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Hey guys, it's Tyson Johnson joining you for another six pack dad tribe podcast episode, and this one's going to be different and exciting because I'm officially interviewing a friend and someone that likely several of you already know Nelson Trussler, um, uh, Nelson, go ahead and say hi before I do a little intro for you. How you doing?
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me Tyson. Appreciate it.
Speaker 1:You bet. Yeah. So, so let me just give a little intro from my perspective on who Nelson is and why you should listen to him, um, and why I'm honored to have him here on the podcast. Um, so, so first of all, he's, he's just barely a published author and I'll certainly let Nelson talk about that. Let's that's awesome. Um, I've known Nelson for, I dunno, probably going on a decade. Um, he's one of those guys. I knew him from Las Vegas professionally, and kind of got to know his family a little bit. And, you know, in your life, how you have different people who are maybe like five, 10 years ahead of where you are and you say to yourself, I want to be like that person when I grow up, so to speak, um, Nelson probably doesn't even know this, but he's kind of been that kind of a guy for me as, um, serial entrepreneur, highly successful professional. Um, and I've watched him do that kind of from afar and see his family do well. And one time I was even with him in a, in a church meeting and he was put on the spot to, uh, to give an inspirational message. He had no preparation and he delivered this amazing message just on the fly. So Nelson's the kind of this type of a guy. And he reached out to me just the other day saying, Hey, I've published a new book, like what you're doing on the podcast. And, um, so I said, Oh, I'd, I'd love to have you. So, um, so Nelson, that's a, those are my thoughts, uh, on who you are as a guy and, and honored to have you, um, why don't you go ahead, um, and just kinda tell the, the audience a little bit about yourself, um, and you can talk about anything you want to start off and then I'll drill down with other questions.
Speaker 2:Great. Well, and thank you for that. I mean, I appreciate that. Uh, I I've, I've heard that, you know, some somewhat as I've written this book and gotten a few instant messages, you never know who's watching you and who you're inspiring, and it's very humbling, uh, to hear you say that. So I really appreciate it, but, um, yeah, I mean the, the reason, uh, you know, I have been, uh, I've been doing commercial real estate for 20 years and, um, you know, I finally have been able to retire from, from that business, uh, through some of the other businesses that I've started. But I think where I, you know, where I differ from a lot of people is my origin story and, um, and kind of where I came from. And I'd like to get into that a little bit. Um, so, uh, my mom, uh, she, uh, she got pregnant with me when she was 15 years old and, uh, while she was pregnant with me, her father who was the local trash collector, uh, in a small town of 6,000 people, uh, went and shot two police officers and killing one and wounding a another one. And, uh, he was captured and brought to trial and it was facing the death penalty, uh, of course for shooting these police officers. But while he was at trial, my mother, uh, got on the stand and testified to the jury that the reason that he had shot and killed those police officers was because the police officer who died had pulled her over and raped her. And she was now carrying his baby who was me and a bat. Uh, that's kinda how my life started. And, uh, you know, um, in, in a small town, uh, you can imagine everybody knows your business anyhow, but, uh, after your grandfather has shot and killed a police officer and your mom has testified that, uh, you're a product of, uh, the rape of that. Uh, it was, it was rough growing up in that town and my life didn't get any easier after that. Um, my mom, when she was 21 years old, started to, uh, go to bars and she found a peach of a man who eventually became my stepfather and, uh, you know, come to find out he was an alcoholic and was, uh, emotionally and physically abusive to be in my mother. So, uh, had, uh, had a rough go of it there. My mom eventually had, um, four other children and because of the lifestyle that her and my stepfather were living, you know, a lot of the task of caring for my brothers and my sister were thrust on, you know, me who I was, you know, 10, 11, 12 years old at the time. And, uh, because of that lifestyle, I ended up, you know, failing the fourth grade, um, had straight F's. I remember looking at my report card and the next year, you know, when I had to repeat fourth grade, I got placed into special ed come to find out I had dyslexia. Um, so I mean, it, it was a, it was definitely rough, but I had that one turning moment, which I think all of us can relate to is we have that one moment. And I think a lot of people feel like, you know, it's, it's a long drawn out thing, but