Adryana [00:00:00]:
Like, the way that the work life is set up here in the United States, that's just the typical. Like, you're going to have other obligations, and you're not going to be able to make it to everything just because of like, if you're making money and you're being busy, that's just how the way it is.
Greg [00:00:19]:
Welcome to the Speakers for Success podcast. I'm your host, Greg Todd. Thank you, as always, for joining me today. I have some extremely special guests. I have my offspring here. Yeah. Do you all want well, first of all, thank you so much for being here.
Greg [00:00:39]:
Thank you, Adriana. Thank you, RJ. Thank you, Elena. And thank you, Aidan. I'm not going to let you introduce yourselves, but Adri is my oldest. She is in college. She's 20. RJ is my oldest son.
Greg [00:00:52]:
He is 17 years old, going to be 18 next month. Elena is my youngest daughter. They are teen middle kids. She is 14 years old. And Aidan is the baby of the family, and he is ten. So welcome to the podcast. I know that you guys don't really care necessarily to do this stuff, but the thing is this, a lot of people follow me, and the reason why they work at your dad is not just because of what I do from a business standpoint. It's the fact that I manage business and family in a way that they find Admirable.
Greg [00:01:30]:
So I think it's important for them to know the other side of it and that it's not just lip service that I actually do have kids, and I think you guys like me.
Arjay [00:01:42]:
Yeah.
Greg [00:01:46]:
I just kind of want them to get to know a little bit about you guys and what your perspective is with regards to what I do and entrepreneurship, and if you guys think I balance it well and the life that it's afforded, good and a bad. So is that cool? Just kind of talk about that stuff. So, Adryana, if you don't mind, I want to start with you because when we decided that I was no longer going to work for the man, and I wanted to go and do things on my own, and Mommy and I made that decision, it was really tough. And there was a lot of things that I missed. When you had certain things at school, whether it was when we're at Van Dyke Day Care or whatever it was called, or when you went to your first elementary school and then went over to Odessa, did you notice that your dad was missing a lot of those things?
Adryana [00:02:52]:
I feel like you tried your best to come to whatever you could come to, which was Admirable. But yeah, I feel like every kid wants their parent to be there at all times, at all the little recitals and the classroom sessions and the conferences, like all the things that parents are kind of required to come for. Yeah, kids really appreciate that.
Greg [00:03:17]:
Yeah. And I wasn't there for all of them. So as a kid, did you notice that, like, Dang, all these other dads are there, but my dad yeah, he's not there.
Adryana [00:03:29]:
Yeah, I feel like I did notice it just because all the other kids, they were constantly, constantly their parents were just really involved in the school. But at the same time, though, I do feel like you guys always did try your best, and I always appreciated that. Mommy, she went to a lot of the mommy went to everything that she could. She was very involved with it. And you would try to come to whatever you could come to. So whenever you did have your off time, you would come.
Greg [00:04:02]:
Yeah. Okay. So now you're in college, and I think maybe you have a different appreciation for things now. And so if you don't mind, none of the other kids could answer this. So I want to ask you this question. So now that you're in your 30 year college, right?
Adryana [00:04:22]:
Yeah.
Greg [00:04:22]:
Okay. What do you feel about what it is that I do, and do you feel like this is a direction that you would want to take? Why or why not? Because for me right. My dad was in insurance, but he was technically an entrepreneur, and because of what he did, I was like, I want to get as far away from that as possible. So I'm always interested to hear, are you guys traumatized by what it is that I do? Or are you like, wow, I kind of get it, or I'm going to go in my own direction. I kind of just want to hear from you.
Adryana [00:04:56]:
I respect it a lot. Like, being in the college environment and seeing people go into many different workforces, it exposes you to many different lifestyles. So because of that, everybody has a different dream. Some people are okay with working the nine to five. Some people want to be entrepreneurs, some people want to do this or they want to do both. So everyone's just different in that way. The respect is definitely there. For my own path, I'm not exactly sure if I would want to be an entrepreneur.
Adryana [00:05:31]:
I think there's a lot of benefits from it, but also I think there is some benefits working nine to five. I feel like entrepreneur does have more benefits if that is the type of lifestyle that you want to live, if you really enjoy your work, I think that entrepreneurial lifestyle is ideal for you and if you're willing to put in those extra just the extra steps needed for that. But I would say for me personally, I'm not exactly sure if I would want to do entrepreneur like lifestyle, but.
