But what would you have defined as success like ten years ago, you know, it’s personal or professional different different sides
0:10:26 But for me growing up, I’m reading all these books. They all say number one New York Times best-selling author on the cover
0:10:32 So I’m reading Tom Clancy. I’m reading Nelson DeMille. I’m reading Ajay Kamal, JC Paul, Mark Olden, Louis Lamour
0:10:36 All these guys who are like my professors in the art of storytelling
0:10:40 But at the top of each one of those paperbacks, and I think I have a tie at the Tom Clancy one somewhere here
0:10:45 But it says number one New York Times best-selling author. So in my head from age
0:10:49 Well, let’s say 11 so sixth grade when I start reading all the same types of books
0:10:56 My parents are reading fifth grade is kind of that transition time from young adult type fiction to the same types of books that I’m reading and writing today
0:11:01 They all said that and so in my head at that age knowing that I wanted to write in the future
0:11:07 Just like I knew that I wanted to be a Navy SEAL from age seven onward that I didn’t think of it in terms of hey
0:11:09 this is success once I do this
0:11:12 But that was like a benchmark. That’s funny
0:11:17 That was your goal because I think in the same podcast you said you listened to for MFM. We talked about this guy
0:11:19 I don’t remember his name
0:11:25 But basically he self-published a book and he got really popular in Goodreads and I think on Goodreads collectively
0:11:27 he also had hundreds of thousands of
0:11:30 reviews and
0:11:34 From reading your books. I wouldn’t call you anti establishment
0:11:39 But there’s like some subcontext there of like don’t trust too many people and whatever
0:11:43 I would have not thought that you’d give a shit about New York Times and more
0:11:48 So just do lots of people love this and does this create like financial freedom and and like spiritual
0:11:55 Wholesomeness for you, you know what I’m saying like if you could like make if you could feel good and and make money
0:12:00 That would be the win not New York Times. Yeah. Well, the New York Times is like, you know, like when you see a book that says
0:12:03 Number one or just like
0:12:09 USA Today bestseller what that tells me and what has always told me is that they didn’t make the New York Times list
0:12:15 So the New York Times list is kind of a benchmark because you can be a number one something on Amazon in pretty much anything
0:12:21 So I knew that that that’s not my I’m never gonna say that I think the the publisher for the first or second book
0:12:26 They put something like that somewhere and I was like take that down. I don’t want that in my calculus
0:12:30 That’s not that’s not me for me like leaving the military the things that were important
0:12:32 I think it’s important to articulate that
0:12:35 No matter what it is guys, we’re all gonna go through transitions in life
0:12:36 whether it’s
0:12:42 Professional transition death of a loved one divorce whatever it might be but you’re gonna move on and do something else change
0:12:44 Just change jobs and for me
0:12:49 It was financial freedom and being able to control my schedule and I knew I wanted to write
0:12:54 I’ve heard him from a very early age that after my time in the military. I would write thrillers just like I’m writing today
0:12:56 Were you writing?
0:13:00 Books from an early age. So yeah, always a writer
0:13:04 So at any time we’re having English English class and in high school that’s what I gravitated towards
0:13:09 I’m at the most dangerous game, which is a short story that came out in 1924 heavily inspired
0:13:15 Your book three I assume exactly exactly. That’s my and so in sixth grade. I said one day
0:13:19 I’m gonna write a novel it’s tribute to that short story and that savage son the one that you’re on right now
0:13:24 So it’s so it’s it’s so I was writing, but I wasn’t
0:13:31 Writing throughout my time in the military. I was reading so I’m always reading and I’m reading both nonfiction and fiction
0:13:35 So I’m always just got there’s never been a time when I haven’t had a book in my hand or know what I’m gonna read next
0:13:43 There’s a bunch of jokes. I’m friends with a bunch of steel guys and there’s a joke that like many of them want to write a book
0:13:46 Because you guys experience such like crazy lives
0:13:50 But there are like some actually interesting people doing stuff in the creative space
0:13:56 So obviously you and then we know Jocko and people like that, but then there’s mr. Ballin
0:14:01 Do you follow mr. Ballin? No, I know who he is, but I’ve never never met him and I haven’t watched any of his stuff yet
0:14:06 But I know who he is I so mr. Ballin I listen to all of his stuff. So mr. Ballin
0:14:09 started I think as a YouTube page and
0:14:15 he was basically like just telling scary 10 and 20 minute stories of true crimes and
0:14:19 I don’t know how he managed to do this because
0:14:24 But for I mean, he’s a great delivery. He delivers his stories wonderfully. So I guess it’s it’s it’s it’s
0:14:29 Clear how he kind of figured it out. But now it’s like this massive thing
0:14:32 He’s got millions and millions of subscribers in Austin near where I live
0:14:40 He’s got a billboard now where he’s got this deal with audible and it’s like pretty amazing that this guy’s pulled this off
0:14:43 He doesn’t pull too many details from his his military days
0:14:50 But it is like interesting to see some of these like ex seal guys or seal guys like tell some of these like interesting stories
0:14:54 And be creative because when I think of you guys, I think of like a tough guy
0:14:57 I don’t think of like an artistic guy. Do you know what I mean? Yeah
0:14:59 but on the battlefield you have to be creative and
0:15:04 I think that’s something that really was what made us successful in Iraq and Afghanistan and other places around the world
0:15:08 over the last of the 20 years that we were at war engaged in those places is
0:15:14 Being able to be creative and be very be creative very quickly and be aggressive problem solvers
0:15:17 So now I can be an aggressive problem solver
0:15:20 But you know what if I make a mistake no one’s coming home in a body bag
0:15:23 And I can sleep on it and I can come back to something in a month
0:15:26 Which is why when I do the outlines for these books and I get to a place where I’m like
0:15:30 Oh, how’s James Reese gonna get out of this one? I don’t say it’s stall me out
0:15:33 I know that I have a year to figure this out because it’s one book a year
0:15:37 So it takes about it the whole process takes about a year, but I don’t get stuck there
0:15:41 I know that I’m gonna figure it out or on the battlefield. You’re making split-second decisions
0:15:46 That are gonna impact people’s lives forever if you make the wrong one. There’s this amazing book called mate to stick
0:15:53 I read mate to stick in 2008 or 2010. It’s awesome. It’s by I think his name is
0:15:59 I think it’s the Heath brothers out of Stanford and it’s a whole book about how to make idea stick
0:16:02 and there’s like six or eight principles and
0:16:05 one example they give is
0:16:09 Like if I told you a
0:16:15 Movie theater popcorn had a hundred grams of fat that doesn’t really mean anything
0:16:20 But if I got a hundred grams of fat and I showed that butter and like you can grab it
0:16:26 Or if I showed you like a black smokers lung, then it’s an easier way to understand and remember an idea
0:16:32 One thing that the book says is they talk about the demise of local newspapers
0:16:36 And they tell a story about this guy in North Carolina who’s got a thriving local newspaper
0:16:41 And they go hey will what’s your what’s your deal? What’s your secret with this newspaper and he goes?
