Keoni Upton: 240 Volts and a Global Vision

This transcript was generated automatically and lightly edited for readability. It may contain minor errors, and speaker labels are not yet added.

To become a Sparky, you need to know how to strip cable a certain way. You can't just throw the pliers at the cable expecting it to strip. Same thing with AI. You can't just throw information expecting the right outcome you're hoping to achieve.

Yep. It's just everything's organic content now, man. Cuz it's about education and being the subject matter expert in what you do, right? And none of us do it enough.

Channel 9 News put out like students were protesting against AI. They want AI banned in schools. And I commented, "This is exactly why AI is going to take their jobs. Where do we where do we kick off?

Keoni obviously the other day you come in last week. Was it last week? Yeah. Yeah, last week.

Uh Keoni come in last week and uh we just had a meeting but we did do a recording and then he checked all this out and then I'm like why don't you just get on next week and um here we are. So we made it happen. We did. We did.

So we got um Keoni this morning. And then I got um actually got Action Jackson in a couple hours. Um so he's coming on as well. So it's been pretty good setup.

We just got to make sure we get this right when he goes. Um we're in last week and I found out that you're only 20. 20. Yeah.

I still can't. Yeah. Can't believe that. Um and you told me a little bit about your growing up from um you grew up here.

Um really good parents. Um, your challenge is probably the dyslexia year two and then um and you're a sparky pretty close to you got electric electric shock pretty close to um maybe not being here. Yeah. In some dodgy motel I I hear I'll let you talk about that in a minute.

Um but probably where I wanted to start was I reckon about 18 months ago I I started following you and what really clicked with me and it's funny how we ended up here. Yeah, I started messaging you probably 6 months ago or we did somehow. I think it was when you done the podcast with Shil. Yes.

Um I think there I reached out to you or something like that anyway. But um I started following you because you were like, "Fuck it. I'm just going to lock in and you started going to the gym and you're doing heaps of video and you're being consistent and I'm like that's really cool." Especially as a young guy. I didn't know how young you were.

So to have that have that mindset and lock in is um is pretty I reckon it's pretty special at 20. And like I said to the other day, I'm like, imagine where you're going to be at is 22 like in 2 years out, man. If you stay consistent, you know, you keep doing what you're doing cuz between 20 and 30, you can try 10 different things, right? But if you're doing what you love right now and you're already like you're already teaching me stuff and there's probably a couple of things we'll talk about today that we could lean on each other.

Yeah. So, um, so you're locking in your 20 and I think you got a great following. Um, well, you must start to, and the reason I know that is because I was talking to Dave Clare once and he's like, "Oh, this video guy and he mentioned your name and I didn't click the other day when I went to the keynote that it was going to be you." That was a while ago. I think he missed.

Yeah. Wow. Okay. Interesting.

I can't remember where he mentioned. Maybe I was over at his house in Queensland and then um and then when I walked in the other day when we were at the golf um was the golf free golf club and you're there and then you said good day and I'm like go check your Instagram messages and then you did and you're like wicked and m you know things happen for a reason. So man that yeah 100% agree with you. I'm big on what you put out you get.

Y so the energy that and the content that I do like put out there online for everyone to see you're actually attracting that which so many people don't know that that what you put out you get and that's something I'm really big on and obviously Paul yourself like you're the definition of a good man like before you even knew we knew each other you ra been like man love what you're doing like offering that support which when it all clicked I'm like that that's unreal man like yeah like keep keep doing you and yeah And great things all align, especially with the in the online space when you just start putting yourself out there. Yeah. Yeah. Something that resonated with me last week, well, a couple of things that you could probably help me set me camera up.

But you you hit me up and you're like, why the journey? Why this? Why that? And you're only 20.

So it's like, okay, so what's happened, you know, growing up? What's going on? And you didn't say much. You're like, no, pretty good.

I was a sparky. And I and I was trying to say to you, like the reason I do this is because you peel back the layers. you sit there and there'll be little things that pop up and then you may resonate with it and I was trying to understand that with you and um it got you thinking a bit at least and it was like and then you said um in year two you had you know uh recognized the whole with the dyslexia which is it dyslexia. Yeah, I actually um have never publicly spoken about that which is unreal.

So you know there's always probably every podcast there's probably one or two things from every u podcast where they're gone. I don't really talk about that. And to answer your question, why do it is that moment to sit here, reflect, go back. Um because when you think about it a bit more and it probably means you don't speak about it too much, but when you do think about it or speak about it, you'll probably start to recognize why little things what it might resonate with today, you know, and we talk about the roadblocks, risks, and resilience that we do, you know, over time and throughout our life from when we're little and more.

And then um I re I reckon there's nuggets in there even if it's subconscious or conscious of why you know maybe that's affected you the dyslexia and I think you were saying your parents jumped onto it which is really really cool. Um so do you want to talk about that maybe? Yeah so obviously year two or yeah year year two I was diagnosed with dyslexia and it's a time in my life I don't remember. So it was the other day I was talking to mom in the kitchen.

I'm like mom like I don't remember much of that part of my life. tell me a bit about myself essentially. And she goes, "Yeah, so um yeah, it was pretty rough. Like I remember you coming home from school one day saying you wanted to kill yourself." And when mom said that, I'm like, "Shit." Yeah, I've had a very I'm not going to say easy upbringing, but I've had a very comfortable upbringing.

My parents have been very giving. They have sacrificed a lot for us to live comfortably now, which is something as a lot of love and care. Yeah, man. something you don't realize until you get older and you start seeing the dynamics of society.

