From Internship to Superstar Sales Professional - Zach Sasser - Apex Entourage

SPEAKER_00 0:04

This is the Beyond the Story Podcast, a show that goes way beyond the story. Some Zach Sasser, welcome to the show. AK Young Closer, welcome to the show. What's going on, big dog? Appreciate you having me. Hey, I appreciate you taking some time out of your day. You're busy day. I know you're always busy closing deals left and right, baby. That's what we do. So uh that's a good problem to have, though. It's definitely better than an alternative. Yes, it is. Right. Absolutely. Cold calling, maybe. I'd rather wake up in the morning and punch myself in the face and eat my pillow than make a cold call. But that's just me. So uh you and I got quite a history here, man. We're at uh gosh, we're probably a year and a half into the into our relationship where we met um uh when I joined uh Apex, which for those of you listening who may not know what Apex is, may have heard of it. It is the largest mastermind in existence, ran by the one and only Mr. Ryan Suman, aka hardcore closer. And I kept hearing about it and hearing about it. And then I saw one of his posts and I commented, next thing I know, you were in my DMs. And I'm so glad that that conversation uh took place. But you spoke a lot of truth into my life early on in my Apex experience from our initial conversation. I'll never forget you saying, hey, we have 1100 members and we teach everybody that they should start a podcast as part of building their machine. And out of 1,100 people, maybe 40 or 50 of them have a podcast. I think this is the place for you. So that was one of the first things that you said to me. It really kind of, you know, resonated. Um, but man, what a wild ride it's been. And I feel like we're just getting started here, even a year and a half, I know, into it. You know, I was you and I were talking a couple of weeks ago when we were down in Florida, right after I joined, I found myself with, you know, 75 apexers in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for a two-day rager on the beach, which was outstanding. Um, and I'll never forget it. That Friday you looked at me and you said, Hey man, I really believe your life is going to be radically changed in the next six months. And boy, uh were you right, really uh uh declaring that that was gonna take place. So I appreciate um, you know, our relationship and who you are in my life and uh just stoked to have you on the show. Finally, I don't know what took us so long.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

