Most Million-Dollar Founders Can't Make Payroll
On Solving America’s Problems, Jerremy Alexander Newsom and Dave Conley discuss with Cruz Gamboa the shift from corporate to entrepreneurship and the importance of “inner work” to find meaning. Dave shares his own decade finding purpose after tech. Cruz uses Jesus as example of impact without wealth. He helps founders trapped making revenue but unable to make payroll or “paying the business.” Most multimillion-dollar founders don’t review financials, confusing revenue vs profit vs cash. Focus on clean books, systems, operating rhythms, and learning finance. Advise acknowledging blind spots and seeking qualified help.
Timestamps:
- (00:00) When Calling Meets Cash Flow
- (01:37) Steel-Manning the Other Side
- (03:36) Helping Founders Escape the Revenue Trap
- (09:27) Financial Literacy for Entrepreneurs
- (13:11) First Steps for Founders
Connect:
Transcript
When Cruz walked away from corporate America, he didn't escape
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:the grind—he built a NEW one.
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:The shift from firefighter to
founder, from chasing revenue
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:to building REAL wealth...
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:the map for that move is about to open.
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:Jerremy: Dave, you feel, do, do
you feel the same thing, Dave?
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:I mean, 'cause you and Cruz
kinda have similar backgrounds.
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:I feel like, I feel like you guys have
done the, the, the big boy putting on your
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:big boy pants, you know, type of jobs.
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:And then there's, there's always
that shift in that decision.
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:And I feel like you know a little
bit about offerings from cups also.
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:Dave: Yeah, being, um, you know,
starting in technology and really
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:being in the position of, like,
fundamentally changing the world
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:with the internet and then, uh,
and then going through and getting
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:really disillusioned with that.
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:And, and then quitting, starting my
own businesses, and then spending
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:a real decade figuring out who
I was and, and what that was
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:all about, and in a sense, in a
sense, finding, finding the meaning
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:and realizing that the work that
I do had a running theme and
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:the businesses that I started,
and that was, That the work that
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:I did had to have a fundamental
impact, both for myself and for
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:the, for the, people around me.
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:It's why we work together, because
I know the work that you do
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:and the things that I support
are changing the world and are
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:going to have a huge impact.
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:That's why I'm all in on that.
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:And, I think that the, the
piece that I still think
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:about, and maybe this is a
question for you, Cruz, is
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:that there is a.
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:Let's steel man the
other side of this.
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:The hardest critique of, of, the
hard part is the inner work.
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:like there is a reality for
people that didn't start like I
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:did or didn't start like you do.
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:There's a reality for like a
42 -year -old whose job just
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:got automated, whose resume is
warehouse floor, and the idea
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:of, quote, becoming your highest
version of yourself, might be
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:what, Someone who's already won
says to people who really never
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:had that kind of starting line.
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:So, make the argument as strongly
as you can and then, tell me why
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:you'd still hold your position.
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:Cruz Gamboa: Jesus a, a Jewish man living
in a time where there was no computers,
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:there was no technology to speak of.
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:Okay?
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:no army, had no wealth.
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:Nothing really for our standards
right now, he'll be poor.
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:Okay?
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:And 2000 years later,
his impact is being felt.
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:And it doesn't matter if you're like
Christian or Jewish or Muslim because
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:I think that his, his message goes
beyond, what we believe Christianity
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:is, his message is universal.
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:he did the work.
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:I'm not sure exactly
how, but he did it right?
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:And so if he did it with less resources
than we, so if we have a role model
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:out there that has proven to us that
you can live in this world and make
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:a difference with zero resources only
yourself, what other example do we
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:Dave: Hmm.
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:I love that.
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:And for those listening
to this, we're actually
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:taping this on Good Friday.
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:Jerremy: Yeah.
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:Great time to feel that love.
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:Yes.
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:Yes, yes.
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:alright man, so I mean, like right
now I wanna talk a little bit more
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:about your current business, right?