I had that one, that one instance, um, of setting a goal, and that first goal was to become the first person in my family to graduate from college. Um, my mom had 15 brothers and sisters and only two of them had ever graduated from high school. None had ever even attended college. And I was looking at my life thinking, what am I going to do? I don't want this life. You know, it sucks. Uh, and eventually, um, I set that goal and then, uh, you know, it, it didn't come easy. Um, you know, I had one good thing going for me. I was pretty good at sports and I had a couple of schools looking at me to play football. Uh, but my grades were, you know, still pitiful. And, uh, one school took a chance on me. I ended up, uh, going to play football at st Francis and became that first person to go to college. And my family, uh, ended up getting to the end of my first year and couldn't afford to go back. Um, you know, the, the bills came in and, uh, I still owed$3,000 and had no chance of doing that. Eventually I joined the air force on the GI bill and to make a long story short, you know, um, 12 years later, four schools later, four years in the air force. I became that first person in my family to graduate college. And after that, I became obsessed with setting goals and, uh, specifically, you know, personal development and have used that over the past 20 years. Uh, and every area of my life, uh, to, you know, kind of create a life that I couldn't have even imagined, you know, 35 years ago when I was growing up
Speaker 1:Quite the, quite the story. So, um, and in, in articles that are written about you, you've mentioned, you know, when people learn about your story, then it, it becomes maybe a little more clear why you're so driven. Um, you know, you've, you've kind of been a pioneer in your family, so to speak and in so many of these different, um, aspects of your life. Um, so thanks, thanks for sharing that. That's very personal. Tell us, tell us a little bit about, um, yourself professionally and, uh, you're, you're still pretty young. Like, I don't look at you and thinking of a guy who's retired. Um, so I, I bet our listeners would enjoy learning a little more about a full-time career, um, building a side hustle, or actually many that I've, I've known about you, like, tell us a little bit about your side gigs and that, and w why are where you're going today?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, um, yeah, like I said, I've, I was in commercial real estate for 20 years, uh, doing a brokerage and, uh, became very successful in that I was number one in the country several times, uh, for a top five commercial real estate firm. Uh, and then through that, it kind of opened my eyes to all these other, uh, businesses, uh, that I eventually got into, uh, I invested in, uh, a chain of children's daycare centers here in Las Vegas. Um, you'll find that in my book, that's a big part of the book in there of what happened there, what went wrong and what we did to kind of overcome that, and then ended up starting, uh, at the same time, a pet resort that me and my partner, Austin Lewis grew to one of the largest privately held pet resorts in the country, uh, here in Las Vegas and in Phoenix. And, um, I'm, uh, an investor in flipping out extreme where we, we have two of those, uh, but, uh, anything, uh, you know, I'm, I'm very entrepreneurial, I see opportunities and an, and a lot of things. And, uh, I love starting something from scratch and, and building it up and, and making it a, you know, fixing all the things that I kind of see in, uh, in the competition. And, uh, my, my latest thing was, uh, you know, I was able to sell the, uh, daycares and sell the pet resorts and, uh, able to, uh, you know, retire from commercial real estate. And my next venture it's called, I got smarter and it is an app and a gold program that helps people achieve their life's biggest goals. I've used goals and personal development over the last 20 years to, you know, like I said, accomplish a lot of the things that I've been able to accomplish. I know what works and what didn't work for me. And, uh, when I was thinking, what am I going to do with the rest of my life? Um, this was the one thing that I could do and, uh, never get sick of, I get fired up every time I talk about goals, because I know the power of them. I know what a huge difference goals will not only make in people's lives, but in their family's lives and not only their, their immediate family, but for generations, I've seen it happen in my life. And, uh, I see that there are so many people out there that are living well below what they're capable of living. And I know that, uh, if they just learned how to, uh, one learned what their true potential was and is, and if they could just kind of have that program on how they could set a goal and just work at accomplishing it, they could live a much more fulfilling life. And that's what I got smarter as all about, is helping those people reach their potential and really live the life that they want to live.