I don't know either, man. I don't know either. But yeah, I I remember that. I remember being in Fort Lauderdale. We were outside, actually, we were doing a little podcast show, and I remember telling you that that exact thing. And within six months, you shot me a message. You're like, dude, it's changed my life. You know, let what what what's next? You know, let's go to the next level. And that's whenever we upgrade you, upgraded you to the next level. I was like, all right, let's start working on that business instead of in that business. Let's start scaling it. And that's exactly what you've done, you know, that the last year, too. So it's it's I'm I'm two for two with you, man. I'm I'm just thinking about what I'm gonna tell you next because I know it's gonna come to fruition. I just wanna I want to figure out what I want to speak into your life because everything that I say to you, you make it happen. And it's like you you give all the credit to us, but dude, that at the end of the day, it's it's up to you. Like if it's if if it's meant to be, it's up to me. Um if you want to make it happen, it's been up to you. We've just kind of been um I'm I'm grateful that we've been able to help you help you do that a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Yeah, I mean it's that's a lot of it. It's it's been you know, we dodge accountability as human beings, and uh it's just a habit we all have, and we it's a choice to either remain accountable or not remain accountable. And being a member of uh Apex, it is my responsibility and duty to show up every single day for every single member, regardless of what they want, what they want to chat about. It may be podcasting, it may be life, it may be who knows. But I know that if I'm not showing up, somebody's missing out. And I've shared that, in fact, in in our last fly-in in in Fort Worth that 12 years ago, my life was radically changed because I had somebody ask me what was next, and I replied, I don't know. And she said, That's a fucking problem. And I'm like, Who is this person to tell me what I'm doing with my life is a problem? But I just shut up because she works for Tony Robbins, still does to this day and is part of his core team of six. So I should probably listen to her. And she said, I'm gonna tell you right now why that's a problem, you know, who's missing out because you're not showing up. And I never forgot that. I never, ever, ever forgot that. It's uh it's a humbling conversation, you know, for us to have. And I wish more people, especially in in Apex, I wish more people understood the value of showing up and not, and I you hear me say this constantly, and I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna tone tone down about it by any stretch of the imagination. It's like, you know, why are you even here? I mean, Stuben mentioned this morning on Motivational Monday, like 150 views on each motivational Monday. There's 2,000 members. I'm like, what are you like? This is your life, people. So man, I I like how it it keeps me accountable. I like how it keeps me on an airplane a lot more times than I expect. I have even more this year. I think I'm booked for three out of four weeks uh this month, uh, just right out of the gates as it is, um, crisscrossing the nation, just doing what I do and being able to share my gift. But um yeah, dude, uh Apex is uh is a life-changing experience and it definitely changes your business as well. And I look forward to continuing to step up as a as a as a leader uh within the organization and helping all of us as a combined effort really continue to take this thing to the next level. So I'm amped about it for that. So, dude, let's let's um let's back up. Let's go back to the beginning of the story. You uh you you've got quite the interesting story um that really started it at you know, at a young age where most people, you know, my daughter's your age, most people are trying to figure out what they want to do. And that's exactly what you were doing. You would grow it, you tell the story, but you graduated from college, you knew that you were looking for an opportunity, you just weren't sure yet, but you were humble enough to take an internship. Um, so let's back up and and help us understand how that story unfolded.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Yeah, 100%. So so right now I'm 23. I I turned 23 a couple of weeks ago. Um, and I started working here here at Apex when I I was 19, but I I turned um, I guess I was 20. I guess I had just turned 20. So I've I've been here three years. Um, but I I started in the the digital marketing world um a few years prior to that. So so my dad actually um growing up, I I always did good in school and I always thought I wanted to be an engineer, but my dad started to show me, you know, the entrepreneur side of everything. So he I grew up in a roofing family. He just always like he kind of sold me. I I don't I don't want to say that my dad sold me on being an entrepreneur, but he kind of did. He just kind of showed me the benefits and you know all the freedom that it could provide. Um, so when I was 15, that's whenever I really started switching it up. And I was like, I don't I don't really want to do this engineering thing. Like I always thought six figures, like salary job, go to Stanford, go to a good college, and um you'll be successful. But I started to realize that's not what I wanted. Um, so my dad actually started to invest into me. He started to buy some some different digital marketing courses, and I would start learning Facebook ads, I would start learning chatbots, I would start learning SEO, building websites, all that sort of stuff. And I fell in love with it. I really loved um all types of lessons, really. I I loved all the lessons I would learn, but scalability, freedom, um, how you know you don't have to answer to anybody. And I just I really fell in love with it. So I I wanted to become an expert. So I just I went to work with that. I was in high school, I was like 16, 17 years old, and I had a digital marketing agency and I was reaching out to business owners and I was like, hey, you know, I would love to be able to help you, you know, generate more, more clients, more revenue, stuff like that. So I learned that game real early on. That whole time I was also selling uh roofs with my my family too. Um so I was like 17, I had I had long hair back then, so I had a little man bun, and I was just knocking on doors saying, Hey, I would I would love to, you know, walk you through the insurance process to get you a new roof. Um, so that that background, whenever I was 15, 16, 17, really led me to whenever I was 20, and I was still in college at the time, but I I just happened to go over to my dad's house one day, and he was on a phone call with with someone inside of Apex, his name's Danny, and because he he had been a client for years, and they offered me an internship. And I I didn't really want an internship, but you don't really turn an internship down with with Ryan Stuman. So I said yes. So I started as an intern, started making $15 an hour, scrubbing toilets, not literally, but figuratively, metaphorically, and um just did whatever it took to to succeed. And what a ride that's been. So so three years I started as an intern, about six months into it. I started selling, not very good, just just started. Um, another six months into it, I started to get pretty good. And then um another six months, so we're we're a year and a half in. It was my first month being top producer, and now it's uh I go back and forth with the other top sales producer here. But it's um you actually had him on uh a couple weeks ago, you said before. But I mean it's it's very healthy competition. We make each other better, and it's just dude, we we we make the company a lot of money because we we love sales and we're passionate about helping other people, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

What what what shifted though? You said you got you kind of we're I mean we all suck at sales at some point when we first start on there, but what would you contribute to um you you in in you know really evolving into a really seasoned sales professional? Was it Stuman going, no man, you should be telling them this?