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:So you help founders a
very specific trap, right?
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:Making revenue, but can't make payroll.
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:They feel the burnout, they hate
that they end up paying the business.
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:And when you zoom all the way out,
is that the same psychological
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:architecture that the American
workforce is stuck in right now?
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:Or is that something different?
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:I.
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:Cruz Gamboa: I love every
one of your questions.
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:This is a great question too.
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:so, so yes, because I, by the way, I, when
I think about my, let's just establish
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:that I, that I am a, I'm a faith-driven.
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:Entrepreneur.
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:Okay.
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:And not, not in the sense that some people
think, like, I'm not necessarily like, I
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:mean, I believe Jesus is a role model, but
I'm not talking to only the Christians.
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:I'm talking to anybody who believes
that there's a, there's a higher power.
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:Okay.
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:I see what I do.
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:An extension of my, my calling.
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:Okay.
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:I came to this world to help others.
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:I know what it feels like
to go through burnout.
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:I know what it feels like to feel
like you, like you're about to
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:lose everything in your life,
or I've lost it for that matter.
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:And what I see is that a lot of my
clients are people who are, who started
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:their companies because they also had a
calling, because they also had a mission.
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:And they, day to day, basically they
not knowing exactly how to manage
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:a company basically ended up like
turning them in this, into this.
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:Firefighters who are basically working
for others, who are working to, for
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:their employees, their clients or
whatever, and then all of a sudden,
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:they, they're working harder than
everybody else and bringing less
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:money, at the end of the month.
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:Jerremy: Yeah.
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:Cruz Gamboa: Okay, and how long can you
continue to do that before it actually
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:like, like weakens you before it actually
like, makes you feel that you are
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:wasting your time and basically start
maybe hating you and your business and
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:regret the choice that you make to, to.
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:Get your business to
the next level, right?
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:So that, that to me, I see my, I see
my work as a ministry, I see my work.
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:My number one job is to help these
entrepreneurs who want to create an
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:impact in the world, to put the systems,
the frameworks, the, the operating
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:rhythms that they can step out of that,
primal state, into their power, and go
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:into a more powerful state and start
the mission that they came here to do.
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:That, that's in a, in a nutshell, a
more elevated explanation what I do,
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:Jerremy: Yeah.
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:Cruz Gamboa: I do it through, through
using my, what I know how to do best,
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:which is my son of genius, I guess
you could call it that, which is
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:being a, a, a, a finance, a corporate
finance expert, and a strategist.
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:And, and I, I have, I mean, I, I, I
learned a ton about, business on a, on
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:an MBA, but what I've learned the most
by doing business, by the experience
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:of seeing what works and what doesn't.
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:Okay.
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:Jerremy: Oh
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:Cruz Gamboa: And just getting really
disciplined, the disciplined of, of doing
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:the thing that is uncomfortable putting
together the foundational piece when
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:everybody is calling you to go in and
spend hundreds of thousands of dollars or
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:tens of thousands of dollars on ad sales
because that's how you're going to grow.
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:And basically getting your attention of
the things that actually matter, which
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:is to put the foundations that you can
build your business from a strong place.
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:So I, a lot of people when they
come to me, they, these are
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:entrepreneurs that want to scale
their business, but they understand,
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:they probably try that already.
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:Right.
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:They were, they went from like
one to 5 million and then all
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:of a sudden the machine broke.
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:And now they are in suffering.
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:Now they are concerned.
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:Now they are thinking that, they're one
quarter away from being going bankrupt.
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:Okay.
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:Jerremy: Yeah.
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:Cruz Gamboa: And, and cr my, the system
that I created is basically, is a system
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:for, to give them the awareness and the
tools to, to convince them that that's
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:doesn't necessarily need to happen.
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:But that there's, you have to do the work.
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:You have, we have to get clarity.
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:We have to clean your books.
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:We, you have to look at your books.