Adryana [00:06:04]:
I can see appreciation for both of.
Adryana [00:06:06]:
Them, if that makes sense.
Greg [00:06:07]:
Got you. So can I tell you, when I was starting renewal rehab, which was really my first real business that I started. I always thought that because I wasn't spending as much time as I wanted with you, that there was a high probability that it was going to screw up our relationship and that you wouldn't want anything to do with me as you got older. So has that been the case now? No, we just went to a concert.
Adryana [00:06:39]:
We just went to a concert, literally last night. I do enjoy my alone time that I have with you, our moments together. I've never felt that way, though, even growing up, I never felt like, oh, my dad left me, or my dad doesn't care about me or doesn't want to come to these events. I just knew that you had other obligations as well, too. And that's typical. I see in the college lifestyle, the way that the work life is set up here in the United States, that's just the typical. Like, you're going to have other obligations and you're not going to be able to make it to everything just because of like, if you're making money and you're being busy, that's just how the way it is.
Greg [00:07:21]:
That's the way it is. Okay, cool. All right, so I didn't totally screw you up. Good. It's great to know. All right, RJ, can I ask you a couple of questions? So you're the oldest son. Yes. And ironically, when I started renewal rehab, so I didn't start Renewal Rehab, I bought into this small company and you were just born.
Greg [00:07:49]:
That's when we kind of started a grind. And I feel like you and Adri have a different vantage point of nanny and ayden right. And I feel like you guys kind of more witnessed the grind of it know? So what was your take on it? Did you feel like I was gone a lot and what do you feel about entrepreneurship?
Arjay [00:08:14]:
So what I'll say is that my take on it was, yeah, like you said, I never knew anything else other than that. It just was, oh, yeah, you come back from school, you do what you got to do, and then eight, nine o'clock, you just see Daddy come back home. That's really just how it was. I didn't really think anything of it because that was normal. It was just what it was. And that's how a lot of kids were. They go back home and nobody's there, and they just have to open the door for themselves and stuff. So at least my mom was always there and stuff, but I knew, like, okay, you're going to come back and it's good.
Arjay [00:08:49]:
So I never really thought too much of that, honestly. Now, looking back, it's definitely better now, but I never really thought too much of it.
Greg [00:08:59]:
All right, so me and you were having this talk about a month and a half, two months ago, and basically you were telling me some of the best moments of your life. Yeah, right, okay. Do you remember a couple of those moments that you said a couple of.
Arjay [00:09:15]:
Those moments that I said the best moments of my life. Probably a lot to do with sports.
Greg [00:09:19]:
Sports, yes, sports. So some of the best moments of your life, I mean, I could tell you one of them. One of them you said was 2000 and was it 2016 or 2018? Okay. Do you remember that games?
Arjay [00:09:36]:
Going to the games, yeah, going to some games. We went to the game. It was right. It was the last day I had a fifth grade.
Greg [00:09:44]:
A fifth grade, yeah.
Arjay [00:09:45]:
And I went to the Lightning game that evening. And I remember you surprised me with the tickets.
Greg [00:09:52]:
Right. And I remember Stanley Cup finals.
Arjay [00:09:54]:
Stanley cup finals. And we got to one of your offices and we walked all the way, and it was like although I didn't want to do the walk, just the whole day was such a great moment. And we got back home after the game, we lost the game, but it was just like, you look back and you're like, that was just one of the greatest days, just single days ever. It's great.
Greg [00:10:16]:
What was another one that you said? You remember?
Arjay [00:10:19]:
What was another one I said?
Greg [00:10:20]:
I don't remember. Well, it was one that we just experienced, me and your younger sister oh, yeah.
Arjay [00:10:25]:
To the Heat finals game. Yeah, that was great.
Greg [00:10:30]:
It's just interesting to me because you said the Stanley Cup finals last year. We went to the Stanley Cup finals. By the way, whenever we go, we lose.
Arjay [00:10:42]:
Yeah, we lose.
