Welcome to The Storm: Part II

So last time I had left off at me leaving my job in March of 2023. I was going to go into what’s happened since then but that’s a lot to cover and honestly, it’s not that important so here is a brief summary…when you quit a 6-figure job in your mid-30s to go figure out what you want to do with your life, surprise, it’s fucking hard. Harder than you expect it to be. No matter how much prep you do. No matter how many awesome people you surround yourself with, it’s gonna be hard. But it’s worth it so if you’re considering it, just fucking do it. You can always go back and get another job and make your money back. You can’t get back your time.

Don’t forget to check out the song and book at the end and as always, email me if you have feedback, suggestions, questions, anything. I like to talk. 

The Present

Right now I’m sitting in a coffee shop in Sandy, UT, right outside of Salt Lake City, looking at the mountains, drinking a honeybadger. Don’t ask because I don’t know—I just ordered it because of the name, and luckily it’s pretty good. I’m here attending an event with 300 successful, high-achieving men. Some of these guys are worth 9 figures. Most of them entrepreneurs and real estate investors. Next week I will get into my experience here because if you think money was the focus…guess again.

Financially speaking, I do not belong in this room. So how the hell did I wind up here?

Burnout and Breakthrough

Well…it’s because I hit that wall I mentioned last time after reaching full-blown burnout. “But Kyle, isn’t burnout bad?” Eh…maybe? It definitely sucks in the moment, but if I hadn’t hit it and finally surrendered, I might not be right here, right now. So yeah, it sucked, but I’m glad it happened.

What led to the burnout was simple. The afternoon before, I was on a community call with some men that I really look up to and during that call, we dove deep into purpose, fulfillment, and the trials of life. Something I heard during that call hit me right in the fucking mouth: “Find purpose in service to others, and success will come quickly.”

My mentor had said it before, but not at the exact right time. That day, it clicked. I realized I had been trying to find purpose in service to my ego, while also convincing myself that this wasn’t the case. The ego is tricky like that. So, combine realizing you’ve been doing the wrong shit for two years with knowing you’ve been talking way more than actually doing, then sprinkle on a long stretch of barely any sleep, and boom…burnout.

It didn’t hit right away, though. It hit the next morning after another sleepless night.

The Breakdown

I woke up feeling completely off. One of my best friends called for a catch-up, and I broke down. Couldn’t talk, couldn’t function. I just laid in bed and let myself feel it—something I don’t think enough of us do with our emotions. Pain, joy, fear…sometimes we need to sit with it and let it do its work on us.

Once I got moving, I cleared my calendar for the day (grateful I could), went for a walk and reached out to a few of my friends and of course my incredible wife. The themes from the conversations were clear: I’d been putting too much pressure on myself and trying to force outcomes instead of exploring opportunities with curiosity, along with allowing my ego to steer the ship. Recipe for disaster.

Joe Rogan had no vision for his podcast when he started. He just kept taking steps and let it grow naturally. That’s what I need to do—just explore. Exactly what I’m doing with this newsletter. No plan, just writing. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t. Who cares? I enjoy doing it and I’m learning to let go.

The Opportunity My Ego Has Been Trying To Kill 

The other big realization? I have an amazing opportunity right in front of me. I work for a mastermind group I’m part of—Gobundance Emerge. It’s an entry-level group for entrepreneurs just starting out. There are two other levels: Elite ($2 million net worth) and Champions ($10 million net worth), those are the guys I am here with in Utah, and I am the only non millionaire here…talk about intimidating. But the money isn’t the point. It’s about creating lives we can be proud of. It’s about family, health, adventure, being better men…and money is a tool that helps make all of that easier. 

I love my roles with this group, and the guy who runs it has become a close friend and my mentor. But my ego had been telling me this was playing small. That i was meant for more than this. That I needed to be some fucking public figure or big time entrepreneur. That this, the things I love to do, were distractions.

Then I remembered the story of Matt King, who was the speaker on the call the night before. Ten years ago, he was in a similar position, working for a successful entrepreneur. He leaned into the opportunity, learned everything he could, he found purpose in service to others and that has lead him to a tremendous amount of success.

So I decided to surrendered. I let my ego go and imagined what it would look like to lean into my roles with Emerge fully. It took me back to my time in the Army National Guard. I was a Staff Sergeant and I loved that role. I never wanted to be a General (the big name).  I was happiest when I had a mission and the trust to execute it and knocked it out of the park.  This made my leadership happy which made me happy. Boom. It hit me: Find purpose in service to my mentor and the incredible people in this mastermind, and success will come. 

So, just like Matt King has done, I decided I was going to lean into the opportunity I had right in front of me and take the same approach as I am with my writing. No set outcome. No forcing anything. Just taking action and exploring what this feels like. 

The Call With My Mentor

I called my mentor and said, “Hey, I’m not asking; I’m telling you. This is my plan. I’m going to make myself so damn valuable to you that you won’t be able to get rid of me.” He loved it. By the end of the call, I’d agreed to take over copywriting for our marketing emails and our community newsletter. We scheduled a follow-up to dig into his vision and plans for Emerge further so I can fully understand how I can serve him. Just having that call lifted a huge burden off my shoulders. The better I do here, the more opportunities will come and the more success will follow.

• As I proof read this on 2/1/25 a quick update…the opportunities have been pouring in the short time I have leaned into this. More to come on that in an upcoming letter.

And then Utah

A few days later, he texted: “Want to come to the Utah event for Elite? Travel costs only.” It was three days before the event. Old me hesitated. New me said, “Fuck yes.” So, I booked a flight, rented a car (BMW, smooth ride, great sound system, other than that, just another car), and cleared my calendar.

Sunday night, I nearly freaked out. I told myself I didn’t belong, that I wasn’t good enough to be in this room. There were two guys I was really nervous to see in particular. I made it a point to go up to them immediately and face my fears…turns out all of those fears were completely made up in my head and then, after one day with all of these guys, I knew I was exactly where I belonged. Right here. Right now. In this moment. There is a reason I am here. I don’t know what it is yet but I know it’s the truth. 

I will pick up there next week and fill you in more on the event, my lessons learned and the opportunities that continue to poor in.

Song - Daydream - Lilly Meola It’s girly and I don’t care. Listen to the lyrics and let fucking go. 

Book - Ego is the Enemy - Ryan Holiday This is the book I needed right now. I had heard of it many times and I have read some of his other books which have all been great. This is one I will read over and over again as I learn to understand my ego and the role it plays in my life.