0:16:46 Names names and names. It’s simple if I could print the yellow pages
0:16:52 I would all I want to do is name as many local people and their friends as possible in their newspaper
0:16:56 In my newspaper because people will buy it more to see their friends and family in themselves
0:17:00 Something you do in your book and this is what I talked about in the last podcast
0:17:06 And what what I thought was savvy is you name so many products like it’s to the point now where I’m
0:17:08 I have a
0:17:13 Notification on my bring a trailer profile to see a Land Cruiser because I want to buy a look
0:17:15 I want to buy a Land Cruiser. I know all about Land Cruisers
0:17:19 I just bought someone just I talked about that on the podcast someone just set me one of your
0:17:22 Not one of yours, but a hatchet
0:17:24 I’m looking at like hill people like
0:17:30 Fanny packs you like name all of this stuff where I’m like I didn’t even know I need this pair of sunglasses
0:17:36 But because Jane Reese is using this sunglass like I want it or like black rifle coffee on President Richard Ryan
0:17:40 one of the founders you name black rifle coffee all the time you talk about a I think his name is a
0:17:44 Reef he has this leather type of boot
0:17:49 That’s a little bit more sophisticated than James Reese’s because he’s a more of a suave type of guy
0:17:54 And I find myself googling this stuff and I noticed on your website you list many of the stuff
0:17:57 So it’s like James Reese’s like daily wear in
0:18:05 Book one or or the guns the planes cars and supplies in book two. Do you monetize that?
0:18:08 Well, no, I’ve been a gear guy my entire life
0:18:13 And I should monetize people like assume that you are like right from the get-go, but I don’t know at the beginning
0:18:18 I knew I knew some of those brands because I’m just friends with them from getting that gear to go down range with in the seal
0:18:19 Teams and that sort of a thing
0:18:24 But not all it’s just stuff that I use but I have no personal connection to the company
0:18:28 But it added a personal not an authentic element
0:18:32 So if you’re a law someone in law enforcement or a firefighter or intelligence agent or you know
0:18:38 Military and you’re reading this thing and you can be reading a book and it can just say he picked up the shotgun
0:18:41 He picked up the pistol he but doesn’t tell me anything about the character
0:18:45 Yeah, when I see somebody and they walk in or they walk on to a range
0:18:47 I can see the pistol that they have on I can see the holster
0:18:52 They’re using the belt their shoes their hat their watch that tells me a story about them the car
0:18:55 They pull up in that all tells me something that’s giving me information
0:19:02 And so same thing in these books and I think if you if you spend let’s say 20 years in the seal teams or special forces or whatever
0:19:04 It is then you’re reading a book
0:19:09 And it says hey the main protagonist has a background similar to yours, but he’s can it shows what he’s carrying and you’re like
0:19:13 We would never carry something like that like this doesn’t make any sense
0:19:19 This person obviously doesn’t know what they’re writing about and so then that impacts their story in general
0:19:25 So it’s it’s a way to to add authenticity and tell a story about that person because sometimes I’ll use brands that
0:19:32 That it says this person doesn’t know what they’re doing and that tells that reader who’s in law enforcement or military
0:19:37 Ah, it tells me something about this guy’s character even before he’s described before even opens his mouth
0:19:40 And so I so I love using those brands that way
0:19:45 So I haven’t monetized it the way people think that probably I have by looking at the website because I put together
0:19:51 Gear guides for each book and I have a father’s day gear guide and a holiday gear guide and that sort of thing and I link out
0:19:54 And a few of them have a affiliate links. There’s an Amazon affiliate link
0:19:57 I don’t really think it makes I have no idea if it makes any money or not actually
0:20:01 But it’s more for the fun of it and also to help a lot of those companies like better known businesses
0:20:04 Like this is a way for me to give back and offer a helping hand
0:20:07 Yeah, and I get that for like a small business
0:20:13 But there’s many businesses that you mentioned are brands that aren’t small and your website gets traffic
0:20:19 And I’m like, why wouldn’t you monetize that? You know, like there’s gear junkie.com. There’s a
0:20:29 Gear patrol. There’s a Steve Rinella’s company me eater and they have turned these into like big businesses of merchandise or affiliates
0:20:32 What is that because I know you’re entrepreneurial
0:20:38 What’s stopping you from turning this into like a legitimate media company beyond what most authors do?