Speaker 1:So, one of the questions that, that, like, I'm, I'm in a very similar boat as a working professional full-time career. I'm doing this, um, on this side, but you're, you're kind of like me on steroids in a way, like you, you built large
Speaker 2:Love to look like you on steroids.
Speaker 1:No. Well, I remember you at one point you were, you were the doggy daycares, which I'm quite familiar with. Um, at one point you'd go in for like an hour in the morning, like say around eight, seven or eight in the morning, check on that for an hour, work here as a highly successful real estate broker, and then like four or five at night, go and check. And like, I guess my question for you is, I mean, the, the theme of this tribe is our health and our fitness goes way beyond how we look, what we're trying to help people achieve is a balanced, successful life as busy dads. So, so these aren't mutually exclusive things like we can succeed professionally. We can ever help dialed in. We can be wonderful husbands and fathers and community leaders. And you're, you're kind of the body-mind of that. So let's talk about balance for a minute and, you know, we all have the same 24 hours in the day. Um, you're big on goal setting. Like how have you been able to manage your time and balance all of these things without drop having one of these balls drop? Well,
Speaker 2:You mentioned like manage your time. I mean, none of us can really manage our time. We all get 24 hours, right. Regardless, but it's a matter of managing your priorities. And we talk about that in the, I got smarter program, you know, one time is our most precious resource. Uh, there's nothing that we can ever do to get a second of it back. So we treat time with, uh, with the importance that it really deserves. And I think there's so many people out there that, you know, they kind of blink their eyes and in a decades over and they're like, crap, you know, I really thought I would be further along, or I w I really would have liked to done this, or my kids are grown now. So one is living life with purpose and, uh, knowing what you want having that long-term perspective. And I just I've always had my priorities. Uh, my family has always been the most important to me, so I never let any of my goals get in the way of that. I never wanted to miss a, one of my kids' sporting events or a school function or, or a church function. So I think really is setting those priorities and then managing your priorities with the time that you're allotted. Um, I think that's kind of been the, the, the key to me, but it's, it's living life with purpose and not being thrown from one thing to another. When we don't have that plan, when we don't have those crystal clear goals, then we tend to not really know what we want to do. And then we kind of allow the world to push us from one thing to the next, and then not really realizing, uh, that our goals aren't getting accomplished, because we don't have those clear goals. So having clear goals, having clear priorities, uh, and then working towards those every single day, when you wake up having that purpose, knowing what you want to accomplish with your life.
Speaker 1:Sure. You know, and, and I'm sure just maybe one step deeper on this, your, your interview, um, talks about delegation and, um, that's an area that I've learned as, you know, as a community leader, how important it was that I surrounded myself with really capable people too, because at some point, if you don't learn to delegate then the family or the main career, whatever it somewhere has to give. So maybe tell us a thing or two you've learned about delegation as it relates to being successful in life.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I mean that, I think that's one thing that I'm really good at is delegating probably too good at, uh, you know, I've surrounded myself throughout the years with so many good people, uh, you know, good people that I could trust, good people who were just, you know, did things 10 times better than I could do them. And, uh, you know, I was kind of a big picture guy. And then I kind of gave things to, you know, all these people that I surrounded myself with. I mean, you know, shout out to my partner, Austin Lewis, uh, who was with, with media and, uh, commercial real estate who eventually, uh, you know, went into the doggy district and, and grew it to what it ended up being, and now is with me. And I got smarter and really has been my right-hand man since forever. I mean, Austin's also my brother-in-law. So I've known him since he was 15 years old and, uh, you know, has made a huge difference in my success. So, uh, definitely being able to find those people that you can trust and delegate to, and know that things are going to get better. I mean, one thing that I've done with delegation, I read a book and I don't know who wrote it, but they said, if there is anything that somebody can do 80% as well as you can do it, you should delegate it. And, uh, the way that I am, there's pretty much always people out there that can do it 80% as good as me. So I delegate a lot of stuff and really just focus on those things that only I can do. And, uh, that allows you to really, uh, do so much more because you're not caught up, you know, you're working, you're working on your business as opposed to in your business. And, uh, that's allowed me to do, uh, so many more things than I would've been able to do. If I couldn't delegate.