So when mom mentioned that I'm like yeah right well I could have had a complete different trajectory of life if I didn't have parents wanting to help wanting to assist with getting the right education for that learning ability. The big thing that I found in school with most likely having ADHD, not diagnosed, but I'm sure anyone who knows me and watches this is like, "Yeah, 100% this guy." Yeah, same. Yeah, for sure. Superpower.

I say it's a superpower. Talking about on the weekend, someone brought it up. Um, went to the footy and stuff and crown and they're like, "Hell yeah." We got talking about it anyway and I'm like, "Fucking superpower." Amen, man. Couldn't agree more.

Wouldn't want to change the world. Literally, man. And I feel in school, especially like young guys growing up now or just young kids in general, what you're learning disability, I think is Like it's not a dis like learning disability. Like just what has what the school system has been teaching for hundreds of years is now outdated and it's not working.

Like I saw this thing online. It was a phone 100 years ago to now. Like you can't even recognize it. The evolution is crazy.

Y classroom 100 years ago and now the only thing different is the whiteboard. It's now a green screen. So the actual classroom hasn't changed in decades, man. So when nothing has changed to societies and the economic we're living in now.

So the big shift I had to face is really unwiring my brain to think that what I have is actually an advantage. Yep. It's a it's a ability which I have no one else has. For example, dyslexia.

The first thing I did coming out of school, I searched up the benefits cuz no one mentioned the benefits going through school. It was like passive recognition, ability to comm communicate and connect with human beings. And I'm like, hold on, why the wasn't this mentioned in school? Yeah.

When I struggled, I struggled. I would study for 8 hours straight and get a low seat. Yep. Why wasn't I investing into these other skills which I'm naturally talented at?

And just so you've just hit on the head. So last week when I said a lot of that shows up now. Yeah. You were you were still you were thinking about you didn't know cuz you were like oh my parents fixed it and all that.

But now you're starting to highlight it because like now that you've gone all in and locked in and I go back to that piece 18 months ago or whatever, you know, you started doing it. I think I think there's a bigger piece coming out of that year too than than you probably know because because you're really you've gone and gone it I'm really good at talking asking questions connecting with people but you've doubled down on the last 18 months I reckon cuz I can tell even when you walked up to me at the keynote speaking the way you asked me about my business and all that like and I read that really well and I'm like you're asking the right questions I know I know you were um educated a little bit by Shil how to go up and do that as well and but The reason you're making a big point of that is probably going back to then, right? I really thought about that. 100% it is, right?

Because that's our hard times is what really teaches us, right? And even just the whole, you know, you've had a few challenges, more than I knew. Um, you know, the whole um being a Sparky and getting electrocuted and stuff like that. So, you're like, "Fuck it." Like, might not have been here, so why not just give everything all I got anyway?

whether you're going to look like a idiot, feel like an idiot, embarrassed, you know, people say something, people judge you, like mate, so if you didn't get electrocuted or you didn't have dyslexia, you might not have gone, this. You know what I mean? I'll give it everything I got cuz it usually takes that big shift in someone to go it, mate. I don't like you asked about this, took me 3 years to do it right and I was probably more worried about clients and that just it was my own judgment um you know, spending time on this and not on clients, you know, in the business.

And I get asked now, are you still doing insurance? And I am. We're doing a heaps. And that was what I was worried about.

But also on the flip side, people are going, I love the podcast you're doing. I'm talking client owners. And like cuz 43 now, but over the last 5 years, all the business owners I got, they're all doing the same things. They're trying to improve self-help, you know, go through divorce, marriages, all that.

So you actually relate to them in another way as well. Um, you've also got to keep, you know, the clients happy and do the work in the, you know, in the other business in the main business. That's one thing with the podcast, man. Like, like that's something I encourage for a business owner to actually start because not to have the next Steven Bartlett show.

Yeah. It's building a relationship with your current and future customers or potential clients. Y and when you're in the art and business of insurance, so obviously going to buy a high ticket insurance item from you, they're going to research you and the podcast SEO and that sort of stuff is quite high. So most likely when someone searches searches your name, your show is going to come up and they're going to learn more about your journey, your story and build that trust.

And even if you structure the show in a way to objection handle common objections that you get through the sales process, by the time they inquire, they're already warmed up, lead ready to convert, if that makes sense. Yeah. Yeah, that's a good point. I don't I haven't even looked like that.

And I always get asked how I'm going to monetize it, but I have not thought about monetizing this. It's it's really I want to make a social impact and a and a difference. Amen, man. And um and and I am going to do my story as well.

I I haven't started doing that yet. There's two or three things I want to do on the journey brand. Uh one is this the guest speaker and the ongoing that'll be the consistency and now I've kicked back off. Uh we recorded four now I think on the second round of this had about an 8week break.

boys on this next round I want to stay at least 52 weeks consistent one a week and I'm even getting double up like we got two years today. like there's no I think I think what I learned about this podcast and I never realized it in the beginning. I always thought it was going to be too generic and there'll be heaps of them out there. There's actually not cuz when you go to a podcast usually it's about a topic whether it's insurance whether it's you know content whether you know it's um it's about a niche and like this is a bit of a niche but in a different way and it's about the guest and reflecting in the you know the roadblocks risk and resilience.

It's more of a chat, man, too. Which I think at the end of the day when there's so much polished perfect content out there, people value the imperfect perfections like the starter in an episode, the fuckups in an episode. That's it. What is valued more, especially in the world with when you have, oh, this don't want to get into it, but AI just Yeah.

People were sick of it. So, this type of interaction is valued more like Yeah. even even starting off like I just turn them all on like I don't we'll try to make it all formal and stuff. Um and I probably will there is probably a few bits to polish.