SPEAKER_01 9:19

No, so it it definitely wasn't that. Um, we've had tons of sales reps come in, and not too many, if any, have had the success that I've had in in the the short amount of time that I have. So it's definitely not that. I know that for a fact. Um, but what what I would contribute it to is here here's how I look at success. And I don't think success is a magic pill. I don't think there's one thing you can do to be successful. I think all success is, is consistently stacking a bunch of good habits on top of each other. So it wasn't it wasn't like a magic pill that I was like, oh, I just need to say this, and people give me their credit card. It it wasn't anything like that. It was it was consistently doing the work every single day and consistently staying a student of the craft, as a student of the game to get better and implement even more stuff into it. So maybe in the beginning, all I knew was to work hard. So I was picking up the phone and I was just calling all these people, and I was just I was making hundred, hundred and fifty, two hundred calls every single day. Like I had the work ethic part, and then maybe a couple months into I started to realize hey, the very basics of sales is just helping somebody get what they want. And whenever the value outweighs the cost, then they're gonna do it. So maybe in the beginning, all I had was work ethic, and then I started to realize the psychology behind sales and marketing and having an irresistible offer. And I realized that I had an irresistible offer, so I would go to town on that, and then I coupled those two. Now I had work ethic and I had the basic psychology and irresistible offer and stuff along those lines. Um, and maybe I started doing better. And then a couple months down the line, maybe I started to realize hey, people buy from people they know I can trust. So if I just go to people that are already in our network and I start, you know, talking to them about how maybe we can help them even more by leveling up, or maybe we we help some of their friends, their family, maybe even their employees. Um, so I just started stacking a bunch of these good habits on top of each other. And I'm a big believer in there was this book that I read called Outwitting the Devil. It's by Napoleon Hill. Napoleon Hill wrote uh Thinking Real Rich. So he's one of the top authors out there. And he talks about this thing called symphonic rhythm. And what symphonic rhythm is, is think about new year, new me. Everybody wants to go to the gym right now. But if you watch them, people that go into the gym, they don't know where the chess machine is, they don't know where the treadmills are, they don't know. So they spend a lot of their time thinking about instead of actually doing the work, they're like, okay, what should I do next? Okay, let's let's do some dumbbells. Should I should I pick up the 35s or are those too heavy? Um, you pick the 35s up, you realize they're way too light. So you got to go back. You you just wasted time. Now you got to get the 45s. Are those still too heavy? You're just wasting a lot of time. But a seasoned vet, someone that goes to the gym a lot, they know exactly where the chess machine is. Not only that, they know exactly what how many reps they're gonna do with each rep, they track all that stuff. So instead of walking in, walking around, seeing you know where everything is, they know exactly where to go, they know exactly what weight to do. And it's just it's it's it's second nature to them. So whenever you do something enough, it's the same that goes in in business, sales, marketing, all that sort of stuff. If in the beginning, maybe you're just calling a bunch of people and you're just stumbling over yourself, you don't know what to say, you don't know the the story or the progression that you want to take that person on. But eventually you're gonna start realizing hey, I made a sale with this one person, and this is how it happened. Maybe I'll try it again with someone else. And you start trying that, you tried to to duplicate that system. Now you make another one, and now you got three sales, you got four sales, five sales. You start seeing a pattern between that, and that's whenever that symphonic rhythm starts kicking in, and you it's just kind of second nature. You don't have to think about it. You don't know you you don't have to struggle with what you're gonna say, you just know exactly what to say. Um, so really just just doing the work consistently and stacking a bunch of those good habits.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

I love it. And if you're listening to this right now and you're wondering how to break into sales, well, there's the game plan right there. That's the uh that's the manual, that's the verbal manual, you will. So back things up and listen to that again.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

That's the game. And let's give us some stats. I know a lot of people out there that they want to call themselves the goat and all that sort of stuff, but they don't have any stats to back it up. I'm not saying I'm the goat. I know there's people that have sold billions of dollars of sales, but I'm 23 in the last three years, I've closed 7.5 million dollars in sales. So it's not, I'm not I'm not, I'm not speaking out my my butt. I don't know if this is an explicit podcast or not. I'm not speaking out my butt, but um I I know I'm not the best in the game, but I'm I'm working every day to to become that that that version of myself.