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:You know how many people
don't look at your, at their
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:books at the end of the month?
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:Jerremy: Yeah, most.
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:Cruz Gamboa: Most, most entrepreneurs mul.
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:I'm talking not just like
a hundred thousand dollars.
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:I'm talking like multimillion
dollar entrepreneurs.
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:Don't ever look at their,
at their financials.
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:They only look at their revenue from
their CRM and their cash, their,
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:their cash balance, their account.
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:Right.
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:Jerremy: Yeah.
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:Cruz Gamboa: That's a financial
management system that exists in,
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:I, I mean, I don't, I, I'm going to
venture to say that at least in 90% of
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:the companies that I, that I've seen.
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:Jerremy: Wow.
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:Cruz Gamboa: how do you
expect a different result?
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:Like, how do you expect to be successful
and to scale a business sustainably
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:if you don't even understand it?
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:You don't, you don't take the time to set
things up in a way that it's repeatable.
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:It's, it's discoverable.
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:And it's easy to explain
to yourself and to others.
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:So that, that's basically what I do.
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:Jerremy: Feel you.
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:right.
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:Bu building, scaling cfo.io.
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:So you're, you just said it, right?
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:Most founders, they, they're
never learning to predict
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:Cruz Gamboa: Okay.
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:Jerremy: right?
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:Profit or cash flow.
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:They, they're just chasing
revenue essentially.
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:What would, what would be the
financial literacy answer to like
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:what it is that you're describing?
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:Like what's, what is that called?
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:If they were to learn it in school or
to be taught it by a mentor like you?
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:What's, what, what is that?
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:Cruz Gamboa: First of all, it's very
simply the fact that you need to
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:actually look at the thing, right?
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:Just start with that.
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:Just like if you wanna know if you're,
if you are, for example, if you, if
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:you wanna know if you're losing weight
or gaining weight, what do you do?
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:You look at the freaking scale, right?
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:Jerremy: Yep.
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:Cruz Gamboa: You measure yourself,
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:Jerremy: helped.
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:Cruz Gamboa: okay?
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:So you don't go like, Hey, you
kind of look a little chubby today.
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:You don't, I mean, you
don't do that, right?
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:You actually get on the scale, look at
the thing, and they're like, oh, okay.
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:I mean, you can do it like once a quarter.
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:Or you can do it every day and then
just keep a, a tally on whether you
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:are getting better or getting worse.
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:Right?
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:Jerremy: Yeah.
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:Cruz Gamboa: So this, this thing that
I just explained to you, if people,
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:if 90% of entrepreneurs just are doing
this when it comes to their financials,
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:the world will be a better place.
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:Let me put, let me, me
make that statement.
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:Jerremy: but when you say look at their
financial, what are they looking at, bro?
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:Is it like a p and l statement?
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:Is it a
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:Cruz Gamboa: No, they're looking,
no, bro, they're, they're looking
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:at their, at, at their sales report,
maybe their profit report, right?
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:It's like, like sales and gross margin.
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:That's it, right?
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:And then maybe operating expenses, they
have a very, like, fairly good idea.
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:But the reality is revenue
is not the same as profit.
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:And profit is not the same as cash if
you don't understand like the conversion
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:that happens between those two things.
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:And by the way, if you don't understand
whether you are redeploying and
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:reinvesting the cash that you've got
things that are going to create value.
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:Then what are you doing?
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:Because in the, in here where, where we
have these companies, because we, we want
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:to create value, not because, I mean,
yes, also because we want to eventually
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:maybe sell them or exit, but also is the
more value or companies have the more
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:that we can deliver in the world, because
now you have more resources, right?
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:If you believe that inherently whatever it
is that you do is something that the world
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:needs, you need to, you need to embrace
it and then just try to make your company
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:as valuable and as, as powerful as it can.
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:I mean, being, being nice, being,
being a good person and being
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:broke is not a good recipe.
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:I mean, maybe it, it worked in the past,
you know, but it doesn't work today.