0:20:42 I thought the first hesitation was that I wanted to be an authentic
0:20:45 I didn’t want anyone to ever be able to say people are to say it anyway
0:20:50 But it I didn’t want it to be true that hey all of a sudden he had this one pistol in there
0:20:54 And all of a sudden he switched how much are they paying him to put that in there and the answer is zero dollars
0:21:00 The answer is always zero dollars people have reached out and said how much how can I how much do you need to put my
0:21:02 Product on your gear your gear guy and the answer is nothing
0:21:08 What do you think an author like you if you wanted to do it what you don’t but I bet it happens
0:21:10 What would you have to what would it a brand charge?
0:21:16 I don’t even know and at some point maybe it might turn into something like that where it’s a little more more obvious
0:21:21 And there’s like the pomade podcast is something that that gets sponsored and has the ads on it
0:21:22 But those are obvious
0:21:28 Totally ask and that’s separate and there’s never anything attached to that that says you’re gonna do any of these posts on social media
0:21:30 and you’re gonna do this gear guide and
0:21:31 in the book or in the show
0:21:36 So none of that exists and I want to keep it pure like that
0:21:41 But I saw the podcast as a way to semi-monetize a little bit of those some of those relationships because they want to help
0:21:47 Anyway, they want to be associated at this podcast that is a way that authors couldn’t reach an audience 20 30 40 years ago
0:21:51 So once again looking at that battle space. I looked at it at it will
0:21:56 James Patterson he’s been around because you did your research since the 70s
0:22:01 And Stephen King 70 so there’s a reason that those names on the New York Times list that are at the top are the same names
0:22:06 That our parents would have opened the New York Times bestseller list and seen back in the 80s 90s
0:22:09 So it’s I realized that hey
0:22:14 What can I do today to create new readers because those authors that have been around for so long?
0:22:18 They have a reader base that they have built up over 30 40 years
0:22:21 I have to I have not done that and there’s more distractions today
0:22:26 so back then let’s say 70s 80s you have a book that’s competing with maybe television and
0:22:31 Possibly film so those are three things a newspaper or magazine, but that’s that’s about it
0:22:36 So now when I’m stepping into this space now I’m competing with all those other
0:22:38 distractions and all those other
0:22:44 Products and platforms streaming every single streaming service every single app every single social media all
0:22:47 Internet everything out there plus the movies and TV shows still
0:22:53 So I realized that if you want to build an audience today with new readers
0:22:57 Well now it’s podcast. It’s social presence. It’s that blog
0:23:02 It’s adding something of value to their lives throughout the year that they’re not paying for
0:23:04 But that helps free that connection
0:23:09 Yeah, not the guy who does that well is a friend of mine who I’d imagine you’re friendly with him too
0:23:12 It’s Ryan holiday. So Ryan does a really good job
0:23:16 I don’t know how his output is so high because he’s always has a book that he’s doing
0:23:20 I think he has maybe two daily emails for sure one
0:23:25 He has a business selling merch and coins and things like that and then he has a bookstore
0:23:28 I don’t know how his output so high as a podcast and then
0:23:34 You have a bunch of stuff you got the site. You have the newsletter of social media. You got your podcast
0:23:36 You’re always on other people’s podcast
0:23:38 How big’s your team?
0:23:40 It was me and tell
0:23:46 This last fall and then I got a chief of staff with no staff and she’s she’s amazing and then
0:23:48 Starting in February we started adding to the team
0:23:52 So this is my first year of putting a team together and I was writing this last book
0:23:54 I thought it was gonna be that first
0:23:58 I thought I was gonna be finished December 1st and then January 1st and then February 1st
0:24:05 It ended up being the longest book here. It’s actually it’s it ended up being the longest book to date because you just don’t know
0:24:10 And you start like I thought I had a pretty good idea 7th book like I it’ll be about a hundred and fifteen hundred and twenty thousand words
0:24:15 It ended up being like a hundred and fifty thousand words how which is to add months to the writing process
0:24:18 So I started hiring some people to help
0:24:23 But I didn’t really get to interact with them at all until about two weeks ago when I finally sent my final edits in
0:24:28 For the good and all is so it’s so now the team is as of yesterday six
0:24:37 But it’s very new very new. How are you balancing being a writer or a creator and also a manager?
0:24:41 Is that paint? I mean, it’s I think it sucks. Yeah, well to this point
0:24:48 It’s been just me my wife like she was doing all the fulfillment in our boxes over our bedroom all over the living room like just chaos
0:24:51 And I realized early on that I needed help
0:24:55 But you’re not yet to a place financially where it makes sense to do that
0:25:01 So it’s just been me essentially start up in the garage making a computer in 1976
0:25:07 1977 building all the parts also letting people know it exists why they need it and doing
0:25:13 Every single being the CEO the CFO the CMO the creator being every single piece
0:25:20 Now and as of yesterday, I hired six person yesterday to handle the Hollywood side of the house because there’s multiple projects in Hollywood now
0:25:26 And I was doing all the calls all the writing all the creative everything. No shit. You are doing that by yourself
0:25:31 So no each one has a team and as each project and a lot of some haven’t been announced yet
0:25:35 But you’re putting together a team of a showrunner director a lead
0:25:41 Production team all those things and you’re essentially putting together this package then to take to
0:25:48 Netflix usually through another production company that you have a relationship with so there’s multiple of those going on right now
0:25:51 so I’m jumping between either writing a script writing a
0:25:58 Writing a executive summary writing an outline doing a creative back and forth to see if someone is the right person to be a
0:26:02 Showrunner for the show or be a lead writer on a show for a new idea
0:26:06 And then I’m jumping back in because I have a deadline on my novel. I’m doing that and then I have to jump over to the podcast
0:26:12 Are you dealing with that context switching because that’s that’s that’s really hard? Yeah
0:26:13 No, well yesterday
0:26:17 I had my call with the person I brought on to run the Hollywood side of the house and I told them I’m like I need to do
0:26:22 Prioritize and execute I need to be focused on one thing at a time and then switch to the next one
0:26:26 There’ll be a little bit of overlap there as you’re editing or coming up generating some new ideas
0:26:30 But for the most part I need to be focused on one thing at a time and then switch gears
0:26:34 And I know you do something cool. So you you write
0:26:40 I think I heard on your podcast you’d like to write a one pager and you write a one pager
0:26:45 I think we’re you didn’t exactly explain what’s on the one pager, but I imagine it’s like a summary of the book
0:26:49 but maybe there’s more to it like my goal is that it
0:26:52 Sells as many copies or it makes a reader feel like this
0:26:56 But you said I do this one pager because I know that this project
0:27:01 I’m gonna spend 18 minutes of my life and I want to make sure that like I’m willing to do that and
0:27:03 I think that’s kind of cool because
0:27:12 when you know running a business tends to actually probably go into three or five year cycles, but I thought it was pretty cool that
0:27:16 Writing this one pager, you know Amazon does this thing where they go
0:27:19 We’re gonna create this product go ahead and write the press release now
0:27:25 So we know like what do we want it to say in 24 or 12 months when this product is live
0:27:27 What how do we want it to be received?