Um I'm working that out on this second round. Um but I'm not trying to worry about perfecting it before I launch. Um and I was it took me 3 years because of the same reason not just judgment but like I got to have the room set. I got to have this and it's like just start to be honest three years ago I should have just got on the c on the phones and just started.

Right. But tell me um before we go back and get a bit deeper into it, tell me about the podcast you started and what happened. Yeah, man. So, I've told the story a fair bit, so I'm going to try and have a bit of a unique twist onto it now.

So, obviously the idea came up when I was working a job I hated in the sparky industry. It wasn't for me. I knew this isn't something I wanted to do long term. So, was at the time reading my first ever book I ever read cover to cover, which was What Color Is Your Parachute?

For Teens? And that extracted the skills that I had within myself which I couldn't answer on paper. Like the generic questions school always asks you what are your skills? I don't know man.

Like yeah but this resource helped extract that. So straight away I knew one of my skills were connecting with people sales building that personal relationship. So I had to build something around that. I just didn't know what yet.

Hence why I got a job. It was funding the dream. That was the motivation behind it. I was in the work car one day when it all clicked.

Let's start a podcast. The trady was next to me. I said this out loud. A podcast.

Yeah. Grab like the size of the seat. And the tradey looked at me and he goes, "Fuck you on, man." Like, it's so random. It was quiet and it all just clicked.

So, I knew what I wanted. I just wasn't sure how I was going to get it. So, from there, it was I didn't have enough money to buy all the equipment. I know you don't need all the equipment in the world to start as you mentioned, but I wanted good quality mics.

wanted to start off strong cuz this is something I wanted to do longterm. So, I cleaned my room out, cleaned my study out, and just sold a bunch of stuff, books, old toys, anything you could think of that you could sell on Facebook Marketplace, and ended up collecting around $800, went on Amazon, lashed out, it all came and I'm like, "Okay, now what?" So, now we got to start planning episodes. and it was on my bedroom floor with a cushion around the mic so the audio was good. Um there wasn't that echo.

That was my first episode and wow I typed up a script which look I can't even listen to my first episodes now cuz they're so so cringe and it was just not me. Yeah. Like I would script an episode, say it, read it word by word, try not to make it imperfect. And that's how it all started.

And then that first episode was um like the top lessons I've learned before the age of 18. And I started the podcast when I was 18. And the mission at the time for the show was to inspire younger individuals through these conversations cuz that's something I didn't have when I was young. I had to get out of my comfort zone and really have these hard conversations with people to learn from and grow from which I feel that matured me a lot quicker and it gave me access to a network that I couldn't even think of was possible.

So I wanted to bring that these conversations to other young people that were going through the same challenges and struggles that I went through which mainly the transition from school to what do you do next type thing. Yep. And then over the past I'd say 16 months the podcast has taken a turn to empowering growth through real conversations. Y which is something I'm big now.

And that's simply taking what's the what's the name of it? The growth concept. It is the growth concept. Yeah.

Y um and it's taking complex ideas, topics and systems and dumbing that down in a way where someone with no knowledge can understand. I'm I'm 20. I got no knowledge about, for example, insurance. So when we do a podcast and we brainstorm more about the business and work that you do, I'll be asking questions that someone with would ask, therefore making it super simple and basic.

When we doing that, I'd say in the next couple of weeks, I hell yeah, lock it in. Hell yeah. Lock it in. The one thing I want to talk to you about today is% let's do the counteract on that and to be honest, I'm actually interested.

Um, I I I want to get on more other podcasts and go the other way. So, it's not just a journey. Um, but also I just love learning and whether you're 20 or you know, someone's 30, 40 or 50, you always learn off them. And I'll tell you what's a really good point.

I used to be a fitter by trade. And I was navy, went mining in ' 07, upgraded apprentice, and then I ended up um running a workshop, my ex ex-father-in-law now. Yeah. um in Malaga and then he sold to um Kerry Stokes and stuff.

There's a whole story there. I'd actually love to get him on. Um so I I run the workshop there and something I really learned um we had engineers, apprentices, you know, um there was welding um engineering, manufacturing trucks, like there was all the different avenues and um one thing I learned and one thing I always did actually and this is where I think maybe understanding people and emotional intelligence. I probably picked that up a lot earlier and always trying to be kind and always listen is even back then I used to listen to apprentices because we're all human right and just because you're and and maybe it come back to me being a young leader even from Navy into the workshops because I struggled a bit because older old school um qualified you know whether it's a welder or a sparky or a fitter they didn't want to listen right cuz you're young it's my way or the highway and we've always done it this way which you know we all hate sentence these days.

I always done the opposite and I'm like I could have like 17y old come up and tell me something. I might try that out or you know a different way of doing it or you know cuz it's all about being when you're doing manufacturing it's all about being efficient right cuz you you're building numerous uh items units at one time um you know and there's thousands of parts and all the different kind of stuff and then you end up with problems but it's always about approving when you're um kicking off a you know custom whatever it is you're building and these were trucks mining trucks and um I was really really big on listening to everyone and taking it in. doesn't mean you always go with it because obviously you're in that role for a reason. You understand it.

Um but getting it on board and empowering younger people I think is really key because where do you think they're going to be in 5 years? They're going to be qualified and they're going to be your key people. Yeah. And um cuz when I was younger I was like 14 14 n months I was a butcher working at a butchers.

Yeah. It was the same things right. They definitely didn't want to listen to you. They treat they were mad.

Butchers are probably the maddest industry I've been in. Yeah. Wow. And um but Oh yeah, you got that.

They were harder days like butchers right up. Used to work heap of hours, 15 hours a day, stuff like that. they were funny, but also hard asses, too. And they do random stuff like out the back of the butchers.