Greg [00:10:44]:
But it's still like one of the best moments of your life. The 2013 NBA Finals that we all went to, I don't know if Elena and Ayden went to that, but me, you, Mommy, Adri, we went to that. And then this past year, right after I finished my live event, the Miami Heat and the Florida Panthers were both in their respective finals. And so we drove down, and two days back to back, we went to the NBA Finals, game three, and then we went to the Stanley Cup Finals, game three. And so you had told me that those were, like, some of the most memorable days of your life. And I guess this is what I want to tell the four of you, is that entrepreneurship is the only way I would have been able to afford that, to be able to have that. So some of the greatest moments, like, all right, maybe last night's Lil Baby concert wasn't the greatest moment.
Adryana [00:11:45]:
It was a great moment.
Greg [00:11:47]:
It was a good moment. And the times we've gone on vacations and the life that we live, it's like, that's the cost of it, you know what I mean? It creates awesome memories because we're able to create amazing experiences. And then there's so much work that you got to do in the beginning to eventually get to the reward, but then when you get there, it's like you can basically have more time to have these awesome experiences that I'm having more now than I did when you guys were younger. Okay, so how about you? Entrepreneurship? Yes, no? Maybe. Okay.
Arjay [00:12:26]:
So what I'll say is that the way that I think that I wouldn't say yes or no, but I would say that if I was to do it, I would go by a similar blueprint to how you did. It, which is basically like you have a job and you're settled and you're good, but you also are doing that on the side and building it up to get into a better situation.
Greg [00:12:49]:
Right.
Arjay [00:12:49]:
I think that that is the best way to do it. Obviously, you might not have as much time to do it because you have to balance both, but it's just the safest way. I think that's the best way, and that's the way I would do it.
Greg [00:13:01]:
Yeah. So what he's talking about is when I was with Renewal Rehab, with my main gig, I didn't go all into my coaching and consulting. 80% of my time I spent renewal rehab, 20% of my time I spent with coaching, and then over time, I built it up, and then I made a safe transition over. Okay, awesome. Well, thank you. All right. My youngest daughter, my morning buddy Alayna. Thank you for being on the podcast.
Greg [00:13:34]:
Okay, so I want to ask you, maybe you're kind of in the middle of it. You're like the transition time when you were born and when you were young, I was still with Renewal and I was working really hard there. But you've kind of also seen now where I'm still working hard, but it's a little bit different. And I don't know if it's the same as your two older siblings, but anyways, give me your take on it. What do you think of all this?
Alayna [00:14:07]:
I don't think it's the exact same.
Alayna [00:14:09]:
As them, because even when I was younger, it felt like you were still really being influenced on my life. You came to my dances like the daddy daughter dances. When I was younger, you were there. And I don't think it was as like, oh, I feel like my dad is not there in my life. It never felt like that. So I guess in that way, it's kind of different. I don't feel like it was ever like, oh, he's not here. That's a little bit weird.
Alayna [00:14:36]:
I always just thought, like, okay, you're working, and when you were there, I was like, okay, you're here. That's just how it felt for me.
Greg [00:14:42]:
Okay, cool. All right, so it's kind of interesting to kind of see this transition. All right. It's a lot of work done on the front end, and then you didn't feel like I really missed anything, because, honestly, I really didn't. I really didn't miss that much, because we're really starting to see things start to pay off. So just for context listeners, elena was born in 2009. So I started my business in 2005. And a lot of you that are listening, you're like, oh, my gosh, I need this thing to happen right now.
Greg [00:15:12]:
Well, it doesn't. It doesn't happen right away. You're putting out a lot of work for very little reward. But now Alayna was born in 2009. Probably in the beginning, she doesn't even know she can't remember anything. But then now she's like, three, four, five, and she's starting to do things at that point. Things are, like, really paying off for me. Now it's 2011, 2012.
Greg [00:15:31]:
We're going on long vacations. I've got much more freedom of schedule. I've leveraged a team. Okay, so that's cool. Now, let me ask you this. Recently, me and you did a video because we had just come back from Blue Ridge, right, and we were at Target, and do you remember what happened?
Alayna [00:15:53]:
This is the video where I was talking about. It was about saving and spending money and difference and need to have money in order to save.