0:27:33 What do we want to tell people it does and then let’s work backwards to creating that and that’s sort of like what you’re doing
0:27:37 and I thought that was pretty interesting and I try to do that with a bunch of projects in my life whether it be like a
0:27:43 Fitness challenge that I have or a business or whatever like a new life event
0:27:50 Where it’s like what’s what’s the outcome gonna be like this in 12 or 18 months and do I really want to go all in on that?
0:27:53 And I thought that was cool. You do that. Yeah, I didn’t know that on Amazon, but it makes total sense
0:27:58 So I do that I write it’s like it’s kind of like what you’d find on the back of a in a on the back of a paperback
0:28:01 Or in the front flap of a of a book, you know, it’s me that describes it
0:28:06 So it’s about a one one pager and it’s like a executive summary and then I read it to myself
0:28:09 And I ask myself that question is this worth the next year year and a half of my life
0:28:12 And if the question is yes, if I’m that excited about it
0:28:17 Then I read it again and I ask myself another question if someone’s walking by Hudson news in the airport
0:28:21 They’re pulling this off the shelf and they’re to read this same thing or something similar
0:28:28 Is that so is it does this idea get them excited enough to want to spend time that they’re never gonna get back in these pages?
0:28:34 So as I’m writing, I am thinking about that. That’s what I’m thinking about thinking about the story. It’s all about the story
0:28:39 It’s not about what’s selling. It’s not about short short chapters or longer chapters. What’s popular
0:28:43 It’s about none of those things it is all about the story because you’re never gonna gonna please everyone
0:28:49 So if you honor the story and take all your band with all your heart soul into every single word
0:28:54 Then you’re respecting that reader or that listener today who is spending time with you that they’re never gonna get back
0:28:58 So that’s how I approach it. I don’t approach it from a business side
0:29:03 Which maybe I should I always sound like what’s popular, but no it all has to be about the story
0:29:07 Why not just be your own publisher at this point, you know
0:29:09 You have like a pretty nice direct audience
0:29:15 You’re you’ve been on Joe Rogan a bunch of times and those get millions of views you get millions of impressions across all these other podcasts
0:29:18 Why not just do your own thing at this point?
0:29:22 Well, I like being where I am. I like the team that they have at Simon & Schuster
0:29:28 I like the production value of the audiobooks. I like Ray Porter who narrates who’s absolutely amazing
0:29:34 I like that they have regional representatives all across the country to get these books into Target and Walmart and all that
0:29:38 I like that machine that’s doing that because that allows me to focus solely on writing
0:29:41 And I don’t have to worry about that other side
0:29:48 So it’s I can see why someone would want to first build up a social media presence or something or an audience and then have the
0:29:51 Book knowing that a certain percentage of that audience will take the action that you want
0:29:57 But that’s not that wasn’t my my way and that’s not how I grew up and that’s not how I wanted wanted to adapt to the new
0:30:03 Space I wanted to adapt to it in a different way where I still have a publisher and they’re still an art department for the cover and they
0:30:10 Still all that that’s why I have that machine working there and I can solely focus on writing and then also figure out the things that
0:30:17 Maybe a large publishing company isn’t so great at so the social side of the house and the digital marketing side of the house and the podcasts and
0:30:23 All that so I think it’s a very good partnership as far as the business goes for for me. Everybody’s gonna have a different
0:30:31 We have this guy on the pod and we’ve had him a few times his name Scott Galloway Scott Galloway is a successful entrepreneur
0:30:35 But he also is a author and kind of a thought leader
0:30:41 I don’t know what you wouldn’t would describe him as but he he’s a wonderful speaker and his new crusade right now is on young men and
0:30:44 How young men are kind of getting forgotten a bit
0:30:48 you know if you look at like suicide rates the pressure rates if you look at
0:30:51 education like young men are getting are getting left behind a bit and
0:30:58 I felt that and I remember I was going through a period in my late 20s where I had a little bit of success
0:31:04 But I was like I still like I now have a young family and I was like I need I want to learn a little bit more about what it means
0:31:06 To be a man and so I went through this um
0:31:13 This like reading like I read all these like man books like teach me to become a man
0:31:15 I guess and so I
0:31:22 Noticed that I would read your books and I felt like I was being inspired to be a more high integrity man’s and which James Reese is
0:31:28 What books have you read that sort of like got you on that path of being this sort of?