There's some I can imagine. So, so I think I took that and it was like not to get treated like treat others like that. I'm all about having fun and stuff, but I think my generation of being a manager, a leader or whatnot, all that stuff shifting. Even the Navy used to have some ride off stuff they used to do like years and years ago like crossing the equator and the young ones all your initiation and it was pretty pretty bad stories back um you know years and years way way before me.

Um so I think all that shifted but my point is um empowering, educating, leading and listening to the younger people like like now I love listening to you. Um you probably gave me a little bit of inspiration last week. Um, even go to the gym yesterday. So, I'm like, if uh you can lock it in at 20.

I got to get my ass. We can tee up a session, man. I haven't been for like two months just with all the business stuff going on. I usually go a fair bit like four times a week, but I've been on and off and um I suppose the other piece out of that, just another point on that, what I have learned is probably not to kick my own ass as much.

like I used to like didn't go to the gym and then you'd be I'll be hard on myself. But if I'm not in the right headsp space at the moment to go or I'm busy doing stuff, I'll um I will take a bit of a break and I've done it probably every year cuz in I would say I 100% agree. Um I'm hard on myself and to an point you got to stop being Mr. David Goggins and really listening to yourself.

But on the flip side of that, you need it. You Yeah. Like even um back to what you were saying with the whole leadership thing, you only like it's like the yin-yang thing, you only know the good once you know what turns your looks like. And that's still something I'm trying to figure out.

But being able to show up when you've said you're going to show up. Like every day I plan out the day before, the night before. It's always written down. If I don't do it, then I personally are hard on myself.

And I was probably an experienced thing too, man. Do do you know what what you just said then? So that was me before, right? I haven't been like that for a while.

And I think I think it shifts in you a lot like go back to the workshop days, mate. I'd be a four. I'd wake up thinking about work. Yeah.

And then you get up, go for a run, run used to run with my dogs and all that kind of stuff, right? The night before like I keep It's funny you bring it up cuz like right now when you get older, you're like, "Fuck, I used to do it. Why can't I do it now?" But I think it's just Yes. I've literally had that same thing.

Like, oh man, I say that like I'm 50. Yeah. But but when I was an apprentice, I'd wake up at 4:00 a.m. and run 12ks before work.

You go, "Fuck doing that now." It shifts a lot, man. Yeah, man. Yeah. So, it's But the thing is, if you I suppose my point now, if you don't realize where you're at, and I load up.

I got a lot going on all the time. I I delete delete delete and then add back in. If I sat there and dwelled on or tried to write that list and do all that stuff perfect now, I'd probably put a lot of pressure on myself because when you if you're kicking it's got it's the same as kicking your own ass. You if you kick your own ass too much, you end up you end up creating that much pressure on yourself which causes an issue also, right?

Because then when you don't do it, you're disappointed. And then like last couple of years, this probably I probably learned this the last couple of years and I go back I was watching a podcast the other day um with Tyler about self-compassion. It's like just slow down, give yourself a break. You don't have to be that perfect person to get done.

Obviously there's big rocks, little rocks every day. Yeah. Um and just take a step back. And I've learned how to do that a lot now and and do what matters and what moves the needle.

Right now me writing down 10 things last night and getting up at 4 this morning, I I didn't think that. But I'm just saying as an example, would that be would that do me the world of good? Probably not. Cuz am I going to do that every day?

You got to be realistic with yourself. When I was 20 something or 30 something, everything was different. Question on that. How do you determine realistic?

Trust your body and your gut. And am I doing it to try and prove something to myself or is it is it realistic what I really need to get done tomorrow? And really what matters and moves my needle for tomorrow? Is it really Prep's always good, right?

And like I I'm always thinking working the next day and all that. And I even done it last night. I didn't write nothing down or anything, but you know, last night I'm not I need I need an hour on the couch. I went and watch TV show.

I don't watch a lot of TV, but I'll go and watch a movie or something to wind down and take my mind off work or off whatever. That there sometimes is as big as helpless sitting there and prepping for the next day. Because when you're constantly on all the time, you you've got to listen to your body or your head or whatever and go, I just need a couple hours to lay on the couch and eat some dinner and go to bed early. You know what I mean?

And or you could sit there and prep and work and, you know, do all that stuff. But just sometimes you need to go do the opposite. I suppose is my point. I'm just thinking about, you know, obviously we're 23 years apart.

I wouldn't have done that 10 years ago. There's no way. It's just on. I think that's good though.

Like I get my parents saying to me all the time, "Oh, you got to like wind down cuz whenever I'm home, I'm just working." And I'm at the stage in my life where one, I can do that. I can still function on 5 hours of sleep. However, I've noticed recently when I'm not getting enough sleep. My, as I mentioned when we had the chat last week, I get a really bad stutter.

And yeah, it's really annoying because I can't even say my own name to really introduce myself to someone. I really have to focus so hard to get words out or I can't get them out. And I was like the other day I was introducing myself to the director of this PR firm um just down the road and I was introducing myself to the team and I'm like hello my name's Keoni and I'm like like I'd one job pronounce just a sentence in full without screwing up but however I've learned to embrace that through obviously conversations with Shil and obviously Shil has a super bad stutter. Um, and he has found ways to cope with that, which I am learning still, but he's he has so many years finding ways to deal with that.

And I was talking to him. I'm like, man, like I'm forcing myself to be quiet in rooms where I shouldn't be. Yeah. Just so I don't quote unquote make a fool out of myself.

And he goes, man, just embrace it. Yep. And I'm like, okay. Is that like is that like and I think about this like I've spoken in front of people before and I get really nervous and I can usually talk like this no problem.

