His Side Business Pays 5x His Salary and He Won't Quit

0:00Dude, you look super tall. >> [laughter] >> Uh so, my name's Mitch Gorley. I'm a third generation firefighter and fitness coach. I sell a wellness program that basically empowers first first responders to prioritize their physical mental health. Uh we're currently doing about $1.7 million revenue. Um I couldn't answer this question of I don't have a revenue goal. I didn't know what my goal was and that was a big part of what I was trying to find clarity here this weekend. One of the lovely ladies in the room actually helped me answer the question.

0:30Um and it is I don't have a number, but I want to help 100,000 first responders make these changes. So, I think it's actually like a tangible number of how many people I want to impact. Impact has always been a goal for me. Um you already pointed to it. Like I think the biggest thing that is stopping me right now is being able to do more because I still work as a firefighter. >> Yeah. >> Um you know, I make 1/15 of my salary as a firefighter, but like I love my job. It provides a lot more to me than just a paycheck and it's a big part of my identity as who I've been since I've been 18 years old. So, it is like how do you walk away from something that you love and is fulfilling when I know that like my impact as an individual and impact being the goal is so much greater in this capacity than it is tangibly putting water on a fire. So,

1:18>> that's the that's the dilemma that I'm kind of wrestling with and have been for a very long time. >> Well, um this is a really great question. Um you I think the reason that you've wrestled with it is one of the eternal questions that has no correct answer. So, there's a number of them like when do I push versus pivot? Like push through it versus keep going? When do I like um how [clears throat] much do I spend versus invest or save? Like what's the right answer? Well, we know the extremes are pretty tough. Like if you never spend a dollar of what you make, you saved your money your whole life and then you die, that's probably not the right way. And then on this side you have you spend every dollar you make and you never save anything for a rainy day, that's probably not the right way. And so, it's a it's a dichotomy that has to be managed rather than a problem to be solved.

2:04And so, with you specifically, I think what you're you're wrestling with is the contentment of day-to-day with the meaning impact of the future when you look back. >> Mhm. >> And I would say that they are a lot of ways not and sometimes they overlap, but most of many times they don't at all. Like you look at Steve Jobs, he wasn't particularly pleasant as a person, at least from all the accounts that history and movies and books and, you know, whatever. Wasn't that friendly, doesn't seem like he was that happy of a guy, but man did he make a [ __ ] impact.

2:36>> Mhm. >> Right? And so, I think it's what life do you want to live? If you're 85 years old and you look back, if you helped 10,000 people, would you be dissatisfied? >> No. I think my one of my like frames and the things that I've held one of the quotes that I hold dear is like, if my existence on this planet helps one person breathe easier, >> Yeah. >> my life is a success. >> done that, Brent.

3:01>> Yeah. And I think it's just like again, like I feel like I have to be in the mud with these people and I have been in the mud and that's why I care so deeply is cuz like my whole origin story is like, dude, I get it. The job is hard, it wears you down. Like I I I I understand that and I feel like it's very hard for me to be the guy that's like, I see I see you when it's like, bro, you're sleeping in your own bed every night. Like you were me, but you're not me and I think that's the biggest battle.

3:29>> That's totally in your head. It will not that will not impact your ability Like how many gyms do you think I owned when I started Gym Launch? Zero. I had six and then I sold them to go all in on Gym Launch. >> Mhm. >> Because for me, I thought I could help a lot more gym owners and I obviously have much more of a meaning and impact skew than I do a with skew. I've been pretty public about that. Um, but that's what satisfies me.

3:55So, if you have a different calculus on that on that equation, I the only thing I can actually give you that like what can I actually like when I think of when I do these, I think what is this person going to change about their behavior? If you change nothing, there's no point in having the conversation, right? [laughter] Except maybe it changes somebody else here. But for us, right? Um, I think if if you can give yourself permission to do what you're currently doing, then a lot of the angst that you have would not go away, but it would go down. And so then you don't have like one of the things when I make a big decision is that I write out the decision-making framework so that if I start doubting again, I can reread my reasoning and then eventually it becomes a shortcut and then you stop thinking about it.

4:43And so right now I feel like you're staying up at night being like I could make more impact, but I love my my my buddies and my job and all that, but I could make more impact, but I love my buddies. And then you made up some of these other reasons of like, well, they won't see me as legit. That's not true. But if you just like it, I think a you know, for many people a big portion of life is just liking their life. And so like you've kind of already won. And so it's just a question of like can you decrease your time there? Like any further than you already have so that you still have that identity and that connection and then you can spend the majority like the rest of your time.

5:13To be fair, I know that like the hours are still pretty pretty gratuitous [laughter] in terms of your ability to start businesses. Um, but I don't I think this like you will not get the right answer. That is that is my point and there will be days if you if you walk down the path of I I walk away from being a fireman that you will regret that decision. And if you stay in it, you have nights every night where you regret that decision. >> It's the whole the it's the whole dualistic life of like wanting to live both existences and say you knew both existences and having to pick a path and I feel like that's where I'm at and I

5:45>> You you trade-off to make. >> Mhm. And I think I know again like I knew there was a firefighter that stood and I was sitting at work when I saw it and there was a firefighter standing here with the same dilemma because it is the greatest job in the world. I'm just going to say that behind this but um you know, you basically said to him like >> do what makes you happy. >> And >> If that's what you want. Yeah. >> Yeah. And then I think it's also understanding that like I I you were saying to him that like he was saying things to justify what he actually wanted to do and I think I know again like my impact is greater doing the thing but it's just like the stories that I tell myself.

6:23>> Yeah. What trade do you want to make? So one of my favorite frames from Layla is which problem would you prefer? You're going to have a problem either way so it's complete myth that you're not going to have a problem with what either decision you choose to take. Right? The problem that you have if you get out of the fireman thing is that you might sacrifice some of the relationships. Like you might not see them as much. There's that. So it's like can we attenuate that? Can we can we make sure that we attend all of those regular things so that you can still have them in your life so you get a lot of the benefit without necessarily having to just sit in the you know, the firehouse or whatever, right? Um more of the the the cost there is that you're not going to see the person whose life you saved or whose day you saved or whatever. You're not going to have that.

7:00>> Mhm. >> Is that trade that's the problem you're going to have and you're going to trade that for helping 10,000 more firemen, right? On the other side, if you stick with what you're currently what you currently have, then you have the problems you you currently have which is feeling like you're not living up to your potential that you could help more people. I don't think there's a like I don't see a correct one here. It's a choice. >> Right. >> And I can't answer it now. >> For sure. >> But that would be the like that's the problem that you're going to have to pick which one you want.

7:26>> Awesome. And this weekend was amazing. This is very weird because I had a question like what would Alex Hermosi answer this [snorts] question for me? I got it today so >> Appreciate you coming. >> Thanks Alex. >> [applause] >> I might be there with my wedges. Close. Thank you. Hi Alex. >> Hi. >> Totally trying not to black out right now cuz this is very cool. Uh my name is Jenny Blackwood and 2 years ago I was a stay-at-home mom.

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