SPEAKER_00 13:37

So well, you're doing a damn good job of it, and you're also building your machine at the same time. I mean, you've got a couple companies with your brothers too, don't you? Uh that that that you're running. Uh, you made some solid real estate investments um last year, got yourself a house, got yourself and a game plan for the next 10 years uh to have several doors within your portfolio. So it's it's you know, sales is the starting point because that gets the money in the door. Then you start to build your machine and start to put that money to work for you, and you're doing all of that. Let's talk about some of the other stuff that you're that you're focused on regarding building your machine and really laying the foundation for your life.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

100%. So, I mean, you hit you hit the nail on the head with saying sales is sales is starting point. And and I was talking on uh Pedro's podcast the other day, and what I said was so many people, um, you can tell somebody that that actually gets it from somebody that doesn't get it. And what I mean by that is I'm around a lot of people that have money, and I can tell instantly, I don't care how much money you have in your bank account, I can tell if you get it or not. And how I can tell is how do you talk about money? Is money a key to get something else, or is money what you're after? Um, and what I mean by that is so many people think money is the end result. They want to get the money just because they want the money. Maybe they want a car, they want to show off, they they want that that some some sort of feeling that they're trying to fill within themselves, some sort of void. But other people, they look at money as a key. And what the key is, is it opens a lock, and that lock is a house. So to get into a house, what you're after is you're after the house. And what is the house? The house is happiness, the house, the house is fulfillment, the house is helping people, creating opportunities, really changing people's lives. Um, you look at it, and a lot of people look at God, why did you put us on this earth? I don't know. I don't have the answer to that. But what I do know is if I can just help the people around me and just help impact other people, help other people become happier, help other people unlock something within themselves. That's not only gonna make myself feel better, but it's gonna make a lot of other people feel better. At the end of the day, I think that's a very, very honorable mission in life. So are you looking at money as the end result? Is money the house that you're trying to get, or is it is it the key to get into the house? Is it the key so that you can create the opportunity, so that you can help other people, so you can donate to people, so that you can change lives, or is it simply are do you just want the money just because you want the money? Like I said, I'm I'm surrounded by a lot of very, very successful people, and I can tell within a five-minute conversation with them how they view money. Is it just a tool or is it what you're after?

SPEAKER_00 16:02

Yeah. Somebody told me a long time ago, money's a byproduct of doing what you love. And I told that spun my head and I really didn't understand it. Now I get it. Now I completely get it. But it's also a tool to to uh to further your impact and to do more and to reach more and to leave this place better than you found it, and to help more more people that you know, help the person you used to be. Uh and you know, that's my that that's been my I heard that last year and I never stopped thinking about it. And I'm like, that's a that's a that's my game. That's the that's that's the lane that I'm in. I had somebody tell me a few months ago, Sebastian, what you do has very little to do with podcasting. And I that that that was one of the best compliments I could ever get because yes, podcasting is the is the uh is the catalyst at who you get to become and how your business is grossly impacted because you made a decision to step into a different version of yourself and start a podcast, is why I'm in this game. Because I've lived it. I know that my life has been radically changed because of the world of podcasting, and it continues to be. And now I get to pass this gift on, just like you guys just got done saying. Lift as you climb and be able to pass that gift on. Let me take what I've learned and show other people how to go do it. And what's the world look like? And that's why Apex is the type of organization that it is. Because that's exactly what Stuman has done is rinsed and repeated that process now at scale. And there's individuals like yourself taking that exact same identical system and doing the exact same thing. God help the world if all 2,000 of us get on that same program and start making those same strides, right? Facts, man. Facts.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