Yeah. But what I always found and obviously Shil's the Jordan at this right it's like even when you up it's like be vulnerable first lay on the table. So it's like guys I'm going to intro myself but I normally it up cuz I got to stutter but I'm just I'm just laying it out there cuz I want to embrace it. So the moment you like lay your cards on the table you're vulnerable.

People value that more. Exactly. Because what what do you worry about? You're worried about judgment, right?

But it's like if you up or anything like that with I don't know the friend or in business or anything like that. The moment you go, "Hey, I up here or this happened." No one can say anything because you've got it out there. You put it, it's like 8 mile, right? You 100%.

You go and lay it out on the table. What's the other person going to do? They can't. So I I always done it.

I I remember speaking just in rooms and stuff and it's like, "Guys, I'm not very good at this. cuz I get I get up and get nervous even though I can normally talk. Um but I'm going to give it a shot. And then all of a sudden the the weight's off your shoulders, right?

Yeah. With that, I would even say like the way Shil mentioned it to me, he goes, "Make them aware." Be like, "Look, my start is bad today. Just bear with me." There you go. Same thing.

Yeah. He cuz he said, "Oh, how would you word it?" And I'm like, "Oh, apologies, guys. My start is bad." Which when you tell that to someone, they're oh, like that. A poor you.

And obviously or is that you judging yourself? You thinking that's the way they're gonna be? Well, when someone says to you, "Oh, sorry. I got this wrong." You subconsciously think, "Oh, like I'm I'm so sorry about that." But when saying, "Bear with me.

I have a stutter today." It's like, "Oh, okay." Like it's the way you're saying it. Yeah. It's more commanding and I would say not respectful, but like more this is how it is. Bear with me.

that demands like that's more respect received. Not waiting for Yeah. So that's something that's helped with me and I'm trying to learn that. That's awesome.

So you tell me you've told me a couple of times about the days that you couldn't do it. Is there days where you've done it and you're like yeah. So you've got through it. So you've gone to speak to someone intro yourself.

You you keep bringing up uh introing yourself. Yeah. Um you know meeting someone. I actually haven't met you haven't nailed it.

I haven't actually told someone when it has been bad. I've just pushed through. No. No.

Good. When have you nailed it? Nailed it. When like you've shook their hand and said, "Hi, I'm Keoni." When I have momentum behind the So, you've done it with me.

Yeah. When I have momentum behind the sentence and what that means is if I can't find a substitute for a word which I can't pronounce, I will think of another way of saying that word. So that momentum and fluency is fluent in the sentence, which when you're doing that all the time, man, it's tiring, but there's been times where I haven't been able to find a substitute for the word, and I have had one of those moments where I can't say the sentence, and it's something I'm still learning. So, when Dave put you on the spot the other way, introed you to me soon as I walked in the room.

Um, it just kind of all flowed with I can't remember your stud when you took my hand. It It's weird, man. It's Yeah. 100%.

Most likely I didn't have one of those moments, but it's something that happens and I don't know. Y like who was I? Yeah, as I mentioned with the director I met the the other week. Um that moment I couldn't predict that it was going to happen.

It just happened whether it's nerves feeling comfortable or what not like it's something that it's a mystery. No one knows which is the frustrating part. Yeah. Wow.

Yeah. So it's it's just something that is evolving. So go back to go back to asking your mom in the kitchen the other week. What' she say to you like after you come home and said that.

Let's talk about that that darker moment you must have had at that time. Something obviously hit home for you. Um and this is you know other people resonate to this and this is really important because you've come out and you're one of the most positive young guys I know and you switched on, you know, go you could go talk to 10 other 20-year-olds and um could be having a different conversation. it.

Um, how did it hit you when mom said that and what else come out of it? I think it was a bit of a realization on like in primary school I was a challenge kid. I was naughty if you could say like I would I was always sent outside. I was always sat on the sad mat in music class.

I just didn't want to be there. How old were you talking? Oh, this was Yeah. Oh, no.

This was in primary school. So, I was always in trouble, always getting sent to the principal's office. And I think it's because I just didn't fit in. I didn't felt I belonged.

And going into high school, that's something I've blended in a bit better. But I still obviously was a challenged kid. I got trouble. Um didn't get sent to the principal's office too many times.

But it was I was never that perfect quiet kid until halfway year 12 when I just didn't give a Like I was reading in the back class, reading sales books. That's when I really locked in that time in my high school journey, which was do you know what an unusual period I would even with my kids now. My kids are really good at school, right? Hell yeah.

At 11 and 12. My daughter's 13 next week or the week after. Um they're good kids. I think I reckon they're a really good balance.

But would I want them quiet in the corner and be that perfect kid? No. Cuz if you're not, it's like in it's like now. If you're not stepping on someone's toes or doing something, your mind's not going.

You're not I just think I think one of the main skills is people skills. Now, if you're sitting in a corner, that perfect head, is that is that perfect or is that you don't have confidence? You're not talking out and you're not where's the um I would say it's perfect in the system if that correct. Right.

But what about confidence then and talking and like and they might they might not have a stutter and all that kind of stuff and it's all happy days but then they don't have the um confidence is a really big piece right and social skills right where so we're you know we're social beings how many people that have got confidence and that come out but might have been naughty at school do all right you end up working it out right do you align with the system no are you challenging the system yes now is it the system that needs to evolve And I'm not saying we should be paying the asses. Yeah. But I think I think it's I think it's both sides, man. Like go and look at how many people have done all right, then just follow the system.

And then how many take risks? What are you going to do in life? You got to take risks. So you're not growing, right?