Greg [00:16:07]:
So Alayna and I were at Target, right? And this is the day that we came from Blue Ridge. You two went to publix, and Alayna and I went to Target, and we got six things, and it came up to $97. And she was like, oh, my gosh, Daddy, it's so expensive. And she's like, I got to learn how to save money better. We know Alayna likes to spend money, so she was like, Daddy, I got to learn how to save better. And I was like, Alayna, you can't spend money you don't have. You have to focus your energy on earning more. So I kid you not, this kid is amazing, because since then, she just was listening, like, that's interesting.
Greg [00:16:47]:
So I was like, hey, I got a five day event coming up. Can we say what we just said? And then, by the way, that was the number one ads. Was the number one ad? Yeah, it was. See, about over 35,000 people.
Alayna [00:17:01]:
Wow.
Greg [00:17:01]:
Crazy. Anyways, since then, you started well, you were doing crochet anyways before, but how do you think of it now? You're 14 and your parents are taking care of you, but do you guys think of how are you going to earn money? How are you going to for your staff? I don't know.
Alayna [00:17:25]:
Do I think of it a lot? Like how I'm going to earn money?
Greg [00:17:27]:
Yeah, you do.
Alayna [00:17:30]:
Not like, every single second I do think of it, I'm like, okay, I'm honestly very gifted. Honestly, very, like, just, you guys give us a lot in our life. And I'm like, okay, I'm living good, right? But eventually there's going to be a point in my life where I'm going to finish off, and I'm going to start this new part of my life where I'm going to have to be doing most of the earning. And it always comes to me, like, how is this going to happen? Because I'm going to have to work, but how am I going to do it? So, yeah, I do think of it.
Greg [00:18:05]:
Right? So I want to tell the four of you, don't stress over it right now. Just don't stress over it yet, all right? The four of you need to understand that you're in an age of exploration, but what you got to do is you got to do stuff, you got to try things, and you got to figure out what is the thing that at least I have some remote interest in, right? And then you're going to find that there are certain things that you're just good at, right? Like you crochet. Can you crochet? No. Can you crochet? No, I can't. And you don't want to crochet either. Right. But she's amazing at it, right? And so it might be your thing, but it might not. It just might be a hobby.
Greg [00:18:49]:
But you got to just explore and try things. Like, you're great at graphics, you're great at video editing. Right. You're great at leadership and social media. If you wanted to make your Vlog thing reemerge, you really could do that. But that might not be your jam, that might not be the thing that you guys want to do, but you got to try things because it's going to come a point where you're going to be like, man, I got to make some money and I got to figure out what I'm going to do. So don't freak out now, but try things now. Shoot, you could make money from gaming, like, a lot.
Greg [00:19:27]:
You could. Because the other thing is that once it becomes I got to make money from it, it's usually not as fun. You know what I mean? It's not as fun because now it's almost like when we're playing soccer in the house and we're playing around, it's one thing, but then when it's like, wow, the game is starting, it's not as fun. Right. You're more competitive. So that's just things to think about. All right. How about you, buddy? Mr.
Greg [00:19:55]:
Aidan, my ten year old that has the brain of a 30 year old. He's a sharp guy. So do you feel like Daddy has always been around, or do you feel like I work a lot? Like, what's your take on it?
Ayden [00:20:12]:
I think you've been there a lot. Sometimes you work, and sometimes that's what I really feel. I feel like you always try your hardest to be there, and that's all that matters.
Greg [00:20:24]:
Thank you. Wow. He always says the greatest thing. Thank you ayden I appreciate that. Guys, can I ask, you know, I'm not going to keep you too long because we got to go eat, but just a couple of questions. There's a lot of people that, again, the reason why they follow me is not just because of my success that I've had in business, but my relationship that I have with your mother and the relationship that I have because I focus a lot on. I really feel like my kids are more important than business because business comes and goes. People come and go.
Greg [00:21:06]:
They love you today, they hate you tomorrow. But that's not the case with mom and you guys, right? But they want to do both. They want to build a business because they want it not only to be good for themselves, but they want it to be good for their families. But they struggle so much with, like, I feel like I'm neglecting and abandoning my kids. So is there something that any of you could tell that person that's listening to the podcast right now?
Adryana [00:21:36]:
I just feel like at the end of the day, as you said, business comes and goes. There's definitely a way that you can balance both of them, because you clearly have done it. So just exhaust all your options. Literally. Try your best to figure out every option that will work in a way that you don't feel like you're neglecting your kids. And at the same time, while there is balance, also make sure that your priorities are straight, because if you do feel like you're neglecting your kids, neglecting your wife or your husband or whoever it may be that's important in your life, then there's something that's not right.