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:Jerremy: Oh, that's good dude.
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:Bro, if you're a great
person, you're broke.
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:You ain't doing the world a service.
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:You ain't helping many
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:Cruz Gamboa: Absolutely not.
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:Jerremy: Come on, man.
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:Yeah.
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:Well, I, I, I say actually that people,
and this is a, this is a big, bold
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:statement when I speak it on stage, but
I'm like, if you're making $50,000 or less
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:a year, you're actually pretty selfish
because who, who do you actually help?
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:Right?
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:If you make $50,000 a year, are
definitely struggling financially
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:and any city in the US at least, you
aren't feeling extremely exuberant.
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:You're not feeling extremely abundant,
and you most likely aren't donating often.
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:Right.
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:And I mean, if you do donate, I
mean, how much are you donating
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:if you make $50,000 a year?
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:Like it can't be that much.
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:So who are you really, really helping?
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:And to your point, business is an
incredible vehicle and almost like
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:a, almost like a beautiful mirror or
like a representation of our inner
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:work, of our inner journey of our.
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:Of, of our destiny, of our
like, like what we're here for.
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:like we can create it and build it and
actually provide it for other people.
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:What would you say man, is like
the step for a founder if they
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:find that self in their position?
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:Because, I mean, we, we have
thousands and thousands of people
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:that are gonna listen to this.
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:Like, if someone out there feeling this,
would a, what would a step be for them
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:to actually start the process of both
the, I dunno, let's call it the spiritual
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:paradigm awakening internally and also
the business or idea or paradigm shift
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:of like working in an on your business.
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:Like what is the first step?
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:Cruz Gamboa: The way that I,
from my perspective, right.
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:If you feel like you, you don't
have a good handle on your
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:finances, the first thing that
you should do is just accept it.
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:It's just acknowledge that you have a
blind spot and, and it's perfectly okay.
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:You could be really good at sales,
you could be really good at marketing.
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:You could be really good at
product, at your craft, right?
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:don't have to be good at everything.
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:And if you are not good at
something, just have the, audacity
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:to be humble and just say, what?
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:I'm not good at this.
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:And, and just seek the help that you need.
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:And, and if you don't know who is the
right person to help, then ask questions.
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:Like, for example, some peoples
try to run their companies just
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:by using maybe their bookkeeper.
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:And, and I love bookkeepers.
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:I have many friends who are big
bookkeepers, but bookkeepers
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:are not business people, right?
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:So to have a financial conversation
with a bookkeeper is going to be.
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:A conversation that is not
gonna be very complete.
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:Right?
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:Jerremy: Yeah, totally.
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:Cruz Gamboa: So, yeah.
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:Yeah.
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:So if you, if you need, if you need
to have a meaningful conversation
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:and somebody who like, breaks down
the complex concepts for you, then
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:just seek the person that has that
authority and that can actually,
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:you can have a more meaningful
conversation and don't see it as a,
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:as a spend, it's an investment, right?
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:Like, for example, for me, I, I, most of
the work that I have been doing so far
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:has been with my own clients one-on-one.
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:And then I realized, I was actually,
this past Monday, I was, kinda like
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:working on my strategy with, my coaches.
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:And and what they said is like,
you what you do, more people have
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:to have to receive that message.
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:You have to like, take
that to the next level.
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:And for me, for example,
what I'm creating.
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:Is I'm creating something called
the Cash Flow Accelerator.
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:And I'm, I, what I wanna do is I
want to ex, I want like that thing
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:that I just explained to you,
the revenue to profit, to cash.
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:I spent, I have spent a lot of time
perfecting the, like, how to explain that
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:so that once you see it, you can unsee it.
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:you're like, I know this.
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:so, so that, that's, for
example, that's what I have done.
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:This is, this is my,
my contribution, right?
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:But there's, there's other people
like me, there's other fractional
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:CFOs, there's other, business coaches.