100%. Um the person sitting in the back corner, gets perfect days because all they do is study, do that, don't talk much now. How do they how do they end up when they get out? You know, what risks do they take?

Very risk adverse. There's no I don't think there's any right or wrong and I'm not saying that's wrong either because we need all different people in the world. We need doctors, we need engineers and people studying do all that great. Yeah.

You know, doing what we're doing now, they won't they probably won't do that, right? Yeah. That's something I'm big on. Like obviously if school was so entrepreneurial, think for yourself, come up with these innovative ideas and build something around that, society would collapse.

It sucks that it's not like that, but I understand why it hasn't evolved because we need like um like literally the Rockefellers, they had an agenda. They've pushed that agenda and it's a successful agenda. Why would they change their agenda when it's so successful? Obviously, you're going to have outliers in the pack and it's just how I think I think schools change like I always say the same.

School's not changing, right? The you know, and then you wait, you go do tests and all that. But I got on a um interviews with all the teachers and it was a hot seat thing on a like not a teams but a um what do you call it online thing to do interviews for end of term for my daughter and you get 10 minutes each teacher and that was pretty cool and I I do think teachers personality attitude and I'm talking about the school system here and also the classes they do it has changed I do believe like is it a dramatic change no but I think you know you got the stems now. Yes.

You know, all that you you would have gone through probably all that, I'm guessing. Um, you know, that stuff probably wasn't that them programs and framework went around when I was a kid, right? So, um, I think also younger teachers are getting in now. Yeah.

Which is most were the other day, which was it was good talking to them. They were really good and the way they the way they talk and the way they describe something, it was pretty good. I was pretty happy with it. Um, it was actually good to see and good to learn what what the system's like now.

Yeah. Doesn't need a big shift. I I think I think one of the biggest is like go back to anxiety nerves um and stuff like that. I think more speak in front of the class and stuff like that would be really good.

Build confidence up. 100% agree. But but all um it's tricky because like it was the other day um Channel 9 News put out like students were protesting against AI and I commented on it and they want AI banned in schools and I commented this is exactly why AI is going to take their jobs and I sparked World War II in the comments and yes school has evolved and it's good that it has but also it's hard to keep up with society now like we are evolving so quickly into a if you have an idea you can actually make it a reality in two clicks on Claude like it's crazy and school can't keep up with that and I don't blame them because it is rapid acceleration in the evolution of society so I think not being taught how to leverage these tools as tools and not being dependent on it is something that I feel that is where we're getting independent innovative young individuals coming out of these systems and people that are just floating through y type thing. My my opinion on that is you can't block evolution out in technology, I don't reckon, right?

Everything's balanced. Same with the kids now, right? Like I probably leave my kids some days, they probably play the iPads and that too much. But the amount they learn like out of robot uh Roblox and Minecraft and that and YouTube, like honestly, we can say that it dumbs them down and all that stuff.

Same as a calculator when it come out. Like it it speeds it speeds things up like all right go back 20 years or whatever when the calculator 30 40 years when the calculator come out. Did it matter now that we used it then? Cuz no doubt that would have had the same thing in class.

We're not hand doing hand formulas starting to use calculators. Right. Exactly. Yeah.

Now does it matter today that we use the calculator? No. Because that's not even a conversation. Right.

Cuz are we doing anything written on paper now? Formulas? No. No.

So it it didn't matter because it's like AI, right? It speeds the process up and you end up concentrating on another piece. I've just thought of something that's actually really smart. Like having it's going to happen anyway.

Yeah. But like for example, the school my sister goes to has banned AI. Like there you actually can't access it cuz they have um Wi-Fi blockers. So having maybe an external speaker coming, this is like a business idea right now.

and talking to these schools on how to use AI in the education system and how to study with AI. Balance it. Exactly. Put limitations.

Not saying no. Yeah. Let them do everything. But like if I didn't give my kids the iPads, do you know how much they would learn?

Do you know how many words they know that I never knew till I was probably 30? Because you know, like why limit them? I think it's balance once again. Like it's like everyone goes but we're going to lose our jobs.

But how many how many is it created? And I'm not saying the balance is the it's perfect, but horse and cart to tractor to you know the whole bit. You can hold it back as long as you want and is it holding back because the school can't keep up or the parents can't keep up or whatever. That's probably more to the point like go write an article now a blog like you know we build websites in what 12 weeks normally you do it in like a good one in like an hour an hour.

You know what I mean? I can go write an article now. Would I write an article before? No.

like you're creating it. So man and machine Dave Clare talks about it. I man Yeah. So, and this was before AI, more just tech.

Put them together, it's unstoppable. Like using AI to evolve whatever you're doing, not replace it. And yeah, and Dave talks about this a fair bit. And I think the schools, imagine educating the kids a little bit, 20% of it, using AI to get where you like imagine in five years where they'd be if they were already using Claude or whatever the base school version is.

Yeah, man. That's unreal. even like basic stuff on how to prompt it like and actually educating on why you don't want to depend on these tools knowing like simple like tool analogy like to become a sparky you need to know how to strip cable a certain way you can't just throw the pliers at the cable expecting it to strip same thing with AI you can't just throw information expecting the right outcome you're hoping to achieve so knowing how to prompt it the um past present future process of prompting. So knowing how to do that and teaching that young kids can then leverage that to study to prep for assessments to gain more knowledge that they may not be able to get in the 40inut cuz if they don't get taught a certain base, right?

You're going to they're going to go home, some of them, and use it. Some will go home, won't use it at all. Um some will do it with friends, some won't. So there'll be all this balance out of the whole AI understanding.

But if everyone learned the same and then imagine how much more would come out of that, right? Cuz in say in 5 years they're all going to use it anyway cuz now we don't have a choice. We're going to be using we're using AI and we don't even know we're using it. I'm not talking Claude.