And and and I I think it's pretty cool. A very, very humble brag right now. Um, I think it's pretty cool because I am one of the youngest inside of Apex, and I am um kind of the poster child, kind of the golden boy to Apex. So it's it's like um all my success is I wouldn't have my success without Apex, like straight up. Like Apex has helped me beyond, like sure. I can't even put it into words. It's it's not only giving me the network, giving plugs me in with man, some of the top entrepreneurs in the world, really. Um, but it's giving me the step-by-step game plan, it's giving me the mindset, it's giving me the lessons, all that sort of stuff. Um, so I I think that's pretty cool. I'm I'm just kind of like like my success is a direct correlation to to the power of Apex because once you get surrounded by the right people, everything else kind of happens how it's supposed to. Once you get once you meet the right people, or once you get surrounded by the right people, you're gonna meet the right people, you're gonna see the right opportunities, you're gonna have the right epiphanies, you're gonna learn everything that you need to know. But it all starts with getting surrounded by the right people. And that's that's what I did three years ago was was I got plugged in with the right people.

SPEAKER_00 18:39

Do you still get mentorship from Stuman, like on a daily basis, a weekly basis as well? You guys still pretty tight with you know, really helping you guide the course and really helping shape and continue to shape and mold you because that's a huge, I mean, that in and of itself is a gigantic life benefit. And to have an individual that's radically transformed their life and then taught you how to do that, but also continually, as we say in Apex, you know, uh, you know, putting you on what is it? Putting you on uh I forget what the correct phrase is. Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

Right. Exactly. No, 100%. So so just uh a couple hours ago, um, his office is right here because we're we're in the new office and uh we're we're kind of in um I don't know, makeshift office. We're we're not in our our permanent offices. And he just he pulled me in there, he was telling me um I should throw my money into this investment and uh teach me that stuff. But dude, really that's that's what made me come to Apex was it it wasn't a $15 per hour internship. I would have done the shit for free. Uh am I allowed to cuss? Like yeah, you're good. You're done, yeah, you're good, man. I would have done it for free, but um because it got me surrounded by the right people, and all the game that I learned by being surrounded by these type of people is I can't even I can't even quantify it. I can't even put a price point on it.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

Yeah, it's great, man. It's it's a it's like the compound effect, is what I think about it. You know, it's gonna continuing to be in the right room with the right people. And you're in fact, I I shared a message with you. Did Dan Fleshman like commented on my morning roll call post about starting a podcast? And I know Dan on high buy wouldn't call him like my boy by any stretch of the imagination. But for him to go in and leave like a thoughtful comment and say, I'm finally, you'd be proud, I'm finally launching my well-overdue podcast, record the first two episodes today, and I was like, that's what happens when you're in the right room. The people that are on your top 25 list of people you want to interact with, be around with, and have in your life, they st that starts to come to fruition just by default because you're showing up. And um, that's just one of the why, it's just wild. You know, again, I I've never been so excited over a Facebook coming. It's not like a fan, it's not like a fanboy moment at all. It's just like it happened again on LinkedIn the other day. He replied back this, that, and the other. And I was, you know, I just talking about what a show and what he was doing. But that was you know, that's just one, you know, example. Uh, and then there's been a lot of crossover too, of like my existing network and people that I was already connected to, and then the Apex and then being able to uh you know uh figure out how all that starts to work together. It's just crazy. The world continues to become smaller and smaller and smaller. Never would I think I'd be starting 2023 the way that I am right now, which the business is thriving. I'm literally booked three out of four weeks this year or uh this month um to speak, two of those being referrals from Apex of, hey, I spoke here last year, they're looking for a podcast guy, you're perfect. Can I make an introduction? So these things continue to unravel. And I've been speaking for a long time. It's never been a huge priority for for my business because it the the opportunity uh because I spent a lot of time seeking it. And you can't seek a a speaking business. You attract a speaking business. And that took a long time to figure out. I like to believe that my my gift is communicating, my gift is is being on stage and having that platform. But man, it took me a long time to figure out how the game works. Now I'll even pay to be on a stage. And people are like, I'm like, yeah, if there's a dollar amount for me to get on that stage and it's within reason and I know it's my audience, I'm in. So, and these are all this was all happening based on the network and continuing to grow and step into you know the position that we're appointed to you know to become here. So dude, I'm just I'm amped man 2023 is going to be fantastic. I I was talking to Stuman last night briefly telling him about last year and he immediately replied Congrats man. Don't forget about the rules of money. And I'm like homeboy's always got he's got to always got a hug with a slap in the back of the head for you like a good slap in the back of the head for you. Always you know being able to and and that's uh and I think about that a lot too I'm like he we have a lot of access to him as members especially entrepreneurs and execs you've got a lot of access to be able to be in the room to learn from him to have casual conversations randomly I thought he got hacked a couple months ago he hit me up and check in. I'm like he's like you good just checking in I'm like did you get hacked but that's the world and that's the space that we're living in here. And then at the same time, you know, there's people that we're meeting the come and go people kind of come and go out of out of the network sometimes too because they just don't get it. And that's unfortunate. You know if you you know are no I just don't think there's any reason to not be an apex. It's not because you never reach a level of success where you're like I'm good. I don't need apex just ask Sammy Knight. And there's a a laundry list of plenty of people in Apex that don't need to be an Apex at all, but they are because they understand the value of being able to contribute to that network and also realizing they can continue to become a better version of themselves even if you've reached this level of you know this certain level of success. And that's what I love about it. Like the Jason Postens and you know Chris Chris Dizzo, he's a newer member, but the guy has a successful business and has hit, I mean, absolutely hit the ground running in Apex and he's done it through one thing. You and I had a very long conversation about this. It's through service and it's through showing up and I haven't had a lot of interaction with Chris as far as back and forth. He's a buddy high buy type deal apex buddy here and there and um we chatted a little bit before he just absolutely destroyed apex live stage uh in in November uh which has been cool but it's it's good to know we're around people with hearts like that. You can tell where people are coming from based on the content that they share and more importantly how they show up 100% man.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