0:31:33 I don’t know like teacher of young men because that’s kind of like what you’ve become a little bit
0:31:36 Yeah, and it’s interesting now when I go to book signings
0:31:39 I said first book came out in 2018
0:31:42 So now somebody read that book when they were 15 16 17 18
0:31:44 Now there are a few years into a uh
0:31:48 Their time in uniform in the military or law enforcement or whatever else
0:31:51 So now I have people coming up to me and saying I was inspired to join the military
0:31:52 I was inspired to get into law enforcement
0:31:55 I was inspired to do this because of your books and I knew that was a possibility
0:31:57 But I didn’t really dwell on it
0:32:02 But the last book tour uh, or maybe we were long before was the first time where that really started happening
0:32:04 but uh, you know
0:32:05 It happened naturally for me
0:32:10 So I didn’t like get to a certain age and say what book should I read in order to
0:32:13 It was just I was constantly reading as a student of warfare
0:32:16 Um, and and one book that stands out as my most gifted book
0:32:21 It’s called once an eagle by Anton Meyer has written in 1968 and it’s historical fiction
0:32:25 And it follows two people from right before world war one up to vietnam
0:32:26 They don’t call it vietnam in the book
0:32:29 They call it something else but that’s what it is one of them is an officer
0:32:32 And one of them gets a battlefield commission on the battlefield in world war one
0:32:37 And then you have the inner war years you have world war two and it goes like I said up to vietnam
0:32:42 But the guy who is the uh, he’s a politician in uniform. He’s the he’s the officer
0:32:44 He’s always just a little bit ahead of this guy
0:32:51 Sam Damon who is uh, who who’s who’s the he’s like the leader of men that you would want to be as you read this book
0:32:55 And so I would gift this book to people who are starting their career in the profession of arms
0:32:58 There’s a reason it’s called the profession of arms not the career of arms
0:33:01 And I would write a letter and I would put it in the front cover
0:33:06 And that’s one that they could read before they started reading and would kind of set the tone why I’m giving them this book
0:33:08 And then I would say in that letter
0:33:12 But there’s another letter at the back and that is sealed and you have to work your way through this book
0:33:16 And it’s pretty thick so you can use it as a blunt impact weapon or as a door stop if you need to
0:33:19 So it’s dual use technology and at the end
0:33:25 Then that’s my take on what you just read and I don’t want them to read it beforehand because I don’t want to pollute their reading
0:33:27 It’s awesome readings with my interpretation
0:33:32 So it gives them incentive to get to the end to get to read that last letter and setting the tone with the first one
0:33:37 So that’s my most gifted book, but it really is a is a book about leadership
0:33:40 And uh, and so that’s why I would give it to these to these guys
0:33:43 But through that context of historical fiction so it reads like a thriller
0:33:47 But you’re learning about history at the same time, but it’s really all about leadership
0:33:51 All right, if you’re listening to this pod, I already know something about you
0:33:53 You my friend are nosy
0:33:59 You want to know the numbers behind all of these things that we’re talking about how much money people make how much money people spend
0:34:03 How much money businesses make you want to know all of this people’s net worth all of it?
0:34:08 Well, I’ve got good news for you. So my company Hampton. We’re a private community for CEOs
0:34:12 We do this thing where we survey our members and we ask them all types of information
0:34:17 Like how much money they’re paying themselves how much money they’re paying a lot of their employees what their team?
0:34:22 My bonuses are what their net worth is what their portfolio looks like we ask all these questions
0:34:26 But we do it anonymously and so people are willing to reveal all types of amazing information
0:34:30 So if you really cannot google you can’t find anywhere else and you could check it out at joinhampton.com
0:34:36 Click the report section on the menu. Click the salary and compensation report
0:34:40 It’s going to blow your mind. You’re going to love this stuff. Check it out now back to the pod
0:34:46 Well, you have this I mean you had a career where you sort of you had a rite of passage
0:34:50 So you went to the military you experienced some crazy stuff and I imagine
0:34:55 It’s like I imagine there’s some times where it’s like I just grew up really fast
0:34:57 And now I officially feel like a man
0:35:01 Um women a little bit have uh, you know, they have a physical thing where it’s like you’re now a woman
0:35:06 Men don’t typically have that at least not now in some cultures they do where they’re like
0:35:10 You know, I like to read about the spartans and they’re like all right now you go off in the wilderness and you do this thing
0:35:12 You come back you’re a man, you know
0:35:16 The jewish culture has a bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah
0:35:18 So there’s a little bit of a you’re a man now
0:35:25 But we don’t really have that in america for like most men and the reason why and I always felt that was lacking
0:35:31 I’m like I I don’t have this like I didn’t I didn’t there wasn’t this like beginning middle of an end of a journey where it’s like
0:35:33 I’ve come out and I’m
0:35:34 now an adult
0:35:40 And so I think that’s why I like reading your stuff because it’s like I’m living vicariously through the through through james reese
0:35:46 and I experienced this like heartache and this like evolution and it’s like I now feel
0:35:51 weirdly more manly every as as cringe as that sounds but it’s like
0:35:55 You know, they say you’re the average of the five people you spend with most
0:35:59 I think i’m the average of like the last years worth of reading i’ve done
0:36:00 Do you know what i’m saying?