I'm just talking about on phones and everything else. Exactly. My daughter we my daughter and my boy at home my daughter's like I'm not using AI and she's talking about like more environmental side of things and all that. Yeah.

Yeah. And I'm like, "Cool, but on your iPad." And she's like, "No, I won't use that and I won't use that." But last, this is a while ago. Last time I had them, she was using something on her iPad. It had AI in it.

And I think she's starting to realize you can't get away from it. Um, so Hunter will say to Havana, you know, happy that there's AI in that now. Like cuz you just can't get away from it. You couldn't probably eliminate it if you tried these days unless you use no technology.

Yeah. But I really love her point because she was and I and I said if you want dad to help you in any which way but she was more she was more talking I can't remember what it was. It was more about the environment than anything else. It's like the cooling systems like they're all underwater the um like PC cooling systems for these AI.

Yeah, that's right. I don't know much about this. Yeah. Yeah.

like you research um cooling room for like AI systems all underwater cuz on how hot they get which is a spin out because it's not educated to the general guy using AI so everyone's like prompt this prompt that but each time you're prompting these engines are having to work harder and harder using more water and all that and yes it's not economically friendly or whatever but you got no choice y like there's no system to replace that or no one has come up with a more innovative, cost effective, environmentally friendly way to utilize that unless you have these systems inactic. How much you use it? Oh, bro, like I hit my Claude limit twice to three times a day. Y use up all my tokens.

Yeah. Cuz I'm always vibe coding um CRM systems, websites, leveraging that to research on competitors, all that. So yeah, I'm leveraging that as a tool to help speed up the process compared to if I went to do that on my own where where what you would spend an hour on AI could take 6 hours. Yeah.

Yeah, that's right. It's just it is where it is at the moment and like personally I can't do any I don't well you can personally do something about it by limiting the use of it but man it's one of those things where you just have to keep going or y find an alternative. So let's get away from the AI for a sec. Let's go back to probably your biggest significant shift in in your life and probably s got you to sit here where you are today.

Um talk us about the apprentichip and getting shocked. So when I finished school I got a job as electrical apprentice and I knew it as I mentioned it wasn't something I wanted to do and 2 and 1/2 years in I was working with another apprentice at the time which is illegal. You need to be working with a qualified Sparky as an apprentice. The job that changed my life was a job um we were doing hooking up hot water system units in an apartment just near Perth airport.

Super sketchy motel man like overcast like you know when you're a kid and you walk down a hallway and it's just that darkness gloom. Yeah, it was something like that. Like this hallway dark, nobody there except for a cleaner. The first two units I fitted off perfectly went fine.

Isolated test before you touch the basics went to plan. However, the cleaner was complaining in unit 3. Oh, there's no power. No power.

And I'm like, hold on one second. Let me finish this and then I'll be with you shortly. So, I went to unit 3. The lights weren't on.

There was no lights at all. Even when I switched on the switch, so there's no power. The other apprentice came in and he goes, "Oh, there's no power to the main switch." So, we think when the plumber disconnected the hot water system because they have their restricted electrical license, active neutral sparked out and tripped the main breaker downstairs supplying power to this smaller board. Yep.

So, using my initiative, I begin work. I slide my circuit hot water system off and start work. Active in the active terminal, neutral in the neutral neutral terminal. And then came to the earth.

Yep. Earth wasn't in yet. And all of a sudden, the lights went back on. And I'm like, "Oh, cool.

The the apprentice turned the power on downstairs. That means the house the unit has power now. Happy days." Little did I know, even though I switched off the hot water system breaker, that was the wrong circuit. So, really, it was labeled wrong on the switchboard.

So, I trusted a label. And as that was switched on, as I was doing up the earth, my hands wrapped around the element, which was energized. And I had 240 volts passing through me around could have been anywhere from 5 to 16 amps. Wow.

Going through me, which was crazy because all it takes to kill someone with electricity is 0.5 amps. Yep. So, in theory, I should have been swept up in a dustpan that day, but wow. I somehow survived.

And so, what happened? You got electrocuted. The way I describe it to someone is imagine you're like reading a book on paradises of meldes and all of a sudden your hair gets pulled back and you're shot in the face. It's that shock that split second of oh and then it's over.

So I had that oh Like I think I screamed. I wasn't sure. It all happened so quickly and then I was kind of detached from it. Not I knew what happened.

I felt a lot of pain, but I stood up and my chest started feeling tight and I knew what happened and the So, were you by yourself at the time? Yes. Yeah. In the very quick moment I was attached.

All I wish for is another chance. Yeah. And I got it. Wow.

That's amazing. This is crazy, man. And absolutely amazing. Yeah.

went down with my employer. How old were you there then? 17. So 3 years ago.

Yeah. A bit over. Oh, actually maybe. Yeah.

17. Right before my 18. Yeah. So, what happened with the employer and that?

I got slapped with a few fines. Yep. Um, Western Power got involved, lawyers got involved, lawsuits. Yeah.

Yeah. It was pretty heavy. So, I had to get out of that company pretty quickly cuz it was just a environment at the time. Yep.

Um, nothing against them. Perth is to my world, so I understand what everyone knows each other down the line. But I'm so thankful for that opportunity cuz in that moment, I realized that everything can change so quickly. Yep.

Literally. So why am I being held back by all these fears of waiting for the perfect moment to start when as cliche it is it's never going to be the right time and you're only going to realize that the right time is now when it's taken away from you and that's what almost happened. So that moment wow everything and then so how long like you went you would went to hospital and all that I'm guessing. Yeah.