Chris is a perfect example of just just coming in and providing value.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

So I'm glad you brought him up man he he's great people yeah he can bench press me he can bench press three of you whether you believe or not not maybe not three probably two I still want to see him in Post and arm wrestle I'm gonna put that together I'm gonna organize that I'd be a good one I I think Chris got him honestly you think so yeah I mean uh we could sell tickets to it I mean there could be a space we could do the new office I mean there's tons of opportunity here we got they're both uh IFB bodybuilders both of them yeah I can tell I mean um I am not actually um but uh we're getting there so uh man uh what are you most excited about for 2023 2023 so I I've been thinking about this a lot lately um as I'm lining out my goals and and figuring out what I want to accomplish and the best way I'm looking at 2023 is 2023 is kind of like a part two to 2022.

SPEAKER_01 25:21

And I don't mean that as in a a way to just continue doing the same stuff. It's really hey 2022 this is what showed me was possible now 2023 it's time to actually create that. So I I I think the biggest thing that I'm excited about in 2023 is really creating opportunities for others to succeed and really start start giving back to other people I feel like um and I and I learned this on a podcast Andy Frisella and Wes Watson talked about it it's um Maslow's hierarchy of needs and that they're talking about hey with in in the very beginning what do you need you need uh food food shelter and safety um like if someone has a gun pointed to to your head that's that's number one so it's like immediate dangers next is going to be food shelter and shape safety so then that's when whenever you got to start worrying about hey do I have food do I have shelter do I have a place to stay um but the I mean there's all different types of levels the next one's gonna be community but when you get to the top two it's gonna be self-actualization and self-transcendence so self-actualization is whenever you ever hear people start saying I'm I'm gonna do me you know I'm I'm gonna start doing me new me new year new me y'all don't understand what I'm on I'm not you're just kind of in that zone where it's just like it's necessary for success you have to detach yourself from from everything else some people do it way more obnoxiously than others they're like hey i'm i'm I'm moving in silence over here everybody look I'm moving in silence right are you that's what it is that's self self-actualization and that's really whenever you start start stepping into um your success and and really that the greatest version of yourself that that we talk about but once you do that the next level of growth is being able to give that back to other people and it's it's self-transcendence it's transcending past yourself so that you're not only you're not only getting the success but it's like nobody wants to succeed by themselves. So you're starting to give back to other people um and and that I I think that's really what I'm most excited about in 2023 is my success I hate to say that it doesn't excite me because it does I have a love for the game and and I hope I never lose that love but it doesn't excite me as much as it excites me to help other people and I feel like that's how I know I've made it to that that self-transcendence is I gotta I obviously keep working on myself start you know keep keep succeeding myself but really help other people that's really what what gets me most excited about 2023. So so being able to create opportunities for other people like that be able to continue to inspire and show what's possible for dude if I can do it as a 23 year old there's no reason that y'all can't do it. Y'all have had um shit twice my age but on top of that like think about my age I'm I'm 23 but 15 of that I was a kid like I wasn't focused on this stuff. So really I've had eight years to step into this greatness you've yeah maybe you were a kid from one to 15 too but you've had that eight years plus another eight years plus another eight years plus another eight years so it's like really inspiring but then also showing showing how I did it and and and being very transparent with it and I know a lot of people they get out there and it's um they're nothing and then they're successful and it's like how how'd you get that you know how how did Ryan become successful how did Mylette become successful how did Eric Thomas Andy Friselle how did these people become successful you're seeing them successful now but I think that's the coolest thing with me is you're you're seeing the process I know without a doubt I'm gonna be successful. I consider myself self self just success I consider myself successful already I just can't say successful obviously but um really really being able to see that that that progress and and show people exactly how I'm doing it so that they have no excuses on why they can't do it for themselves.