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:There's other people who
actually understand business
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:that you can work with.
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:Alex: And if you know anybody like
that, at least have a conversation.
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:Get clear, ask the
questions of what you need.
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:But, you need, you need to learn
how to read your financials.
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:I, I always tell this story and you're
gonna, and this is gonna land with you.
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:When I worked at General Electric.
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:I work with some really high level,
executives, like for example, as
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:CEOs, COOs, operations leaders of, of
any flavor that you want engineers.
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:And you know what's really, what
was really interesting these were
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:really, seasoned people, and they
also were really good at finance.
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:They knew numbers.
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:Like if I had a conversation
about their numbers, they knew
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:exactly what I was talking about.
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:Jerremy: Yeah.
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:Cruz Gamboa: They knew, like they
asked really powerful questions.
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:Okay?
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:And, so that is the mirror that I'm trying
to hold for anybody listening to this.
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:That if you believe that you have, that
you have, a belief, a, a, a mindset block.
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:If you have your, if your mindset
is that you're really not good at
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:finance and that this is something
that somebody else, should be taken
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:care of, invite you to rethink.
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:That belief to, come up with
a more empowering belief.
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:Because if you believe that finance
is a language of, of money and
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:you wanna make more money in your
business, you need to learn to speak
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:the language of money, is finance.
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:So there's no, there's no
decoupling in these concepts.
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:Jerremy: yeah, yeah.
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:Dude, I love that.
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:Learn to speak the language of money, man.
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:Like you and I are brothers, homie.
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:Like I say that once a week at minimum,
like, Hey man, if you want more money, you
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:gotta start speaking the money you got.
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:You gotta learn that language.
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:You
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:Cruz Gamboa: Yeah.
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:Jerremy: like asking, doing, providing,
serving, creating, offering, putting
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:yourself out there, putting yourself in
front of people, actually asking, getting,
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:getting things to move across the line.
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:Receiving money and currency
for opportunities and for deals.
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:Yeah.
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:how do you, how do you, how
do you make the shift, man?
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:Like, does, do, do you tell
people, go and be an entrepreneur?
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:Is that, is that a thing that
you really champion or do you
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:say stay in your current job and
make your current job better?
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:you had to choose one of the two, which
one are you gonna pick for someone else?
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:Cruz Gamboa: I would, I would
recommend for them to get clarity
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:What is it that they want to, they
want to, what is their contribution?
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:What is it?
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:How do they want to live their life
in a way that every day they woke up?
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:Even if the day, if the thing
that they were doing was hard,
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:they will continue to do it.
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:Because the reality is the following.
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:Do you remember the mass
love, pyramid of needs?
358
:Right?
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:Do you remember that?
360
:Yeah.
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:And you remember that it starts
with like something very basic.
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:You're like, you need food.
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:Jerremy: So the very top.
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:Yep.
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:Cruz Gamboa: No.
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:What's at the very top is meaning
and self-realization, right?
367
:And, and what corporate America is
missing is that they believe that
368
:they, you can dangle a carrot to
someone and say, Hey, just stay here.
369
:I'll pay you just enough
so that you don't leave.
370
:And you stay here.
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:this is no wonder two thirds of
the America workforce, and I'm
372
:not making this stuff up, okay?
373
:This is an statistic.
374
:It's quiet, quitting.
375
:So people are going to work to
drink coffee, to chat to others,
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:and to feel miserable the whole day.
377
:Jerremy: Yeah,
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:Cruz Gamboa: Is that, is that, is that
what you came here to do, brother?
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:Jerremy: Not me.
380
:Not me,
381
:Cruz Gamboa: I know, I know.
382
:I'm not, I'm, I'm just
talking to all of my,
383
:Jerremy: yeah,
384
:Cruz Gamboa: brothers and
sisters that are listening.
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:Jerremy: That's right.
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:That's right.
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:Preach it.
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:Preach it.