I got hooked up to an MRI machine. Thankfully, I was all okay cuz the biggest thing when you get a shock is if you don't get it checked out, when your heart goes to resting that night, you just don't wake up because your heart stops cuz it's it's out of rhythm from that shock that spike and then it's out. Did you have to get checked up again later? No, it was just that one time they hooked you up for like 15 minutes, waited in ED for like 5 hours.

Good fun as you know. Um and yeah, that moment really brought me to reality. Yep. And then how long until you shifted like from a sparky to just I'm going to go do something else?

It was a couple of year. It was a year once I left my old company. Oh, so you went to another company. Got another apprenticeship somewhere else.

And during that apprenticeship I was just building my business with that camera. Um wicked. And from there December I got around six clients. It was flat out like waking up at 4:00, working till 7, going to work for 9 hours, coming home, working just rinse and repeat seven days a week.

And then at the start of this, no, start of Yeah. This year, crazy. I got really sick and I think it was just exhaustion. Y a lot going on.

I don't want to call it burnout because I don't think it was. Probably was to an extent, but I'm not putting a label on. I'm just trying to say burnout cuz you're 20. self judgment.

Um, do you know what though? Like I was saying before, you you got to read your body at certain point. We don't in our 20s and 30s. But I'm glad I did that because I knew something needed to be sacrificed then and it wasn't going to be my full-time job.

It wasn't going to be Oh, it wasn't going to be the business, wasn't going to be the podcast or my studies. It was full-time job. So, I knew I had to drop something. Good on you.

So, I looked at myself in the mirror one day and I'm like, you know what? it. Cool. So, you've taken that leap.

You've had a big big oh oh moment. Yeah. Right. And then you've put yourself first and you going get rid of all the fear and do what I love doing instead of um you know doing something that maybe was driven from a bit of um you know automatic this is what you got to do in life, get an apprenticeship, you know, whatever it was.

We were speaking the other day and I know we're going to wrap it up in a minute and um no doubt we'll do we we'll continue but you told me you learned a little bit off Shil about how to intro speak and all that and you went and spoke to someone pretty important um to do with the weight belt and now you've got a wicked gig coming up. Yeah. Tell me a bit about that. Like that's the upside of all these decisions you made and 100% man.

Like when I first left my job like the family wasn't super supportive. They were very skeptical of course. Yeah. which I don't meant to be 100%.

They want the best for me and they saw that was the only route and that was okay. Um, and it wasn't until you make your first, you know, 10 grand a month, you look at everything and you're like, like I've earned my yearly wage in 4 months of doing my own business, which that is a spin out because you're obviously not you're putting tons of hours, but it's something you love. So, it doesn't feel like a drag, if that makes sense. So that moment my parents were it's working now.

Yeah. I'm new to business. I'm well aware of that. So I'm only starting the rocky journey which Do you still live with your parents?

Yeah. We could lap that up as long as you can. 100% man. Yeah.

I still pay like 100 bucks a week on board. So I'm laughing. But it's good. It's good.

That's awesome, man. That's awesome. So um so what's next? What's what's the projection of future look like then?

I'm taking GC Media Global. So, I'm envisioning teams in Europe, all different places around the world to have a global impact through story-led content because we're all surrounded by this AI And my mission is to redefine global marketing. And the way to do that is having a more of a global effect through having different teams. Yep.

And the way to do that from today is just doing one more reach out, one more cold call because that one more could lead to so many opportunities. just keep doing the podcast because the opportunities that have come from that, man, you can't put a price on that. Unreal. Yeah, that's cool, man.

That's cool. That that's pretty ambitious and it's um but hey, you can't get there unless you got that vision. Hey, man. Yeah.

Cool. Should we wrap it up? I know you got another meeting. Yeah.

It's a shame cuz I'm in the flow state right now. Yeah. Yeah, we could. We could.

And um I'll prep for the next one, but um mate, it was really good. What what I might do is um we might I might I'll talk to you tomorrow or later today. I might get last week's we done and we might throw that in. Absolutely.

It was very similar. Um and it was a bit of a continuence from that. 100%. Yeah.

Cuz we around with cameras and that a bit today. So, but um and if we have to, we can in a few weeks we can um jump back on and do what we need to. But we we did talk about maybe doing a bit of a project and hence this is what I'm talking about. Like I come out of the other day talking to you.

You might be 20 and whatnot, but I need probably your little bit of asking. This is your game, this video side of thing and content and and you know this whole I want to change the way the marketing's done. I need to be consistent with content, not the podcast. I'm talking in the insurance and business.

I I probably need your help to to get that. I say that very very easily, man. I It doesn't matter how long you've been on this planet. If if that's your gig and that's what you do and you're doing that at 20, I'm I'm stoked and proud to And it's something like you're so good at what you do like diversifying the skill sets is one resistance on the already busy lifestyle they have.

My job simply just to make your life easy and bring in that quality reach cuz every everyone and we'll get to this another 5 10 years will be different again but we all we should be doing an hour or two of um like recordings and content. It's just everything's organic content now, man. It's the most It's the most I'm huge on that, man. YouTube shorts and reals is probably the most number one thing you should be doing, right?

Because it's about education and being the subject matter expert in what you do, right? Literally like and none of us do it enough. Exactly. Like trust builds an audience.

Audience builds a brand. And with that audience, you can convert sales and just that support which and and that trust piece comes a lot of it comes from authenticity, right? So, how do you get that? It's just by consistently recording, you know, not being not being fake or anything like that, like recording and getting it and putting content out.

Um, and I it'd be great to get you to help me to do that. Yeah. Hey, man. Paul, thank you so much, man.

I appreciate it. Awesome.