Speaker 1:I've, I've found such a similar story almost on accident. These, these relationships we're building with people, we, we oftentimes don't realize what an amazing talent pool we have sitting right. In our sphere of influence. Um, a lot of the clients that are going through the dad Triber now becoming coaches or helping me with, with expansion and these different, it's neat to hear you talk about Austin and how he's come along with you throughout unrelated businesses, but there's you trust him? And he's an important piece to that. So that's awesome. So last week, did I get this right? Your, your book just launched. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it did. I'm super proud of it. It's a, it's a book I've been working on, you know, for three or four years and in some variety of a way. And, you know, I started writing down stories. And then when I decided to kind of go forward with, uh, this new, I got smarter business, it felt like a great opportunity to write this book and to get it out there, to help people realize kind of where I got smarter was coming from that it's not just a bunch of theories that it's something that I've kind of used to overcome some very trying circumstances and to get to where I am and hopefully inspire and motivate them to take control of their lives.
Speaker 1:So we, we've got to discuss both the title and the subtitle of the book. It's a, this is like amazing marketing on your part as far as attention grabbing. So the unlucky sperm club, you are not a victim of your circumstances, but a product of your choices. So I, I especially love that sub piece and I hope we can go a little deep, deeper on this as it relates to health and fitness. But tell us, tell us a little bit about, um, the title of that. And, um, I mean, this is probably one of your mantras of life. Talk about your background and who you could be, and instead who you've chosen to be, um, any of us who have heard your story that just respect to you on that. So tell us, tell us what prompted you to title it this and choose this as the theme.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, at first I was gonna, it was going to be called the lucky sperm club. And the reason for that is I think I, I got to a point in my life where I quit looking at, you know, the circumstances that I was born under as a crutch and as a bad thing. And I started to realize that, you know, what, the reason I am, the person that I am is because I was born under those circumstances. And, uh, I think there's a lot of people out there who have that victim mindset that, you know, it's, it's not my fault. I was, you know, born here or my parents didn't do this, or I didn't do that. And they really give away that, you know, responsibility of their life, to the circumstances that they were either born under or, you know, things that other people have done. So I, uh, I chose that title because, um, you know, none of us, you know, uh, you know, I guess what I'm trying to say is when I was born in, in those circumstances, it ended up being one of the greatest in my life. And I wanted people to kind of take that away. It definitely catches your, uh, catches your eye. When you see that, um, uh, somebody had instant messaged me and thought I was in the, uh, um, sperm bank industry or something. So I definitely can be misconstrued too, but I think that subtitle really sums up the book is that we cannot be, you know, we, we can't be a victim of those circumstances, whether the circumstances we're born in or the circumstances we find ourselves in now, you know, whatever that, whatever those circumstances are, we can't be a victim of them. We need, we need to be a product of the choices that we make. And, uh, we always have a choice and that's what we really need to focus on is what choices I'm making. And you'll become a product of those choices, you know, that you're making day in and day out.
Speaker 1:So that's easier said than done. I think, I think maybe a lot of us know that in our head through study and stories and, um, and yet the application and the execution of that is harder. Um, how, like how old were you able to do that? You were, you were raised in less than ideal circumstances and now fast forward, you're a young retiree with three boys and happily married and doing all these cool things and your community respects you like for those, I can just, I know that a lot of our listeners come from families who are diabetic, um, who have heart disease in their family and obesity. And so this relates to the listeners from a health perspective. We're, we're not victim of our circumstance. It's all about the choices we make. And tons of the work we do on our side is mindset related and busting a lot of those beliefs that are incorrect. So what would you say has helped you in your life as much as anything to embrace this philosophy?