SPEAKER_00 28:54

Yeah yeah I you know I was reminded of that in in et's new book you owe you where he really unpacked I know ET a long time and I'll never forget in fact when we first met it was probably 2013 he was here to talk for the dolphins he was just starting to be put on really like on a on one of the main motivational speakers in the world and and I'll never forget he was here to talk for the dolphins and he called me I wore bow ties I used to bow ties used to be my jam so he hit me on he hit me one morning he's like hey Rusk I got a bow tie for you I'll be in Fort Lauderdale and we went and met up he sent me to the wrong hotel but I went to the other hotel we finally found each other and we had breakfast and I'll never forget he sat down and he was like well we're trying to figure a few things out because my wife's got some health stuff that we're trying to work through this that and the other I had no idea that that was the beginning days of her MS diagnosis. But then more importantly being able to unpack I'm glad I got the I always get the audio book and the regular book. I'm such a sucker for both because I find myself you know one to read in the morning but then I also want to listen while I'm while I'm out for my daily walk. So he's he's very impactful with the with the audio book but him to unpack those very early days of like homelessness and selfishness and thinking he had it all figured out and trying to make a family work and like this dude's got like a good 20 30 years into this game before he was ever the monster that he is now uh in the world of of speaking and the brand that he's built here. And it was just so encouraging to see all that because somebody told me a long time ago Sebastian takes 10 years to become an overnight success. And then I and then they said and then another 10 years um you know to become the person you need to be to maintain that success. So buckle in. And I look back now you know I had my daughter when I was 20 years old and uh I was not the individual that I needed to be but it was enough to become a father full-time father and an entrepreneur and then finally start to unpack things. But it wasn't until seven years ago that I realized oh wait a second I'm the problem I'm the problem. So I need to go in and figure out how to love me and tweak me. And after that things start to fall into place. And you know that's why I'm a huge you know huge advocate for doing doing the work yeah for business is important too but you better do the work for yourself first and get everything situated first and heal whatever needs to get healed first. And whatever you got to do to stop blaming mom and dad and stop living that story that's not true, I believe has to be done before any other success. And I kept coming back to that Zach. I kept coming back to going, listen, I'm going places there's no doubt in my mind I am on I am on track to do great things in this world, but you are still an asshole and you're very angry. And that is going to bring the whole house of cards down eventually. So we got to tweak this all out. And thank God I say the healing world found me or God just put me in the right place to be able to tweak all that. And I'm grateful for that journey. And now I'm able to take what I've learned and integrate it into what I do with the world of podcasting. And that's when people say this is so much more in podcasting man I really my life's different I'm thinking differently now. So man healing and doing the work for yourself and in business is is so important but also recognizing that it's gonna take as long as it's gonna take and more times than not it's gonna take longer than you think. Always does it does it it really really does. But um we've only got a lifetime to figure this out right you know well dude always say life's short but it's it's it's the longest thing we're ever going to do so yeah you aren't kidding my dumb my grandmother used to say the uh the the years dra the the the days drag on and the years fly by isn't that the truth with uh you know with with life but you know Bobby Castro non-refundable minutes baby gotta you gotta you gotta you gotta strike you gotta strike while the iron's hot which is you know right now so uh an apex is epitome uh the epitome of not epitome is not the right word i maybe it is like it's the great the best example of being able to do that like the sense of urgency the time is now on where it's all at and like I go I was telling we were talking about Motivational Monday earlier the Stuman's Motivational Monday this week and man he goes in I mean he goes in on all of them but like this one it was like man what like this is your life like what are you doing like if I can do it literally anybody can do it and I'm sitting there thinking if this doesn't motivate you you may legitimately want to check your pulse am I alive right now because I was like this is so true. I mean I look at it Stu and I are the identical same age he may be a year he may be slightly maybe six months younger than me so and been through hell and back and hell and back got a couple vouchers and then boom here he is he's got a beautiful life because he put in the work and been able to do that and that is just so motivating if you don't want to follow that lead again check your pulse right I lost you there I just muted someone someone walked in I'm like I said we're we're in like our our makeshift office so we're all good we're all it makes for good podcast ad libs so no it's cool man uh we're uh we're running out of time anyway dude this has been a great conversation way way overdue uh and I'm glad you got me on the calendar um sooner rather than later so we get this conversation done um I appreciate you uh I believe in you it's a privilege to call you a friend a brother and somebody to be in the same room with um I'm excited for you and what you got going on uh and your whole future man it's just exciting to and a privilege and I still feel extremely blessed to be on the be on the journey with you and I mean that and um I thank you for everything that you pour into my life I shared our entire conversation we had a few a couple months ago um with my family my mom my sister and my daughter and they were like we want to meet Zach and one day we'll get you guys to an apex event but then more importantly I mean I leverage you know your experience of what you've done I tell my daughter hey listen you've gone a different route but here's a great example of what's possible unfortunately she doesn't have the entrepreneur itch or desire she wants to just go to school and study and get a job and do her thing and that's totally cool. Maybe one day she'll do it but I utilize you a lot an example uh to my own daughter to say hey here's what's possible this is a person that I love and care about that's helped me radically change my life through an organization called Apex and the same's available for you. So keep doing what you're doing brother it matters the way you show up is extremely clear uh to everyone that you're around and um everyone that gets to know you it's uh it's definitely their privilege.