0:36:06 So it’s like i’m getting a little bit of a write a passage a little bit through like your work if that’s if that makes sense
0:36:08 Well, yes, and that’s why it’s so important
0:36:13 I think for our kids especially like who they follow now in this world because you those five people you’re spending the most time
0:36:14 With how it can be virtual
0:36:19 It’s not that person on the playground or as you get older someone you’re in a that’s a mentor type relationship or
0:36:25 In an internship or something like that. Um, a lot of these people are the people that they’re following
0:36:28 So that’s why it’s so important to follow. Um, but yeah for most of human history
0:36:32 There was exactly that there was a right of passage and it was there for a reason
0:36:38 The reason the reason was so that you could prove to the tribe to the community that you could add value
0:36:42 Because if you didn’t then well your tribe’s not going to last for very much longer
0:36:44 So with these trials there were these teachings
0:36:49 Mentorships and then you’d have this trial that you would go through to prove
0:36:53 That you were a valued member of the tribe and then that’s slowly started to go away
0:36:58 But mostly in the well 19th 20th century because there was still we’re still around before that but uh today
0:37:01 It is almost entirely lacking
0:37:07 Which is why I think so many people feel lost because they it’s not institutionalized into our society
0:37:13 But it’s in our dna because I think that there there’s a reason that it was around from the beginning of time
0:37:15 Up until the time we got so comfortable where we didn’t have to have it
0:37:20 Um, and that was so that we could survive as a species so your tribe could survive
0:37:25 Um, but that’s why I think young men whether they know it or not are drawn towards typically in this country
0:37:28 It’s marine boot camp like that’s the one that most people think out
0:37:32 But it’s also you see these things where it’s like rich guys spending like 15 grand for a weekend
0:37:35 And a little bit if it’s like dude, that’s fucking lame
0:37:41 Uh, but on the other side, I’m like I understand why you want that and uh, you got to get it how you can get it
0:37:47 I guess yeah, they missed it when they should have done it or when uh, another culture the thousand years ago would have had it
0:37:51 As part of this process to bring people into the tribe
0:37:54 But we don’t have it so people find it later and they’re like, oh jeez
0:37:58 I missed that part and then they start reading these books and they’re like, oh, that’s what I was missing
0:38:03 That’s why I felt this draw at a certain age that I didn’t listen to like listen to that calling like the hero’s journey
0:38:09 Heed the call and uh, so yeah marine boot camp or its army special forces q course maybe seals
0:38:15 It’s called bud’s training but something that allows you to go through this trial and tribulation allows you to test yourself
0:38:18 And then prove to the group that you’re worthy of joining the ranks
0:38:23 Um, and I think if you don’t do that in one way shape or form it doesn’t actually be military
0:38:28 But if you don’t do that, then I think that’s why people feel so lost these days gentle
0:38:31 Yeah, look, I get those things and maybe I’ll do them just don’t
0:38:34 post any pictures of me online doing it because
0:38:41 That would I would need another write a passage to get through the ridicule that I would receive for posting
0:38:48 We’re obsessed. I uh, there’s in the comfort crisis. I’m obsessed with this idea. They had um, it was called misoji
0:38:52 Have you and we talked about a bunch here on this five? I have you heard of misoji
0:38:57 It’s basically like this idea of uh, it stems from this Japanese guy who this Japanese myth of like he goes to like
0:38:59 I think he goes to like hell or something to
0:39:04 Find his wife who has been kidnapped and he goes to this massive journey
0:39:09 Where he gets dirty and grimy and he’s finally saves his wife. He brings her back
0:39:15 he washes himself off in this waterfall and he’s now a new man because of the hardship that he went through and uh,
0:39:20 the miso it was I think his name was misoji and so a lot of people now what they’re doing is
0:39:25 They’re doing these like really hard things physical things. So for example the guy who made it popular
0:39:29 He’d be like today we’re gonna get our paddle board and we’re gonna paddle to this island
0:39:34 That’s 15 miles out and then we’re gonna paddle back and the there’s basically two rules
0:39:38 Which is one you have to only have a 50 chance of succeeding and number two
0:39:44 Don’t die. And so I’m training for my misoji right now, which is a 50 mile race
0:39:50 But I got like obsessed with this idea of like a misoji of like having this like really hard concept
0:39:56 Um, and I would like went to this whole like phase where I was reading you and and all about all this stuff
0:39:58 Have you ever heard of the the misoji?
0:40:00 You know, I feel like I shouldn’t because I read the comfort crisis
0:40:04 But I read it a couple years ago now when it first came out at Michael Easter on the podcast
0:40:10 Um, but yeah, I don’t feel that anymore because I feel like I did that already. I’m like, oh this looks exhausting
0:40:15 I think I feel like I’ve done that most of my life. So now it’s really all about writing every each book better than the last
0:40:20 That’s always my goal, which is why the last book I finished is always my favorite up to this point
0:40:22 Anyway, I don’t know if it’ll always be that way, but that’s how it is thus far
0:40:27 Because I do feel like I’m improving with each with each book improving as as as an author
0:40:33 As a writer and that’s what I owe the audience. So so yeah, but so I don’t but I understand it
0:40:38 I understand that draw to do something difficult to test yourself. I certainly understand it
0:40:43 You kind of have this even though, you know, you’re I would stereotype you as like a tough guy
0:40:47 You have this like weird, uh, not weird, but you have this
0:40:51 I don’t know how how to describe it almost spiritual way about you
0:40:56 Where I remember you told the story about how before or maybe when you are writing the first book
0:41:00 You were like chris pratt is the guy. I need to get him to do this
0:41:02 and
0:41:07 Lo and behold after a handful of years he calls you and he was like, hey your book’s awesome
0:41:10 I would love to turn this into a show and it maybe I’ll star in it whatever
0:41:18 Do you believe in these weird type of like spiritual manifestation type of things of like if you want it bad enough
0:41:21 It things come true because it seems like it’s happened a few times in your life
0:41:24 Or it’s kind of you’ve kind of called your shot when it seemed ridiculous at the time
0:41:31 Yeah, I mean it seems like but it’s more than just calling it or manifesting it, you know sitting down and visualizing it
0:41:36 It’s more that’s like so it’s more that’s when you think about some
0:41:40 thinking about how they’re going to make that a serve in tennis or a
0:41:44 Extra kick point soccer or whatever like that’s very tactical
0:41:48 And you can watch videos and you can manifest it and think of it the strategic one
0:41:50 And now obviously that tactical level requires work
0:41:54 But the strategic level one also requires work
0:41:59 But it’s not that one thing like that one foot placement or that one that way you’re going to throw the ball whatever it might be
0:42:07 Um, so I think that’s but if there’s a spiritual side to it, which I think there there’s a spiritual side to everything that connects us
0:42:11 but uh, it’s more the work and it’s not going to happen without putting in the work
0:42:14 That’s the thing it might not happen if you put in the work
0:42:15 That’s that’s possible, too
0:42:20 But it’s certainly not going to happen if you don’t so as I’m starting to write this thing as a child of the 80s
0:42:23 It’s very natural for me to think about who’s going to star in the fell
0:42:27 Who’s going to star on the tv show and at the time I was like I saw chris pratt transform
0:42:31 From this guy who played andy dweyer on parts and rec funny ill overweight
0:42:38 Uh, and then I saw his transformation in zero dark 32 a seal and uh, so I said this is a guy who needs a role like this
0:42:41 He needs it for his career and so I’m thinking this in december of 2014
0:42:46 And uh, so i’m like chris pratt will play the main character. He’ll play james reese. He needs it for his career
0:42:48 And then who i want to direct antoine fuga
0:42:53 I love antoine fuga training day and cheers the sun and all this and he’s the guy
0:42:56 That’s that’s who I want to uh to direct this thing and then I just go about writing
0:43:01 I have no connection to hollywood no connection to publishing and you haven’t even uh published the first one at this point
0:43:04 No, no having published the first one. No idea how i’m going to get it to a publisher
0:43:08 But i’m not thinking about any of those things no social media presence. Uh, no facebook
0:43:10 Did you tell your friends that you wanted this to happen?