Speaker 2:There's been a lot of things and I've kind of built a lot of that stuff into the, I got smarter app, but the, one of my favorite concepts in, in this new company is the concept of an alter ego. Um, we, we all have that perfect version of ourselves. That's just below the surface and they always make the right decisions. And in, in our program, I got smarter. We, uh, develop that, uh, alter ego. We asked that alter ego, whenever, uh, questions come up, what they would do. And, you know, I have an alter ego, his name's Fred and Fred always makes the right choices. You know, Fred would never dream of, you know, if he's on a diet, he would never dream of, you know, sneaking a bite of chocolate cake. That's in the refrigerator. But Nelson, the other hand, you know, Nelson would have one bite and then another bite and then sneak back 10 minutes later and finish it off. And I think that's the way a lot of us are, is we have that perfect version of ourselves that always makes the right decision. And what I try to do is use Fred use my alter ego to help me make those tough decisions. And I asked their advice on almost everything that I do. And what I found out is the more that I did this, the more that I used, my alter ego, the closer that Fred and Nelson became to becoming that the same person and the struggles of, you know, that Nelson had, uh, after he's used Fred Fred's advice so much, uh, it's, it's like a muscle. You don't have to use it as often. And as I continued to make Fred type choices, it got easier for Nelson to make those choices. And eventually, you know, Fred and Nelson, you know, you couldn't tell the difference between them. And then eventually what happens is your alter ego continues to get better and better as, as does, you know, Nelson. So that that's been a great concept that I've used. And then, you know, what, just setting goals and having that crystal clear vision of what you want your life to be. I mean, I, I made that goal back in seventh grade when I determined to become that first person in my family to graduate from college, I knew where I wanted to go. I knew what, um, what life I wanted to live. And I knew that if I could accomplish that goal, it would change my life. So having that long-term perspective, I think a lot of times we're caught up in the trenches and we kind of can only see right in front of our faces, but we need to know where do we want to be in a month? Where do we want to be in a year? Where do we want to be in five years? Where do we want to be in the next decade and have that long-term perspective? Because, uh, you know, we just started a new decade and I, and I guarantee you, a lot of your listeners are like, where did the last 10 years ago? And you know, what's going to happen. We're going to get it, have another decade here before any of us know it. And if we, if we're not living our life with purpose, if w if we don't have that crystal clear vision and those goals to shoot, shoot to, uh, we're going to end up the same spot we are. Now, if we're just kind of looking back saying, where did the last 10 years ago, I haven't accomplished hardly any of the things that I wanted to.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That's well said. So, so as you look ahead for the Trussler family, the next decade, what does both professionally and personally, um, what does, what's the vision you have for yourself? Tell us a little more about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I mean, this is, this new company is what I want to do with the rest of my life. I mean, I never see myself, uh, you know, retiring and playing golf and, and, uh, and kind of kicking back. I mean, it's just not in me. I tried that for about a month, uh, with COVID and, uh, it was horrible. And, and that was kind of an, an eyeopening thing to me to know that that's never really going to be on my plate. So this, this is what I want to do. I mean, it, anybody out there who's grown a business knows how difficult it is. And, uh, we are in that transition stage of trying to get this business up and going, trying to get the word out there, trying to figure out, you know, all the things, uh, that, uh, w we don't know that we don't know. And, uh, but this is what I want to do. Uh, you know, we all kind of have that legacy and I want to help, you know, change the world, but I want to help change it. One person and one goal at a time. I know, you know, I know how important goals can be. I mean, they are indeed generational. Um, you know, I told, I told you guys a little bit about my, uh, my, the start of my life. And I look at where I am, you know, just one generation past that. I mean, I'm 48 years old, uh, this year, uh, my grandfather was 48 years old. And, uh, when he shot and killed those police officers, my mom was 17 years old, had a baby, no education, and really no hope at the age of 17. And then just one generation later, my son, you know, Branson just, just turned 18. He's out serving a mission for his church. And all of that happened in just one generation by having a crystal clear vision of what you want with your life. And it all started with just one goal and then build upon that. And that's what I want to do for others out there is to show them the power of goals and to show them that they, they can be a product of their choices and to help them to make those choices day in and day out, that will get them the life that they're looking to live.