Greg [00:22:15]:
Right? Okay. What you got to say?
Arjay [00:22:17]:
Yeah, I think she said it well. Just keep the priorities right. Find the balance for you. Everyone's different. Everyone has their morals are different. But just find what works for you the most and yeah, pretty much that's it.
Greg [00:22:32]:
Cool. You got anything to add to that discipline?
Alayna [00:22:36]:
Make sure that you're like, okay, I am going to put in the work because I love these people. Don't be like, oh, I'm trying, but it's not working. No work. And make sure you're like, okay, here. I want this life. I'm going to work for this life. I'm going to make it happen. It's the most important part.
Greg [00:22:57]:
Wow. How about you?
Ayden [00:23:03]:
Yeah.
Adryana [00:23:07]:
Just yeah.
Greg [00:23:09]:
You agree with hey, you know what? I didn't ask you ayden I didn't ask you. Do you think you want to be an entrepreneur, or do you think you want to have, like, a regular job?
Ayden [00:23:24]:
I'm not sure. I think it's a cool job. I might go that way. I might not what I think in the future, honestly.
Greg [00:23:32]:
Yeah. And it's just whatever you think, I love that. I want you guys to know this. I don't want any pressure on you to follow anything in my path. Do your own thing. Do whatever makes you happy. If you have other responsibilities, if you decide to have children, then you are responsible for them. So you can't always do what makes you happy.
Greg [00:24:00]:
You have to also balance doing what makes you happy. But also what would allow me to take care of the responsibilities that I have, but don't ever feel like you have to do anything on my behalf. I don't want to live through you. I don't want to live through any of you. I don't want my worth to be based on the success of you all. It's too much pressure. Just do whatever you want to do, okay? But don't live at the house forever. Okay? The mom is in the okay, so there you go.
Greg [00:24:40]:
Okay. All right. You guys can say as long as you want. That's fine. That's fine. All right, so any parting comments? Anything else that you want to say? How about this? How about to the kids? I'm going to tell my audience to have their kids listen to this. So what are things that the kids could do to help their parents on their journey of, like, they're grinding. What could kids do to be supportive of that process? Who wants to go for it?
Adryana [00:25:18]:
Understand them. Understand what they're going through. They also have a life, and it's a very important part. It's like you have your life, and it's very important. Don't get me wrong. Your life is very important, but everyone in this world has their own life, and they have their own problems, and they have all this stuff. So understand that your parents are trying they're trying to make everything work, right?
Greg [00:25:41]:
Wow. Okay. I love it. You got anything for that? A young kid, mommy and Daddy or Daddy or whatever is gone a lot, and they're building a business. So what could a kid do to be more understanding? Because I don't feel like you've ever really given me I know you love when Daddy's home, right? But how about the times when I'm not home or I'm traveling? What could you tell a kid that struggles with mom or dad not being home?
Alayna [00:26:19]:
Well, it is what it is.
Greg [00:26:26]:
I was that's actually a really good answer. It is what it is. It is what it is. You know what? That actually is a really good answer, because the reality is that this is.
Adryana [00:26:40]:
The reality of this is reality.
Greg [00:26:42]:
It is what it is, and you have to deal with the hand that you're dealt. Right? And I can't expect that's actually a really brilliant answer. I can't expect you guys to understand every single component and piece of what's going on. So I love that you said that, because as a child, kids, you're listening. If you just understand it is what it is. And you might not understand all of it today, right? But years from now, I think now you're like, I get it. I get it now. Right? You're like, I get it, you guys.
Greg [00:27:17]:
I get it. So if you could take that perspective it is what it is, then I think you'll be good. Awesome. You guys got anything?
Arjay [00:27:26]:
I'll just say, basically, just understand what it is that they're going through or what they're doing, and also, don't be afraid to just tell them. Just tell them, okay, this is what I think about this. Or, this is what I think about that.
Greg [00:27:40]:
Right?
Arjay [00:27:41]:
I think when you do that, there's times when I'll be like, hey, will you be able to do this this weekend, or will you be able to take me to this, or will you be able to do that? Just tell them when you want something or when you think something, and then you can find that balance.