0:43:16 Um, no in the seal teams. You wanted to keep anything about writing close to the vest
0:43:19 But like would you tell your wife or whatever like hill talk? You’re like, hey
0:43:23 Would it be neat one day if chris pratt was james reese?
0:43:26 Yeah, yeah, no, I told people uh, like my wife
0:43:29 She’s known I wanted to be a seal and write with each other since we’re 18 years old
0:43:32 So uh, she’s been on this journey for the entire time
0:43:38 Um, but uh, but how it manifested, I guess is a way that I never would have expected is that I call
0:43:43 I’m going to call them a friend who I serve within the seal teams who calls me in november of 2017
0:43:47 So six seven months before the book even comes out and he calls me and says, hey
0:43:52 Do you remember me because I hadn’t talked to him in about five years and he said, uh, I said, yes, of course
0:43:56 I remember you he said you remember what you did for me in the seal teams and I was like, uh, no
0:43:59 And he said well, you’re the only person when I said I was getting out leaving the teams
0:44:03 You’re the only person that sat me down at your office talked about transitioning out of the military
0:44:08 Introduced me to people in the private sector followed up with me said asked if you could do anything else
0:44:12 I’ve never forgotten it and I always wanted to thank you and I said no problem
0:44:14 I was going and he said it’s going great
0:44:17 But I heard through the gray finding of a book coming out and I said, yeah, it’s coming out in a few months
0:44:18 It’s called the terminal list
0:44:21 I can send you a copy if you want to check it out and he said I like that
0:44:24 But I’d like to give it to a friend of mine also and like yeah, who’s that?
0:44:28 He’s like, well, it’s my best friend. It’s chris. Pratt. I was like, oh
0:44:32 Well, that’s very convenient for me because I pictured him playing this role all these years ago
0:44:37 and so he gave it to chris chris read it in december of 2017 and then he called me the first week in
0:44:43 2018 and wanted to option it at the same time another friend unbeknownst to me had given a copy to anfan fuku
0:44:47 Uh, they made it a speaking event and he gave a copy to anfan fuku anfan
0:44:50 What read it and he wanted to option it and chris and anfan knew each other from magnificent seven
0:44:54 So then they called and worked it out now. We have the terminal list on amazon prime
0:44:57 How does that feel to be?
0:45:02 Not a nobody but just a guy just a guy making these ridiculous predictions
0:45:06 And they’re they come true
0:45:11 Yeah, well, I mean it wouldn’t have happened if obviously if I hadn’t um, so I always really cared about people
0:45:17 In the teams and my focus was always on on the guys and helping them whether they’re staying in or getting out
0:45:22 And I did notice that a lot of other people especially officers didn’t do that if you said you were getting out
0:45:26 They only cared about you if you were in the seal teams and that just wasn’t wasn’t me
0:45:30 Um, so if I hadn’t helped Jared out and at the time I didn’t think anybody would ever come back around
0:45:35 That wasn’t the reason I did it obviously, um, but it did came came back around and now
0:45:38 I’m flying out to budapest in about a week to go film out there
0:45:39 They’re on set right now
0:45:46 Jared’s a writer and a producer and an actor and a technical advisor on set right now Jared Shaw gave uh, Chris the book
0:45:52 And uh, and this is the second season and we have another one coming up here with the second book with with chris in it
0:45:57 That’s uh, should start filming in 2025. You never know until it’s actually all completed ready and actually up there on the screens
0:46:00 But so I try to manage those expectations, but um, yeah
0:46:06 So now we’re off to the races and then there’s other Hollywood projects and multiple books and now the nonfiction and I have a
0:46:11 Have a strategic plan that uh that I’ve written out just by being a student of all this
0:46:17 My whole life, but not with the intent of being a student more so just like I said from the fan perspective
0:46:21 But I have a strategic plan with all these things that I want to build because essentially those goals that I that I wanted
0:46:24 Was to serve my country need to form as a seal do the best job
0:46:28 I could be the best leader be the best operator I possibly could then write a novel have it be number one
0:46:30 New York Times bestseller and get it up on the screen
0:46:36 So those things are done and now it’s just by doing all those things better and continuing to grow in a way
0:46:40 That’s real and authentic and adds value to people’s lives and allows me to do what I love to do
0:46:43 And then also allows me to hit my my my mission
0:46:46 So my mission is taking care of my family my passion is writing
0:46:49 I wanted to combine those things for purpose going forward as I left the sealed
0:46:55 Because I saw so many people not know what they wanted to do or think that they knew and then all of a sudden step into it
0:46:57 Realized this wasn’t really what they wanted after all
0:47:00 Do you think you have you hit the you know?