Speaker 1:That's, um, you know, so often in life, we, we think that, you know, we look in the mirror and we don't like, look, we don't like how we feel. And that's me focused. That's selfish focused. And then, and then we do something like set a new goal and we start changing our behaviors. And, and then our, it starts impacting our family who say with better nutritional choices, we find ourselves, you know, jogging around the block and we, you know, our ten-year-old is with us. And, you know, we, we go out and we start a new business, and then we find that our kids want to start a window cleaning business Nelson, you and I were, we're both window cleaners in our younger years. These, I love that message that, um, regardless of where we apply that, well, uh, Nelson we've, we've covered some, some amazing things. Um, we haven't even fully gone into your, your book and those chapters and, um, what you're doing with your, the technology side, your app, um, what else would you, what do you want to share with, with the working professional dad? Who's, who's listening to this podcast that, uh, maybe admires you from afar and wants, is hearing some of this and wants to replicate some of what you've done.
Speaker 2:I mean, the one thing I would say to anybody listening is do it and do it now. Don't wait. I mean, we, we just talked about how important time is and, uh, that, that, that's one of the things I probably, uh, fire aim and sh you know, whatever that saying is I, I fire first and then aim second, but, um, you know, I kind of figure it out along the way. Uh, don't wait till all the lights are green before you start on your journey. Uh, there is always something that we know what we need to do today. It might not, we might not have the full picture. We might not know exactly what we want to do, but there's always something that we can do right now today that will get us closer to living that life that we want to live. Don't wait, get it done, do it. And you'll figure it out along the way. Um, so many times we're, we're kind of, uh, you know, a paralysis by analysis and we try to get everything, uh, perfect. Before we start our journey. Start with that one step, you know, uh, uh, the journey of a thousand miles is, is, uh, started by one step. And I would say, take that step and take it now and get on your journey. And, uh, eventually what you'll do is like me you'll end up, you know, 20 years later, not even, not even having the foggiest idea that this type of life was possible to, to live this type of life and to do the things that I've been able to do. Uh, I had no idea what was, I had an idea that I wanted to do something different and something better with my life, but I didn't know exactly what that was, but I started my journey. And then every step that I took it got it became more and more clear.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. I mean, your story is, is all about, uh, courage and confronting things head on from choosing a different way. You want to raise your family to breaking away from being a top commercial real estate broker and starting a new business. It's, it's just a story over and over again of courage and all of us can relate to that. Um, so I've, I've loved, um, this, this interview and, um, your perspective on this, if, if people are interested in getting your book or finding out about your coaching and your business, tell us how they can find you. Yeah. My
Speaker 2:Book is on sale everywhere where books are sold Amazon, uh, the on lucky sperm club. Um, it's called, so, yeah, please do that. If you need some inspiration and some motivation, um, getting great reviews back and very proud of that book, um, you can go to the app store, uh, to find I got smarter. Uh, it is an app, uh, it's a blown program. It's a, it's not coaching. It's, it's giving you the opportunity to follow the program. And through that app, you're able to, uh, invite a partner to help you stay accountable to the things that you said you would do, and, uh, be able to do that. But, uh, yeah, we're, we're proud of that app. We've seen it make huge differences in people's lives and to really give people that roadmap, that they need to work on every area of their life, you know, from their health to their relationships, to their finances, to their lifestyle. So, um, it, it helps in any goal that you're looking to accomplish in your life. So you can go there and I got smarter and then Nelson trussler.com will kind of lead you to, uh, everything that's, that's Nelson Trussler, including the book and the app, uh, and, and the program.
Speaker 1:That's great. Well, Nelson Nelson, thanks for, uh, for visiting with us and sharing us such a neat story and words of wisdom. And, um, maybe, uh, maybe I'll have to interview you again down the road, uh, and hopefully you'll remember us small guys, as you, uh, as you explode the business and help, help all kinds of people. So
Speaker 2:Anytime Tyson, I appreciate you having me on and, uh, grateful to share my story and grateful for what you're doing and, and helping people, you know, take control of their lives, uh, you know, through, through all the fitness that you're doing. And I've seen those pictures, man, that, that, that has motivated me. So, uh, I'm, I'm, I'm definitely have some fitness goals, uh, this year and going to work on that to, uh, to get in, uh, some, some better shape.
Speaker 1:Good for you. I'm sure you'll succeed at that and that as well. So. All right. Well, till we speak again, thanks, Nelson.
Speaker 2:All right. Thank you. Appreciate it.