Greg [00:27:58]:
Right. I love that communication. Really good communication. You got anything?
Adryana [00:28:01]:
Yeah, I definitely agree with that for the kids. Definitely try your best to communicate with your parents if you can. And then also I know we're focused on the kids, but parents also, please allow your kids to communicate. Allow your kids to give constructive criticism about certain things, because when you don't allow them to communicate, that's when problems arise.
Greg [00:28:23]:
You got shut down.
Adryana [00:28:24]:
Exactly. So another thing is just, like, I guess for the kids listening as well, too. One day you will understand, and you will get it. And don't be so hard on your parents, because you will end up regretting it, or you will end up just feeling really bad about it. So one day you will get it, and you're going to go through experiences in life that allow you to understand it. So just remember that. Just keep that in mind.
Greg [00:28:53]:
Wow. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Thank you. Not only for being on the podcast, but thank you for I've never had pushback from any of you, and I'm so grateful for that. Like, so grateful. Can I honor each of you real quick? Yeah, go ahead. All right, so I want to just say something about every single one of you, and all four of you have been so instrumental in pushing me to want to do better.
Greg [00:29:25]:
I'm not advocating for everybody that's listened to the podcast to go have four kids or 40 kids. I'm not saying that. But I will say that it gave me four additional reasons to want to live a life beyond myself. Your mom was reason number one, and then you became reason number two. You became reason number three, number four, number five. And as you have more reasons, you have to create more action. And so the first thing is, I want to honor you because you allowed me, adriana, you allowed me to become a parent, and I think that the game totally changed when I was living for more than myself and your mother. I love the direction that you have taken.
Greg [00:30:13]:
I love your fierceness and your leadership, and I think we can say you're kind of a mini me in many ways. I don't know if it's all good, but I want to just tell you that I honor you for that, and you truly make me proud of the way that you conduct yourself outside of our house. So I'm really proud of you for what you're doing. RJ, I want to tell you that whenever I'm around you, I feel like it's like, you know how you wanted that best friend, whether high school or like I had buddies in high school, but a lot of them were like, bad, right? But I always wanted the dude that just wanted to hang out, play video games, didn't want to get in trouble, didn't want to smoke weed, didn't want to drink, didn't want to do anything bad, didn't want to steal nothing. And I feel like I have that now with you. You're my sports buddy, honestly, just a great friend. And I know maybe that's not a good thing as a parent, that your kids shouldn't be friends. I don't know.
Greg [00:31:21]:
Whatever I do about it, it's a balance. It's a balance. But the respect that you have for me as well as the companionship of a guy is just amazing. It's awesome. So I thank you for that. I really appreciate it. Elena, you are oh, gosh, so many different things. Well, first of all, your smile every morning.
Greg [00:31:48]:
So you guys have to understand this. My family, they're night owls and they wake up late, except for Elena. Okay.
Adryana [00:31:56]:
All right.
Greg [00:31:57]:
And so Elena, she comes downstairs and she's always smiling and she just has a certain life and vibrancy. It's your energy. You just have it. I don't know. It's just it and everybody knows it, right? And we could tell when you're good. We could tell when you're not. We could tell both. And so I'm just so thankful for you and love you and just support you.
Greg [00:32:28]:
And I love that she's like my artistic artsy one, so she's just totally different than me. And we love that. I love your style. I love your swag. I just love everything about you. So thank you. And then, Aiden, you are the funniest, most literal person I've ever met. Am I right? You guys, he is funny.
Greg [00:32:52]:
He is literal. He just has the funniest sense of humor. He's the funniest guy. But what I love is I truly do believe that the way that you are whenever you get into something, you have so many similarities to me. When Ayden wants to do something, you don't have to tell him anything. He obsesses over it. Just like his dad.
Adryana [00:33:17]:
He has a lot of passion.
Greg [00:33:18]:
He has a lot of passion for the things that he does. So I don't worry about you. I know that whatever he does, he's just going to go all in. It's just one day, you're going to find that thing, and I believe that you're going to change the world. I really do. So anyways, I love you guys. Thank you for being on the Secrets for Success, and I hope you guys enjoyed this. Those of you that are listening, I hope you got a lot of little nuggets from it.
Greg [00:33:42]:
And this is my family uncut you, Sam.