0:47:06 I sold my company my first company when I was 31 and that’s where I hit that’s where I hit the financial where it was like
0:47:15 On paper I never need to work again because my income from my uh stock portfolio can pay for a really great life forever
0:47:22 Of course, I still want to work forever because I I enjoy it. Have you been able to cross that threshold to where?
0:47:28 financially you’re like I can breathe because uh, I you know as a working for the government
0:47:33 You’re you’re not rolling in it, but I imagine you are now like have you have you been able to like cross that threshold?
0:47:39 Yep, not yet. Not yet, but I’m on the on the cusp, but not uh, not quite there yet and uh
0:47:42 Getting closer, but a lot of this has been invested back in so I think a lot of people
0:47:47 Probably would have held on and not done boxes when you can’t afford it
0:47:50 Put it all on your credit card early on like a box. Is that what you’re doing those boxes?
0:47:55 Everything so it’s everything’s going back in like how do I how do I get a podcast going?
0:48:02 How do I do a video for this book that looks like a movie that’s better than any author has ever made before to promote a book?
0:48:06 Uh, okay, how do I do that? Well, I invest uh because there’s cost money to do that
0:48:11 Um, so I invested a lot back in to grow you can’t get the publisher to pay for that
0:48:14 No, but I think people think that the publisher pays for these things
0:48:19 I would have thought that yeah, and I think some other people now because now I see other authors doing something similar and I
0:48:24 I’ve like I got I guess one from meteor the other day you talked about those and it came from the problem
0:48:26 From from meteor has a new
0:48:29 Has a new uh cookbook out and it came a couple days ago
0:48:31 It’s I’m going to be on my father’s day to your guy just to you know
0:48:36 Do my part and be it you know help him out a tiny bit. Um, but it came from certainly came from the publisher
0:48:39 Uh, so I think maybe other publishers also think
0:48:44 My publisher pays for these things, but it’s really just me out of pocket is a business
0:48:48 My hope for you and this probably doesn’t align with your one
0:48:50 So I don’t know if it’s gonna happen
0:48:56 But what I want as a fan is I want to see jack car become the new me eater
0:49:01 I want to see like a lifestyle media company all around your shtick
0:49:04 And I know I told you about churnin so churnin company
0:49:08 Uh churnin is a company that invests in me eater or things like it
0:49:15 so, you know brands that have a strong affinity with different lifestyles and then they eventually make more content and sell stuff and
0:49:21 Hopefully, uh, and they’ve done it a bunch. They create really big businesses
0:49:24 That are awesome for you as an owner because you make money
0:49:30 But also awesome as me as a consumer because now I have more uh james vareese terminalist jack car stuff in my life
0:49:32 That’s my hope for you is that you uh
0:49:36 That one day you take that path because I am being selfish
0:49:39 But it would be cool for you as well. Maybe if it aligns with your values
0:49:40 Thank you
0:49:43 Yeah, as long as there’s a way to do it where it still remains authentic and real to that
0:49:46 That person who’s trusting me with their time or their money
0:49:52 Um, then then yeah, so I think it’s things are going in that direction. That’s certainly a possibility
0:49:53 last question
0:49:57 Which books that or resources that are a little bit less known
0:50:02 That helped you that taught you most about the storytelling or creative process that I can go and read
0:50:08 Yeah, so those those for sure the one on steven king on writing series of books by steven fressfield at all
0:50:17 Really talk about same thing but going to different nuances as far as uh overcoming resistance doing the work putting in the time becoming a professional
0:50:24 So those uh one’s another one’s called the successful novelist by david morrell who created rambo with first blood back in 1972
0:50:30 Uh, where’s that one? Uh, and then the hero’s uh, the hero’s journey through hero with a thousand faces
0:50:34 by joseph campbell and that one right there influence star wars
0:50:40 And once you read that book or watch a series of interviews that he did on pbs back in 1988 with bill moyer’s of the power of myth
0:50:43 You realize how similar these stories are
0:50:51 Across cultures and why they resonated from the beginning of time because some of these stories these myths were really created to pass on lessons
0:50:54 Uh lessons of the hunt lessons of warfare
0:51:00 So the next generation doesn’t have to learn those same lessons in blood and that tribe that community can grow and not just survive
0:51:02 Hopefully but thrive
0:51:05 You’re the man. I um, I appreciate you doing this you um
0:51:13 Your books have uh, not only been fun, but they’ve changed me a little bit as a kind of as a man as a husband as a father as a citizen of america
0:51:20 Uh, you you’ve done amazing stuff, and I uh, I wish nothing but amazing success for you and your family
0:51:25 So thank you for all this. This is awesome. Oh, man. I appreciate that and then thank you for the podcast
0:51:26 I’m so glad I discovered it
0:51:31 Because I’m gonna be taking taking notes going forward on how to to scale things and how to do things a little better
0:51:34 Because no matter what I’m doing in life. I always want to do it a little better the next time
0:51:37 I always want to adapt and be more effective and efficient with what I’m doing
0:51:42 So, uh, thank you for what you do. Well, I appreciate you and that’s the pod
0:51:46 I feel like I can rule the world. I know I could be what I want to
0:51:52 I put my all in it like no days off on a road. Let’s travel never looking back
0:51:54 ♪ Backline ♪