389
:'cause I mean, if you're the clarity,
ladies and gentlemen, that I want
390
:you all to hear and to see and to
understand is like, what, what do
391
:you, what is it that you wanna do?
392
:What is it that you actually
want to create on this planet?
393
:And know that it, it is okay if
you want to build something big.
394
:And if you want to have a team, and if you
want to really, really move the needle in
395
:a country or a city or a state, if you,
if you wanna build a bridge, if you wanna
396
:make architecture, if you wanna create.
397
:A downtown development, right?
398
:If you wanna build a city, nothing that's
too big and there's nothing too small.
399
:But what Cruz is saying
is get extremely clear.
400
:people will not spend the time to do that.
401
:And that's a question
I have for you, Cruz.
402
:What is your best advice, man?
403
:As an extremely successful man?
404
:How do, how did you get clarity and
what is your suggestion or advice on
405
:how someone else would get clarity?
406
:Cruz Gamboa: It's a very
personal question, man.
407
:I, I, I think everybody has to have to
go through their own journey, but I,
408
:most importantly is, is just to be awake
to, to really pay attention to what
409
:you're feeling and to not blame anybody.
410
:Because the minute you, you
start seeing that in your life,
411
:you're blaming other people.
412
:You're blaming your job, you're blaming
your, your wife or your husband.
413
:You're blaming your friends.
414
:You're blaming the place of your,
that you are born, you're blaming
415
:maybe your, your skin color.
416
:You're blaming your accent.
417
:I mean, I could be blaming my accent.
418
:I'm a very thick accent, right?
419
:I could be blaming that.
420
:But the minute you, you, you fixate
on that, then there's something else
421
:that is not getting addressed, and
that's where the integrity rec reside.
422
:That's the thing that you need to
go back and, and really stare in the
423
:face and it's very uncomfortable.
424
:Let me warn you.
425
:Very uncomfortable to face the
truth who you want to become.
426
:And sometimes what's really the most
scary thing is that there is this person,
427
:there's this in you that is meant to
do so many big things and you're just
428
:afraid of the success you are afraid
of, of becoming your highest version.
429
:How is that possible?
430
:What a disservice that we're doing
to humanity when we don't become
431
:the best person that we can ever be.
432
:best version of ourselves.
433
:Jerremy: I didn't think that that
was the truth for a while until I
434
:started really like dissecting it.
435
:Right?
436
:It was a, that's a phrase or a poem
or a quote by Arian Williamson, right?
437
:Our deepest fear is not that we are
inadequate, is what most people think of.
438
:your biggest fear is right.
439
:Your biggest fear is failure or losing.
440
:You're being miserable.
441
:It's like, well, reality is,
you've probably been there before.
442
:You've probably already experienced
failure, and I mean, I have, all
443
:three of us have on this panel, like
we've all failed bad at something
444
:and we've all been at the bottom
and we've all felt the stress and
445
:we've all, we've all been there.
446
:It's like we know what ultimate
misery is to an extent, the quote
447
:goes on, like, our deepest fear is
that we are powerful beyond measure.
448
:And the word for me, right beyond
measure means that you're stepping
449
:into a giant world of uncertainty.
450
:You are stepping into
a world of unclarity.
451
:You are getting into the unknown.
452
:And as humans, really our
biggest fear is the unknown.
453
:if you're powerful beyond measure, like
you just said, you're your highest self,
454
:your best self, the most disciplined, the
most exceptional, wealthy version of you.
455
:If you're doing that, how
do you operate every day?
456
:And that's a big, big vision.
457
:It's a huge mission
458
:that's gonna start unfolding and being
given to you and for you and through you.
459
:So it's scary because there's
a lot to hold, you know?
460
:Alex: Fear of the unknown isn't a flaw—it
means you've reached the ACTUAL edge.
461
:But the oldest story about transformation
doesn't start with clarity or courage.
462
:It starts in the dark, inside
something that swallowed you WHOLE.