SPEAKER_01 35:18

Well I appreciate that man and it truly is an honor um that that you speak to your daughter that highly of me um and man I appreciate you having me on I had an absolute blast it it definitely was way overdue um and I I hope your audience got got a lot of value from um hearing a little bit about you know some of the golden nuggets that I picked up from from being a part of truly a an incredible network. So um appreciate you Sebastian absolutely appreciate you as well brother any final thoughts for our listeners on this whole journey we like to call life really and I and I'm I'm just gonna nail it home get surrounded by the right people because once you get surrounded by the right people that that really they're doing what you want to do and and then you can soak everything up you can learn about you know what it took to get there because at the end of the day I think one of the the traits that describe me best is is either ambition or or work ethic. I don't know which one um but ambition is really having big goals and wanting to accomplish them. So if if that's my biggest trait anybody out there that that can relate to that and they they think their biggest traits are work ethic or ambition that means you you want to set big goals and you want to accomplish them get surrounded by the right people to make sure those goals become to fruition.

SPEAKER_00 36:32

Love it. Great final thoughts thanks again young closer ladies and gentlemen Zach Sasser if you're listening to this right now you're thinking Apex what is this after this conversation I want to figure out how to get in that room you can most definitely do that slide into my DMs I'd be more than happy to make a personal introduction to Zach and the team over at uh at Apex to be more than happy to walk you through the park on what's available so you too can radically change your life. Until next time friends thanks so much for tuning into this episode of the Beyond the Story podcast. Be sure to appreciate it if you haven't done so already make sure you're subscribed to the show this way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. If you feel so inclined please leave us a review be sure to appreciate it. Signing off from the podcast launchlab.com studios we'll talk to you next time